Where Are You On Your AI Journey?

Welcome to Scriptono.me - your guide to digital self-reliance without the career switch.

When I started exploring how people develop AI skills, I noticed something fascinating: almost everyone follows a surprisingly similar path. Not in timing or speed, but in the phases they move through. Understanding where you are on this journey isn't about judgment. It's about clarity. It's about knowing what resources you need right now and what's coming next.

Today, I want to share the five phases of AI skill development that researchers have identified. As you read through these, you'll probably recognize yourself in one of them. That's exactly the point.

The Five Phases: From Search to Symphony

Phase 1: The Search Engine Mindset

You approach AI like Google, asking questions, expecting facts. You might get frustrated when it hallucinates or gives incorrect information. You use it mainly for quick answers to straightforward questions.

You're here if: You mostly ask AI for factual information and treat wrong answers as failures rather than opportunities to refine your approach. (Also Perplexity.ai is a much better tool to use during this phase than any other.)

Phase 2: The Command Phase

You've discovered prompt engineering. You collect templates, experiment with different phrasings, and follow prompting guides. You know there's more to AI than Q&A, but you're still figuring out the boundaries.

You're here if: You have a collection of "prompts that work" and you're actively experimenting with different ways to structure your requests.

Phase 3: The Conversational Collaboration

AI becomes a thought partner. You engage in multi-turn conversations, assign it roles, and use it as a sounding board. You've stopped thinking of it as a tool and started treating it as a collaborator.

You're here if: You regularly have extended conversations with AI, refining ideas through dialogue rather than single prompts.

Phase 4: The Contextual Integration

You're building workflows. AI is part of larger processes, not isolated interactions. You provide rich context, chain multiple interactions together, and integrate AI outputs with other tools.

You're here if: You've created multi-step processes where AI is a key component, and you regularly feed it extensive context to improve results.

Phase 5: The Agentic Orchestration

You're designing systems where AI operates semi-autonomously. You create specialized agents for different tasks, implement planning and memory capabilities, and oversee rather than direct.

You're here if: You're building or using systems where AI agents handle complex tasks with minimal supervision.

Why This Matters for Digital Self-Reliance

Here's the thing: most workplace training jumps straight to Phase 2 (prompting) without addressing the fundamental mindset shift needed to progress further. That's like teaching someone keyboard shortcuts before they understand what a computer does.

Digital self-reliance isn't about becoming a developer. It's about having enough understanding to solve your own problems, automate your own workflows, and not be dependent on others for basic digital tasks. AI is becoming a crucial part of that toolkit.

What's Coming in Future Issues

Based on where you identified yourself, here's what you can expect:

For Phase 1-2 folks: We'll explore mental models that help you move beyond the search mindset. We'll look at how AI actually works (without the math) and why that matters for getting better results.

For Phase 3 practitioners: We'll dive into advanced collaboration techniques, role-playing strategies, and how to maintain context across sessions.

For Phase 4 integrators: We'll explore workflow design, tool integration, and building personal automation systems that actually stick.

For the Phase 5 pioneers: We'll examine agent architectures, oversight strategies, and how to balance autonomy with control.

There’s likely going to be content/resources addressed at people in each of those places that I’ll be sending out. Knowing which phase you’re in can help know if those resources are right for you right now or if you should keep them for when they might click better.

Your Next Step

Take a moment to honestly assess where you are. There's no shame in being at Phase 1 - everyone starts there. There's also no prize for rushing to Phase 5. The goal is sustainable progress that fits your actual needs.

In fact, many people find their sweet spot at Phase 3 or 4, where they have powerful capabilities without the complexity of full agent systems.

Reply to this email and let me know:

1. Which phase resonated most with you?

2. What's one specific challenge you're facing at your current phase?

I'll use your responses to shape upcoming content and potentially feature common challenges in future issues.

Remember: autonomy isn't about doing everything yourself. It's about having the choice and capability to do what you need, when you need it.

Until next time,
J Wynia

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Scriptono.me is a community for people who want digital autonomy without changing careers. We believe everyone deserves to understand and control their digital tools.