As a TBI Survivor I have come to value AI – Artificial Intelligence as a co-creator.
We are living through a remarkable moment in time. Tools that once belonged to the science fiction books I was reading as a kid in Grade 8, are now sitting on our desktops and in our pockets, ready to help us research, write, brainstorm, and create.
Thinking of Lieutenant Commander Data
As someone who grew up reading about and watching science fiction, I sometimes think of Lieutenant Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
What once belonged to science fiction has, in a very different form, arrived in our daily lives.
We are not conversing with an android officer aboard a starship, but we are beginning to experience something that earlier generations could scarcely have imagined:
the opportunity to talk with, ask questions of, think, create, and explore ideas in partnership with a new kind of intelligence.
For anyone engaged in meaningful creative, intellectual, and spiritual work, whether writing, recording, counselling, or simply trying to make sense of the world, the AI assistants available today are genuinely worth knowing I have come to understand.
Traumatic Brain Injury – AI and Life after TBI
As a TBI – Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor AI – Artificial Intelligence has become part of my daily life for many reasons.
I was diagnosed with TBI after a car accident in March, 2000. I was stopped at a red light and a pickup truck drove into me. However, over the course of my life, I have experienced a significant number of head injuries, major health challenges, and periods of profound change.
My Sources of Brain Injury and Cognitive Impairment
Over the decades I have experienced both traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and acquired brain injuries (ABI). Together, these events have contributed to the cognitive challenges I continue to experience today, including short-term memory issues, concentration, organization, word-finding, and mental and physical fatigue.
Many people are now familiar with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
However, many do not realize that serious illness, medical treatment, lack of oxygen to the brain, and other medical events can also result in what is known as Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and lasting cognitive changes.
The cumulative effect of these experiences has profoundly shaped the way I think, remember, work, act and get through my day.
- head hit corner of a piano footer
- hit on the head with a rock by a classmate
- foul ball, hardball, forehead at the left eye
- hit on the head by beer mugs at a bar on Trafalgar Square, London, UK
- pistol-whipped on the back of the head while working as bouncer at a bar on Crescent Street in Montreal
- three-wheel ATV went over a cliff
- my car t-boned by a car exiting a laneway
- my car rear-ended by a young woman hurrying to a Terry Fox run
- my car rear-ended while stopped at a red light
- four weeks of daily workweek radiotherapy and 18 months of Firmagon injections treating prostate cancer
- my heart stopped, unexpectedly, for some 5 minutes dur TAVR heart surgery
Like many people living with the effects of TBI I sometimes find that memory, concentration, and organization require far more energy than they once did.
AI As A Cognitive Companion
For me, AI is not simply a source of information or a collection of clever tools. Rather, it has become something closer to a cognitive companion: a notebook, an editor, a librarian, and an ever-present sounding board.
AI – Artificial intelligence helps me organize ideas, summarize conversations, retrieve forgotten details, and break complex projects into manageable steps.
It allows me to capture thoughts before they disappear and to shape spoken reflections into written articles, podcasts, and recordings.
One of the greatest gifts of these systems is their patience.
Human conversations often move quickly, but AI allows me to revisit ideas, ask for clarification, and explore the same question from different angles without feeling rushed. It adapts to my pace rather than requiring me to adapt to its own.
At the same time, AI is not a replacement for doctors, therapists, friends, or spiritual practice. It can make mistakes and should never be treated as an unquestionable authority.
I think of it instead as a form of cognitive support: much like a notebook preserves our thoughts or a pair of glasses sharpens our vision.
The wisdom, experience, humour, and memories remain our own. AI – Artificial Intelligence does not create them. It simply helps illuminate rooms in the house that may have become harder to reach.
A Word About Co-Creation
When working with and thinking about AI, the most useful frame for me is not ‘tool’ but ‘co-creator’. These systems are at their best when you bring your own intention, discernment, and voice to the conversation.
You are not handing your work over — you are thinking out loud with a remarkably capable partner. The result is yours. The AI helps you get there.
