Why the Most Creative AI Users Aren’t Engineers

The Most Creative AI Users Don’t Code Harder — They Collaborate Better

Empathy, not engineering, is the new prompting superpower.

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🤔 A Surprising Discovery from Stanford

Jeremy Utley, a lecturer at Stanford’s d.school, recently shared research that really struck a chord with me:

“The people who got the most creative results weren’t the most technical — they were the ones who treated AI like a collaborator.”

In the study, participants were asked to use AI to generate ideas, solve problems, and stretch their creativity.

Those who performed worst treated AI like a vending machine: ask one question, accept one answer.

Those who performed best took a completely different approach:

• They framed the problem conversationally
• Asked the AI to push back
• Iterated, challenged, explored
• Treated the back-and-forth like a teammate jam session

It wasn’t about prompt hacks or technical fluency.
It was about being a great conversationalist.

👥 It’s All About People (Even When It’s Machines)

This reminded me of something a former boss once told me, back when I shifted from hands-on IC work into leadership:

“It’s all about people. And you’re great with people.”

At the time, I wasn’t sure how to take it. I liked writing code. I liked shipping features.

But over the years, as I moved deeper into coaching, strategy, and team leadership, I came to see what he meant:

Product momentum rarely comes from raw talent. It comes from listening, framing, nudging, unblocking — helping others think better.

And now that I spend more of my time working with AI tools, I’ve noticed something uncanny:

The same people skills that helped me lead teams… help me get better results from LLMs.

🫏‍♂️ Empathy = Prompting Superpower

The counterintuitive truth: great AI prompting has more in common with coaching than coding.

When you:

• Give clear context like you would to a colleague
• Ask follow-ups instead of expecting magic
• Clarify emotion, tone, or edge cases
• Let the conversation evolve

...you get dramatically better results.

In my own use, I often prompt like this:

“I’m thinking through an idea. Don’t give me an answer right away. Ask me questions. Challenge my logic. Help me build it better as we go.”

And you know what? It works.

🎡 From Prompt to Partnership

The Stanford research confirms something many of us feel intuitively:

The best use of AI isn’t extraction. It’s collaboration.

The difference in mindset is subtle but huge:

• Tool thinkers say: *"Give me a good answer."
• Teammate thinkers say: *"Let’s find a better answer together."

It’s the difference between commanding and collaborating. One feels transactional. The other feels alive.

🌐 Why This Matters for Builders

This is the lens we’re building into ShipBuddy.

We’re not just using AI to fill in blanks. We’re using it to:

• Ask better questions
• Unblock momentum
• Frame decisions
• Simulate conversations with smart collaborators

Because when you’re building solo, you don’t just need a checklist. You need a co-pilot who’s invested in what you’re trying to do.

ShipBuddy is a sprint coach, not a chatbot.
It’s built to feel like a great teammate: someone who listens, challenges, and helps you move forward.

🧠 Try This Prompt

If you want to experience the difference for yourself, try prompting GPT like this:

“I have an idea I’m thinking through. I don’t want a final answer. I want you to act like a collaborator. Ask me questions. Challenge me. Help me sharpen it.”

Then talk to it like you would a thoughtful teammate. You’ll be surprised what happens next.

Great uses for this:

• Brainstorming names, angles, or hooks
• Validating assumptions in a startup idea
• Writing content (like this!)
• Unblocking fuzzy plans or proposals

✨ Final Thought

You don’t need to be technical to be great with AI.
You don’t need to study prompt engineering.

You just need to do what humans do best:

• Be clear
• Be curious
• Be collaborative

If you can talk to people, you can talk to AI.
And if you can do that, you can build things that matter — faster, sharper, and more creatively than ever before.

P.S. This mindset is baked into every sprint inside ShipBuddy.