🌊 The Felt Sense of AI: Why Mastery Isn’t in the Manual
Beyond tools and tutorials, what AI asks of us is intuition.
From Technical to Intuitive: The Hidden Skill of AI Use
AI is one of the most technical developments of our time. But working with it? That’s something else.
It’s tempting to believe that fluency comes from mastering how the tools work—understanding token limits, model architecture, or prompt syntax. While that technical literacy matters, it doesn’t go far enough.
Because the real skill in using AI is not just technical. It’s intuitive. It’s about rhythm, tone, timing, trust. It’s about developing a feel—a felt sense—for how to shape the interaction. And that kind of understanding doesn’t come from documentation. It comes from practice.
“The more advanced the tool becomes, the more human skills are needed to use it well.”
This is the quiet paradox: the more advanced the tool becomes, the more human skills are needed to use it well. Not just knowledge, but discernment. Not just output, but attention. Not just tasks, but transformation.
From Use to Value Creation
For most individuals and teams, the journey begins with productivity—using AI to write faster, summarise information, automate repetitive work. It’s a natural and necessary starting point.
But something begins to shift once the tool becomes familiar. The friction reduces. Confidence grows. And the questions change. Instead of how can this tool help me save time? the focus becomes how can this tool help me think differently? That’s where new value begins to emerge.
“Fluency with AI is not just about speed—it’s about seeing differently.”
When AI becomes an active partner in generating ideas, shaping narratives, exploring options or modelling futures, it moves from being a time-saver to a thought partner. That transition—from efficiency to imagination—can’t be taught. It has to be felt. And it begins with showing up, experimenting, and building the muscle.
Scaling Intuition: Individual, Team, Organisation
A recent Deep Waters | Shallow Dips article—Too Late for the Gods, Too Early for Being—proposed three guiding dispositions for working with AI: stay open, think in motion, meet emergence with emergence. It described the current moment as one where many familiar ways of working no longer quite fit, but the new approaches are still taking shape.
“The old maps don’t work, and the new ones haven’t been drawn yet.”
That article also introduced the Me, We, Us framework—a way of thinking about the different levels at which change needs to occur. Here, that same model can be applied to AI capability-building:
Me – Inner Disposition: Individuals need to cultivate a sense of curiosity, patience, and play. The felt sense only develops through ongoing, low-stakes experimentation and reflection.
We – Team Climate: Teams need a culture that supports prompt-swapping, idea sharing, and process transparency. The goal isn’t standardisation—it’s shared learning in motion.
Us – Organisational Rhythm: Organisations must embed experimentation into their operating rhythm. Leaders don’t need all the answers upfront—but they do need to create space for emergence to be noticed and acted on.
“Capability doesn’t scale by instruction—it scales by culture.”
These three levels don’t unfold in sequence—they evolve together. And they all begin with use.
A Pathway for Practice
AI does have the potential to transform organisations—small, medium, and large. But that transformation rarely begins with sweeping strategic redesigns. It starts with fluency.
The progression is simple, but powerful:
Start with tools – Build foundational familiarity. Use AI to streamline tasks, support current workflows, and reduce busywork.
Develop a felt sense – Engage often. Experiment with prompts. Reflect on what works and what doesn’t.
Build capability and culture – Enable teams to learn together. Create space for feedback and exploration.
Open up new value – Once fluency is in place, strategic possibilities emerge. AI becomes a co-creator in reshaping work, roles, and even organisational identity.
“Transformation doesn’t begin with strategy—it begins with fluency.”
The message isn’t to wait until things are perfect. The message is: start. Learn. Then lead from what emerges.
Your Course to Set
Dip your toe in: Where are you currently using AI to save time? This week, try using it to explore—draft something experimental, not just efficient.
Take the plunge: How might your team or organisation think differently about value creation if AI was treated not just as a technical tool—but as a creative, strategic partner in the process?