The Hidden Barriers to AI

Why humility, curiosity, and empathy matter more than you think

Generative AI, like the tech behind ChatGPT, still hasn’t won over many professionals—lawyers in particular. These are people who value rationality above all else, often dismissing creativity as a luxury.

But their hesitation isn’t just about logic or skepticism. It’s a deeper issue rooted in ego, a lack of curiosity, and a surprising absence of empathy.

Let’s break this down.

Curiosity: The Door to Learning

Everyone knows curiosity is crucial to learning. But it’s not as common as it should be. If you believe you already know enough—or worse, if your ego whispers that there’s nothing worth learning—you won’t go looking for new ideas.

This is where many rational professionals stumble with AI. They focus on its flaws: “It makes mistakes.” True, but so do humans. The difference is AI learns from its mistakes at breakneck speed—if you’re curious enough to explore how.

Without curiosity, these individuals dismiss AI without asking a more important question: What can it do well?

Humility: The Key to Curiosity

Curiosity doesn’t thrive in the shadow of arrogance. Humility keeps the mind open, reminding us that we don’t know everything—and never will.

For some, especially those trained to argue and analyze, admitting there’s more to learn feels like weakness. They’re experts, after all. But AI isn’t competing with their expertise; it’s a tool to sharpen it. Rejecting AI outright because it “isn’t perfect” misses the point entirely.

Humility doesn’t just help you learn—it’s the engine that powers curiosity. Without it, the door to understanding AI stays firmly shut.

Empathy: The Non-Obvious Essential

Here’s where it gets tricky. Empathy might seem irrelevant to understanding AI, but it’s not. To truly grasp how generative AI works, you need to step outside your own way of thinking and into its way.

AI doesn’t reason like a human. It doesn’t have intent or bias (though it reflects ours). What it does have is an uncanny ability to synthesize, predict, and create based on patterns. Appreciating this requires a leap in perspective—a kind of intellectual empathy.

The harsh truth? If you can’t imagine how something so different operates, you’ll never understand how to use it effectively.

The Practical Takeaway

For lawyers, one of AI’s greatest strengths is its ability to improve writing. But here’s the catch: Good writers often struggle to adopt new tools because their systems work well enough. Bad writers, meanwhile, might be eager to try AI but lack the guidance to use it effectively.

The solution? Use it. Use it often. Experiment with it. Watch others who are good at it. The more you engage with AI, the better you’ll understand its quirks and strengths.

That’s what we do in my Inner Circle. It’s a space for sharing strategies, swapping lessons, and refining workflows. Today, I posted a video showing how I use a custom GPT to sharpen writing quickly. Paid subscribers can watch it below.

If you’re willing to embrace humility, curiosity, and empathy, AI won’t just improve your work—it’ll reshape how you think about creativity and productivity.