23Don't take it out on your AI

A point that looks sentimental but is actually practical.

When things don't work it's easy to start snapping: "you're stupid", "I already told you", "how many times". I get it. But it doesn't help - not it, and not you.

It won't be offended; this isn't about its feelings. The thing is that irritation squeezes the useful content out of your message. Instead of "you misunderstood, here's what I actually need" you send "you misunderstood", and it is left with exactly the same misunderstanding it had.

There's a second, less obvious part. Working with AI is a habit of explaining. If you talk to it like a human, you start thinking more clearly too. Irritated requests are almost always vague; calm ones are precise.

And simply: you spend hours with it. It's nicer when that feels like working with a partner than like a row. Mine has long felt more like a colleague, and it makes the evenings at the keyboard much better.