Voice-to-Text on My Pixel 8 Pro or Laptop
For much of my life, writing meant sitting at a desk with pen and paper or, later, hitting keys on a typewriter, and now at a computer or mobile phone keyboard. Oh, and typing with 2 fingers.
Today, another possibility has emerged. The Voice-to-Text system on my Pixel 8 Pro and my Windows 11 laptop allows me to speak naturally and see my words take shape on the screen in real time.
Why Text Response Works Better for Me.
One important thing. A text response works better for me. The AI can often reply in voice, if you have enabled that feature, so it is possible to actually have a conversation.
I can’t work this way for a number of reasons.
- As TBI Survivor my short-term memory processing is not great: “In one ear and out the other.” as the saying goes.
- AI can reply so quickly and with so much information that I cannot process it. Yes, you can add instructions asking the AI to respond in certain ways, but it is too much for me.
So for me text response is excellent and very helpful.
Interacting With An AI – Typing Feels Different Than Voice
As I wrote above I use both text and voice to interact with AI. Apart from it being easier for to process information being presented top me I started to notice that the text conversations were different were from when I used my voice.
And I am not alone in feeling and seeing that.
Increasingly, people notice that interacting with an AI by typing feels quite different from interacting with it by voice. The distinction is more than technological; it touches how we think, feel, and experience relationship.
How Text Shapes the Relationship
- Text invites slower, more reflective thinking. When we type, we tend to edit, refine, and structure our thoughts, much as we would in a journal or letter.
- Seeing words on a screen creates a natural pause. That pause gives room for reflection, reconsideration, and deliberate choice of language.
- Typed conversations leave a clear record: a scrollable “memory” of the dialogue that can be revisited, annotated, or woven into notes and research.
In this mode, the AI often feels like a diligent research assistant, editor, or reference librarian—a partner in thinking rather than a conversational companion.
How Voice Changes the Experience
- Voice interaction feels more spontaneous. Speaking encourages a “thinking out loud” style, where ideas emerge in real time rather than being carefully composed.
- Tone, rhythm, and pacing make the AI feel more like a presence. Even knowing it is a machine, humans naturally respond to voices as if they belong to someone.
- Voice exchanges are often more ephemeral. Unless recordings or transcripts are saved, the interaction can feel like a conversation that passes as soon as it ends.
Here, the AI can feel less like a document editor and more like a companion: something you talk with while walking, cooking, or reclining, rather than something you “sit down to work with.”
Cognitive Effects: Different Modes of Thinking
- Text tends to support analytic, structured thought. It helps with outlining arguments, comparing ideas, and building durable knowledge.
- Voice tends to support associative, narrative thought. It can be easier to share stories, impressions, and half-formed questions when speaking than when typing.
- People may discover different aspects of themselves in each mode. The “voice self” might be more candid and exploratory, while the “text self” is more organized and precise.
These differences can influence the kinds of questions we ask and the depth or direction of the answers we seek.
Emotional Tone and Perceived Intimacy
- Voice often feels more intimate. The sound of a voice—even a synthetic one—taps into deeply learned patterns from human conversation and relationship.
- Text can feel more emotionally neutral. This neutrality can be comforting when dealing with complex or sensitive topics that require calm analysis.
- Some people experience voice AI as a “companion,” while they experience text AI as a “tool.” Others feel safer with text precisely because it feels less personal.
Neither mode is inherently better; each will resonate differently depending on temperament, context, and the kind of support sought.
Practical Contexts and Use Cases
Text works well for:
- Study, research, and reference work
- Drafting and editing documents
- Organizing ideas, summaries, and notes
Voice works well for:
- Hands-free situations (walking, chores, stretching)
- Exploratory questioning and brainstorming
- Informal “check-ins” during the day
Rather than replacing one with the other, many people find a rhythm: using voice when moving through daily life, and text when they want to capture and refine what they’ve learned.
