7 Reasons Why You Should Care About AI, Especially as a Non-Tech-Savvy

Author(s): Felix Pappe

Originally published on Towards AI.

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept or a topic reserved for scientists and software developers. It’s already woven into your daily life, whether you realise it or not.

From personalised recommendations on Netflix [1] to AI-generated email drafts in Microsoft Outlook [2], intelligent systems are quietly shaping how we work, communicate, and make decisions.

Ignoring AI today is like ignoring the internet in the early 2000s. You don’t need to become a programmer. But understanding how AI works, what it can and can’t do for you, and how it influences your world becomes an essential skill.

This isn’t about learning how to code. It’s about learning how to think clearly in an AI-powered age.

If this doesn’t convince you enough, here are seven reasons why it is at least important for non-technical people to develop an understanding of AI.

1. Demystifying the “Black Box”

Many people treat generative AI models as a magical black box, in which they pass an input and receive an output.

This might be regarded as magic, but in the end only boils down to statistics and a huge amount of computational resources.

Similar to Arthur C. Clarke’s famous quote:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

This quote highlights that what we perceive as magic is often just a result of our current knowledge, or insufficient knowledge.

Luckily, this is a solvable issue, which can be addressed by nurturing our brains with the required knowledge.

2. Make Better Decisions with AI

Generative AI tools are gradually being integrated into all digital products.

They become our companions in many life situations, such as the new Microsoft Email Copilot in Outlook, which can generate drafts or suggest replies [2].

Knowing how these models work behind the scenes allows you to integrate similar product better into your daily workflows while taking into account their limitations.

3. Identify limitations

We all know and have experienced that the current version of generative AI models is far from perfect. They are biased towards certain topics or hallucinate facts that do not exist.

A valuable skill for any AI power user is the ability to trace flaws back to their origin. This enables you to address limitations and draw more attention to these issues when using AI models.

This will show you how the model and tool choice amplify or mitigate these biases.

4. More effective use

Generative AI models are extremely sensitive to their inputs. One word or a small group of words can completely change the outcome.

One of my favourite examples is that the phrase “Let’s think step by step” enhances the reasoning capabilities of large language models [3].

Understanding how self-attention, a crucial component of modern AI advancements, assigns weight to previous tokens enables the design of more effective input prompts.

5. Develop Critical AI Literacy

AI literacy today is what digital literacy was in the early 2000s, not optional, but essential.

Just as understanding the internet helped people navigate the modern world, understanding AI helps you think clearly in an environment full of “new” AI models are products.

6. Navigate Career Transitions

AI is not just changing a few jobs. It’s reshaping entire industries:

• In software development, code generation tools like GitHub Copilot are speeding up routine tasks [4].
• In law, AI can summarise case files or draft basic contracts [5].
• In logistics, predictive models optimise supply chains and route planning [6].
• In finance, with models like BloombergGPT enhancing financial analysis, market forecasting, and domain-specific insights [7].
• Even in creative fields such as marketing, design, and writing, AI tools can generate drafts, visuals, or headlines in just seconds [8, 9].

Understanding how AI works provides job security and a competitive advantage.

This knowledge will enable you to collaborate effectively with AI, oversee its outputs, and communicate your work in a world increasingly aware of AI’s capabilities.

7. Contribute to Ethical Use

Ethical rules do not appear out of thin air; they are formed within our society.

If only a small group of technologists understands how AI works under the hood, they alone shape what is considered “ethical” in design and deployment. That’s a dangerous imbalance.

When more individuals, particularly those without technical backgrounds, understand the architecture and mechanics of AI systems, they can better identify ethical trade-offs, question design decisions, evaluate fairness, and engage in AI governance.

This highlights that it is up to everyone of us how well we deal and participate in this new technology.

Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a distant concept. It’s embedded in the fabric of everyday life, influencing how we think, work, and interact.

You don’t need to be a tech expert to understand its impact. But you do need awareness.

Otherwise, you treat AI as magic, resulting in a loss of control.

When you understand how AI models work, even at a high level, you gain the power to use them wisely, challenge their flaws, and shape their role in your life and society.

And this is exactly where I would like to help you through this blog.
I aim to explain complicated AI concepts in simple terms, discuss the latest news and the ideas behind them, to help you become a better AI user and understand how to harness the benefits of this new technology.

If this piques your curiosity, subscribe and join us on a journey to demystify AI.

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Sources

[1] Foundation Model for Personalized Recommendation
https://netflixtechblog.com/foundation-model-for-personalized-recommendation-1a0bd8e02d39

[2] Microsoft Outlook Copilot
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot-outlook

[3] Notion AI assistent
https://www.notion.com/help/guides/category/ai

[4] Large Language Models are Zero-Shot Reasoners
https://arxiv.org/abs/2205.11916

[5] Github Copilot
https://github.com/features/copilot

[6] AI Lawyer
https://ailawyer.pro/

[7] ORION, (On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation)
https://www.roundtrip.ai/articles/ups-route-optimization-software

[8] BloombergGPT
https://www.bloomberg.com/company/press/bloomberggpt-50-billion-parameter-llm-tuned-finance/

[9] Copy.ai
https://www.copy.ai/

[10] Jasper
https://www.jasper.ai/

[11] Why AI literacy is now a core competency in education
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/05/why-ai-literacy-is-now-a-core-competency-in-education/

[12] The double-edged sword of AI: Will we lose our jobs or become extremely productive?
https://www.statista.com/site/insights-compass-ai-future-ai-work

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Published via Towards AI