Don’t let AI read for you (and how to let AI read for you)
Here’s how you can use AI to bolster reading comprehension while minimizing latency.
One of my favorite pieces of advice about AI came from a product manager who proclaimed: “AI can write for you, but don’t let it read for you.” The advice isn’t without merit considering AI is:
Much better at generating and synthesizing than it is with consuming
Bad at facts—at worst it gets big details wrong, at best the burden of fact-checking is time-consuming
By its very nature, incapable of processing emotional or highly philosophical lessons
And while I agree with the blanket premise, like most advice around AI, there’s nuance. I’ve found ways to let AI assist me with reading—as long as it’s the right kinds of material. The trick lies in understanding 1) when to leverage it as a reading tool and 2) what your intentions are for reading in the first place.
Key Takeaways
AI-assisted reading can work well for your "B-level" reading material, and can be used to deepen comprehension
Avoid relying on AI for emotional or short-form content; instead, focus on leveraging it in knowledge gathering, particularly for big-picture concepts
Maximizing the effectiveness of reading with AI requires understanding your intentions and tailoring prompts to extract personalized insights
Let’s explore what the right kind of reading material is and how to make the most out of AI as a reading assistant.
The reasons for letting AI read for you
Let’s start with one caveat: Using AI to read doesn’t really speed up reading (unless your using it to read books). It does, however, allow you to get a deeper level of comprehension.
What do I mean by deeper? AI can enhance your reading experience in ways you might not have considered.
Let’s say for example, that I want to read an article with tips and lessons for crafting the premise of my next novel. I could consume this the old-fashioned way, mentally adding a new branch to my understanding of story composition. Or I could enlist the help of ChatGPT or Claude (or you name it). And in doing so, I can get more bang for my buck because the “AI-assisted” route allows me to not just read, but also do things like:
Extract key points and instantly have them in writing. Instead of holding concepts in my head, I can have them summarized in an actionable (or saveable) format.
Layer in new knowledge with concepts I already understand. For example, you could ask AI, “How do the takeaways of this article relate to the broader process of plot development?”
Derive actionable next steps. Two of my favorite applications: asking for further reading recommendations and asking for prompts that apply core concepts so I can hit the ground running.
When is the right time to read with AI?
AI is more than capable of spotting key components, highlighting central ideas, and filling gaps in your existing knowledge. All things that make it exceptionally useful for crash courses and big-picture insights.
I use AI as a reading partner for what I call my “B-level” reading material. In short, they are things on my own personal learning roadmap—things I want (or need) to know, but not necessarily right now. For instance, I’m not yet working on my second novel, but I know I want to be more effective at crafting my premise when I’m ready.
Here’s a few questions to help you define your own “B-level” reading:
Is it immediately useful? If it’s relevant to a task at hand, I’d call that A-level reading. In most cases, I would NOT enlist the help of AI because doing risks interrupting my work flow.
Is it something that will help you with a future goal? If it’s a topic that will matter later, leveraging the written output of AI can make it easier to pick up when you need it.
Is knowledge sharing the goal of the article or piece? Which is to say, it’s not a good fit if the reading is either emotionally-driven or in story form.
Does it provide concepts or directions? If it provides concepts, it’s perfect. If it’s directions, on the other hand, it’s best followed rather than summarized.
Now that you know how to identify this type of content, let’s look at a prompt that you can leverage.
Things you shouldn’t read with AI
On the flipside, here’s how I’d categorize content that AI-assisted reading won’t help with:
Stuff you wouldn’t otherwise read: Don’t waste time using AI to digest content just because you have it to digest.
Anything emotional: AI flattens emotions and fiction, poetry, or other exposition are especially vulnerable to distortion. Not to mention, it eliminates the enjoyment factor in reading.
Direct quotes or feedback: Or anything that involves a high level of inference.
Anything under 750 words: If it’s short enough to read quickly, there’s less benefit to having AI intervene.
Reading with AI: Prompting for deep comprehension
So we’ve identified when to leverage AI as a reading tool.
The “AI-assisted” route allows me to not just read, but do things like extract key points and instantly have them in writing.
The other thing we need? An idea of what we intend to get out of reading. The clearer that idea, the more effective our use of AI. Once we know the intent, we’ll wrap it into a set of key questions that go into our prompt. Questions that will personalize the takeaways based on what we already know AND how we want to use this knowledge.
Here’s the prompt:
As my reading partner, one of your jobs is to help me comprehend and synthesize reading material I provide you. Please read the excerpt below about {TOPIC} for me and then do the following:
1. summarize all the key points
2. answer all of my key questions (listed below)
TOPIC = "writing a premise for my novel"
Key questions:
- [ex. 1 what is the most important one sentence takeaway for any author?]
- [ex. 2 what do I immediately need to start doing to better crafting my book premises?]
- [ex. 3 what GPT prompts can I create to based on the takeaways of this article?]
— article START —
[paste in the content of the article here]
— article END —Let’s dig a little deeper. What makes this prompt work? First, the role and purpose are crystal clear.
As my reading partner, one of your jobs is to help me comprehend and synthesize reading material I provide you.
Next, the task is broken into digestible steps. Further structured by numbering the steps, it eliminates ambiguity.
I need you to read the below excerpt about {TOPIC} and then do the following: 1. summarize all the key points 2. answer all of my key questions (listed below)
And lastly, the key questions guide the focus. I hone the response to knowledge that’s going to help me specifically.
Key questions:
- [ex. 1 what is the most important one sentence takeaway for any author?]
- [ex. 2 what do I immediately need to start doing to better crafting my book premises?]
- [ex. 3 what GPT prompts can I create to based on the takeaways of this article?]
And then of course, you provide the context of the article.
— article START —
[paste in the content of the article here]
— article END —
And there you have it. The next time you’re looking to read that 2000-word article with tips and tricks on flavoring your homemade honey, give this a try. But remember, letting AI help us doesn’t free us from having to deliver 100% of our focus, the same as any other reading.
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