🪬 HumanAI #009 – The 20% of AI That Changes Everything

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Hey!

Welcome to HumanAI—every week I send simple, curated insights to help you learn, adapt, and thrive with AI, without drowning in technical chaos.

If you’re new here, you missed a lot… but don’t panic!!
Catch up on past editions right here.

A few weeks ago, I shared that we moved to a new place.

One of the biggest reasons was simple:
I wanted to walk my daughter to childcare every morning.

And it’s been a blessing.

Walking down calm, tree-lined streets with the sun on my face.
Feeling the quiet.
Connecting with nature, even in small ways.
Picking her up after a day of playing, walking back home with her and my wife, laughing about nothing.

It’s one of those small, giant pleasures in life.

Like the smell of coffee and toast in the morning.
(Although I usually fast and drink mate 🧉... but you get the point.)

The little things that remind you:
This reality? This experience?
It’s incredible.

And I want more of it.

More real moments.
More human time.
More life, less noise.

And I want to help you have more of that too.

That’s why I created the HumanAI newsletter.

To help you learn the basics of AI—not to become a machine, but to let the machines do more of the grunt work...
so you can free up your time to do more human things.

The important things.

Let’s get into today’s edition!

When electricity first arrived, most people had no idea how it worked.
They didn’t need to.
They just needed to know how to flip the switch.

Same thing happened with the internet.
Same thing’s happening with AI.

You don’t need to code AI.
You don’t need to become a tech genius to win.
You don’t need to understand machine learning, neural networks, or data science.

You just need to know:

• What it can do

• Where it fits into your world

• How to ask it for what you want

Know the right 20%, the parts that give you 80% of the results.
(Without wasting hours, energy, or getting lost in buzzwords.)

Flip the right switches and everything changes.

Today, I’ll show you exactly where to start.

But before that, a short story!

🧠 HUMAN INSPIRATION: The 78-Year-Old Farmer Who Became a World-Famous Artist

In the late 1930s, a woman named Anna Mary Robertson Moses—known to the world as Grandma Moses—was living a quiet life on a farm in upstate New York.

She had spent her entire life raising five children, running a farm, and doing embroidery in her spare time.

But arthritis eventually made embroidery too painful.
So at age 78, she picked up a paintbrush for the first time in her life.

No formal art training.
No galleries begging for her work.
No "strategic plan" to become famous.

She simply started painting the world she saw around her:
Farmhouses. Snowy hills. Everyday life.

By her late 70s and early 80s, her paintings were exhibited internationally.
She became one of the most celebrated American folk artists of the 20th century.
One of her paintings, "Sugaring Off," later sold for $1.2 million.

Grandma Moses didn’t master “the technique.”
She mastered “the doing.”

She didn’t complicate it.
She didn’t tell herself it was too late.
She just started.

And the world moved to meet her.

It’s the same with AI today.

You don’t need to know how it all works.
You just need to show up, pick up the tools, and start creating something real.

History rewards the ones who start, not the ones who wait for permission!

⚡ AI REAL-LIFE USE: Intro to The 20% You Need to Master (Step-by-Step)

Here are the first steps on what to focus on to unlock 80% of AI’s power:

1. Learn to Talk to AI (Prompting Basics)

Forget coding.
If you can ask good questions, you can use AI.

But… here’s a guide to help you start figuring this out:

THE ANATOMY OF A GREAT PROMPT
A great AI prompt has 4 basic parts:

1. Role

Tell the AI who it should be or how it should think.

Why?
Without setting the role, the AI thinks too generally and gives shallow answers.

2. Task

Clearly define what you want it to do.

Why?
If you're vague, you get vague answers.

Specificity = quality.

3. Context

Give it key background information or examples.

Why?
Context massively improves relevance and tone.
Without it, you get bland generic output.

4. Constraints / Style

(Optional, but powerful)
Tell it any limits or tone you want it to follow.

Why?
Constraints make creativity focused, not random.

IMPORTANT!

This structure is cool and helpful, but really… if you can clearly explain what you want to a human, you can write a great prompt for AI.

(If you can't explain it clearly to a human… sorry, no prompt will save you)

2. Use AI for Real Problems (Not Just Play)

Pick one area where you already spend too much time.

Examples:

• Writing emails
  

• Researching new ideas
  

• Summarizing long articles
  

• Drafting proposals or documents
  

👉 Test AI on ONE real task this week.

Start small, but start real.

One task at a time is the secret to true adoption.

3. Set Up Your Personal AI Toolkit

You only need 1-3 tools to get serious results:

My essentials, based on MY work:

• ChatGPT (thinking, writing, summarizing, creative work)

• Make (automations)

• Notion AI / but now testing Coda (organizing, planning, generating content)
  

Other that I use every now and then:

• HeyGen (AI video avatar clone/twin. See me on YT!)

• ElevenLabs (voice cloning and dubbing)

• Gamma.app (AI slides and simple no-code AI websites)

• Perplexity (AI research engine)

• Canva (graphics, social media posts—AI powered now)

• Grammarly AI (writing in apps, email, etc)

• Opus Clip (video repurposing)

You don’t need 100 apps.
You need 3 that you actually use.

In the AI Lab for 40+, we go deeper into all this — how to prompt like a pro, actually use AI in your day-to-day, and set up a personal toolkit that saves time and get killer results… PLUS much more!
Simple, real, no bullshit AI.
If you want in, just reply to this email and I’ll send you the details.

🚀 FOR THE BOLD ONES… Why Now Is the Best (and Easiest) Moment

Right now, AI is a superpower for the average person.
But that window is already starting to close.

Big companies are rushing to automate.
The learning curve will only get steeper.
Soon, using AI will be an expectation, not a bonus.

Most people are afraid of being replaced.
But most people are playing the wrong game.

You won’t be replaced because you don’t know AI.
You’ll be replaced if you don’t know how to use it to multiply yourself.

Imagine if in 60 minutes a week, you could:

• Think faster

• Create better

• Communicate clearer

• Solve bigger problems more efficiently

Not because you became more technical.
But because you became more augmented.

If you start today, even with basic moves, you’ll be ahead of 80% of people in your field within 6 months.

No degree required.
Just curiosity and the willingness to take the first steps.

This is HumanAI.
You + Tools = Unstoppable

Final Thoughts

The shift has already started.
You don’t need to know it all.
You just need to know what matters and use it before most people even start.

If you’re reading this, you’re (still) early.
Flip the switch.

Remember, all this isn’t just about AI.
It’s about working better and having more time.

In my case, that means more family mornings.
More of those slow walks.
That sunlight.
That quiet laugh on the way home.

More real.
More human.
That’s the edge that AI enables us.

Design your future and build with that in mind.

See you in the next edition.

Stay active, stay sharp.

—Mencho 🪬

P.S. I built HumanAI to help you stay relevant without losing your soul in the process.
If you’re ready to finally get started, with real guidance, real tools, and real results, join the AI Lab for 40+.
Reply to this email and I’ll send you the details.

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