Hi, I'm Cinzia. Thanks for being here.

I've spent six years working in AI, and I still have days when I feel like I'm behind. Like the world is moving faster than I can keep up with. Maybe you feel that too.

Here's what I keep coming back to, though. The world has always changed. That part isn't new. What is new is this: for the first time, your years of experience are no longer your only differentiator. The new divide is simple. Good with AI, or not good with AI. That's it.

I started this newsletter because I want everyone to land on the right side of that line. No technical background required.

This week: the five-minute setup that changes how AI talks to you. Most people skip right past it.

Think about your first week at a new job. You didn't just sit down and start sending emails to clients. You introduced yourself, right? "I'm X, your new Y, I'll be your contact moving forward. I used to work here, studied there. Text me anytime, I'm very responsive." You know, that intro.

AI is the same. Every time you open a new chat with Claude or ChatGPT, it has zero idea who you are, what you do, or what you actually need. You have to educate it. Otherwise, it's just going to give you what everyone has been calling "AI Slop." Stuff that sounds totally generic, written for nobody in particular.

Most people skip this step because they use AI tools the same way they use Google. If you're reading this and you've already set yourself up, good on you. Now go tell a friend!

Alright, enough blah blah. How do you actually introduce yourself? The solution is simple, even if the name sounds intimidating. It's called a system prompt. Basically, a permanent introduction you write once, and AI reads every single time before it responds to you. Think of it as your personal onboarding document for your AI colleague. If only something like this existed for your partner. Your kids. Your whole family, honestly.

Once you set this up, the difference is night and day. You'll stop having to correct it constantly. No more responses that sound like a thesaurus just threw up on your paragraph. It finally starts sounding like you, or anything you want it to.

Tonight, you're going on a first date with your AI. And just like a first date, you're going to introduce yourself. This takes 2 minutes, and you will immediately feel the difference. Copy this prompt, fill in your own details, and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, or whichever tool you use:

That's it. You've just done what 90% of AI users never do.

This works in Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI tool you're already using. Same prompt, same result.

Here's what mine actually looks like:

Where to save it:

Quick note: I'm a Claude person, so that's the one I can vouch for firsthand. The instructions for the other tools are my best guidance, but I'd recommend double-checking if something looks off.

💡Tip: Both Claude and ChatGPT have memory

You know how your best friend just gets you after years of conversation? Same idea. These tools pick up little things from your past chats, like your job, your preferences, and how you like to communicate. The best part, it gets better over time.

It's worth taking a peek at what they've got on you, though. Some of it you'll want to keep. Some of it? You might want to forget.

This one is personal

In the US, women make up 57% of workers in roles most likely to be disrupted by AI. Not men. Women. Of the roughly 6 million workers who would have the hardest time adapting to AI job loss, 86% are women, mostly in administrative and clerical roles. This is exactly why building AI skills right now is the move.

The woman making AI make sense on TikTok

If you're not following Sinéad Bovell yet, fix that today. She's a Canadian futurist and tech commentator who breaks down AI and emerging tech in a way that actually lands for non-technical people. She advises governments and Fortune 500 leaders on AI, and then comes home and explains it to the rest of us on TikTok. She’s spoken with Oprah, so she’s the real deal. Follow her: @sineadbovell

The blog post that's been making the rounds in tech circles

A founder named Matt Shumer wrote something earlier this year that a lot of people in the industry quietly sent to everyone they know. It's long. It's a little scary. And it's the most useful thing you can read if you want to understand what is actually happening with AI right now, written for someone who doesn't work in tech. Read it here: shumer.dev/something-big-is-happening

I was recently at a Women in Tech Leadership Lab event hosted by Frank and Glee Factor, and a speaker said something that stuck with me. Marie-Soleil Boucher, who spent years leading marketing teams, now runs a YouTube channel. Why would she do this? She’s super busy running a company, but she recognized that she wanted a place to keep learning and experimenting with AI tools in real time.

Her message was simple: everyone should have an AI project or side hustle right now. Not necessarily to make money (but if you can make extra $, why not!). Not to become an influencer. Just to keep your hands in it. Because the people who will come out ahead are the ones who never stopped learning.

You don't need to start a YouTube channel (or a newsletter lol), but you could if you want to! You just need a project. Something low stakes, something that interests you, something you work on a little bit every week. The learning compounds faster than you think.

Not sure what your project could be? Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude and let it help you figure it out:

One thing before you dive in: when pasting your CV, emails, or any personal documents into Claude or ChatGPT, remove sensitive info first. Think phone numbers, home address, and email. Everything else is fair game.

And if you want some inspiration to get started, I put together 10 project ideas that anyone can work on, no technical background needed.

Cinz.AI

Your unfair advantage, one week at a time.

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