Human creativity in the age of AI - with Dave Birss, Co-Founder The Gen AI Academy

In this episode of Coach Class I had the privilege of sitting down with Dave Birss — writer, educator, keynote speaker, and former creative director — to explore curiosity, creativity, and the sensible use of AI.

Key Takeaways

• From childhood curiosity to creative leadership:
  Dave traces his fascination with innovation to visiting the John Logie Baird Museum as a child. That early spark led him through careers in music, comedy, photography, and advertising before becoming a thought leader in creativity and AI.
• AI is only as good as your thinking:
  Dave created a prompting framework within weeks of ChatGPT’s launch, emphasising that the goal isn’t to use “magic words” but to get the right information out of your own head. Good prompting = good briefing. Lazy prompts, like lazy briefs, produce poor results.
• Curiosity vs. complacency:
  Dave warns that technology can degrade as much as it can uplift — pointing to the dark web and social media as examples of innovations that started with good intentions but became harmful. He fears AI could follow a similar path unless guided by human purpose and ethics.
• Human skills matter more than ever:
  At the Gen AI Academy, Dave teaches organisations to amplify autonomy, mastery, and purpose (from Dan Pink’s Drive) rather than eroding them with AI. He argues that people now manage assistants — meaning everyone must learn to brief, judge, and think critically.
• Judgement is the superpower:
  AI can start users at “adequacy,” but if we skip the struggle and learning that build neural networks, we risk losing cognitive depth. The future divide won’t be between rich and poor — it’ll be between those who augment their brains and those who outsource their thinking.
• AI projects often fail because they’re human problems, not tech problems:
  60–80% of AI projects are abandoned. The issue isn’t software — it’s leadership, strategy, and misunderstanding motivation. “Choosing the tech is easy; integrating it is the challenge.”
• Realism over hype:
  Dave rejects “futurist” labels, calling himself a realist. He believes AI’s economic bubble will burst but its workplace role will endure. His mission: help organisations harness AI sensibly — using it to amplify, not replace, human creativity.

Stand Out Quotes

• “Prompting isn’t magic — it’s briefing. And most people are terrible at briefs.”
• “AI starts you at adequacy — but you can’t grow from there.”
• “We must build humans who thrive in the age of AI, not just workers who use it.”
• “Technology has yin and yang — it can uplift or it can degrade. The choice is ours.”

Closing Thought

The episode ends on a mix of realism and optimism: it's a privilege to be able to celebrate Dave’s ability to make complex ideas relatable and it reminds me to stay curious, critical, and brave — using AI to amplify, not replace, your own thinking.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, and please rate or share if it resonated.