Everyone—your competitors, peers, even your intern—uses AI tools.

The real question is:

How do you disrupt yourself with AI?

At the Imagination in Action Conference at MIT yesterday, I caught a brief but striking talk by Peter Danenberg from DeepMind. It challenged how I think.

He referenced a study showing that when we use LLMs like GPT, we tend to information-check more than creativity. Peter described the “desert” as the space where creativity emerges. He also introduced the idea of AI as a co-struggler—not just a tool, but a thinking partner.

“Co-struggler” — it’s stuck in my mind.

What if AI wasn’t just a tool—but a co-struggler?

That evening, I joined a session led by Professor Ki Tae Nam , a leading scientist in material science whose groundbreaking research was featured on the cover of Nature in 2018.

His career is filled with disruptive innovations—but what surprised me most wasn’t just his scientific achievements. It was his perspective on AI.

He spoke about how AI tools have elevated his creative thinking in ways many wouldn’t expect from such a technical field. From material ideation to structural experimentation, he actively uses generative AI not just for analysis, but for imagination.

And he didn’t stop there—he urged fellow scientists to embrace AI more boldly.

Not just as a tool for efficiency, but as a partner in creative exploration.

One his short line hit me:

“Material science—and even our own bodies—are fundamentally defective, complex systems. And that defectiveness isn’t a flaw. It’s a source of value.”

Imperfection is often the birthplace of innovation. It’s the tension, the unpredictability, the messy edges—that invite new thinking.

• How far I let myself push my boundaries?
• Instead of seeking answers, what if I let AI confuse me?
• Instead of automating everything, what if you preserved tension, friction, ambiguity?

Creativity doesn’t come from clarity—it comes from struggle.

And maybe the best use of AI isn’t as your shortcut.

It’s as your co-struggler in the desert.