Sense of Presence and Identity
- A consistent voice can feel like a quasi-character or presence that you come to recognize and anticipate.
- Text, by contrast, leaves more to the imagination; readers supply their own “inner voice” for the AI, which can change with mood and context.
- Over time, users may experience text and voice as different “faces” of the same system, each suited to particular moments and needs.
In this way, the relationship to AI can begin to resemble our relationships to tools and companions simultaneously: a blend of instrument and interlocutor.
Choosing and Combining Modes
- Those who value careful reflection may gravitate toward text for significant questions and long-term projects.
- Those who value conversational flow and immediacy may prefer voice, especially for everyday guidance and emotional support.
- Many people benefit from consciously combining both: exploring ideas aloud, then switching to text to crystallize and preserve what emerged.
Ultimately, the difference between interacting with AI by text and by voice is not merely technical; it shapes how we think, what we disclose, and how we understand the “relationship” we are forming with these new digital partners.
If you imagine a future where most people regularly use AI, do you picture them primarily reading and writing with it, or mostly talking and listening to it?
A Different Relationship to Creativity
I have come to think of this technology as more than a convenience. It creates a different relationship to the co-creative process itself.
Thoughts, memories, questions, and moments of insight can be given expression as they arise, without the interruption of stopping to type.
Enabling a Genuine Process of Co-Creation
What makes this especially valuable is the way it enables a genuine process of co-creation with artificial intelligence. I can speak an idea, explore it in conversation, ask questions, challenge assumptions, and refine my thoughts through an ongoing dialogue.
The exchange is fluid and immediate.
Often, one insight leads to another, and ideas that might otherwise have remained unspoken begin to take shape.
Used thoughtfully, such tools do not replace the human voice. Rather, they amplify our ability to reflect, to create, and to engage more deeply with the questions that matter to us.
The words, the intention, and the discernment remain our own. The technology simply helps us bring them into the world.
Popular AI Tools
I use all of these AI tools regularly. This page offers a plain-language introduction, along with an honest look at what each one does well.
The goal is not to overwhelm you with technical detail, but to help you find the right companion for the work you care about.
AI – Artificial intelligence has profoundly changed my own creative process.
It has become a partner in research, writing, editing, reflection, and exploration. Each tool has its own strengths, personality, and perspective.
Only after reflecting on how AI has changed the way I work does it make sense to ask a practical question:
Which AI assistants are available today, and what are they good at?
I currently use the following AI tools daily when working on my blogs and recordings.
ChatGPT – OpenAI
ChatGPT introduced much of the world to conversational AI, and it remains one of the most versatile tools available. It excels at brainstorming, generating first drafts, answering questions, and adapting to an astonishing range of tasks.
The paid versions add powerful capabilities, including voice conversations, image analysis, document handling, web research, and connections to external tools and services. Whether you are writing, learning, organizing information, or exploring new ideas, ChatGPT is remarkably flexible.
It is also supported by an enormous community of users who continually share techniques, discoveries, and creative ways of working.
*Of all the AI tools I use, ChatGPT has become my constant companion in the process of co-creation. Day after day, it joins me as I write, research, organize projects, explore spiritual questions, and shape new ideas. More than any other AI system I have used, ChatGPT has become woven into my daily creative life.*
Claude – Anthropic
Claude is an AI assistant developed by Anthropic. It is known for its ability to handle long conversations and large documents, and many people use it for writing, editing, and exploring complex ideas.
Some users appreciate Claude’s thoughtful style and its willingness to engage with difficult questions in depth. As with all AI systems, individual experiences vary, and different tools will suit different people and different kinds of work.
Copilot – Microsoft
Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant, integrated directly into many of the tools people already use every day, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Edge, and Windows itself.
It can summarize documents, draft emails, analyze spreadsheets, and streamline routine tasks without requiring you to leave your existing workflow. For those already working within the Microsoft ecosystem, Copilot is one of the most practical and accessible AI assistants available.
Much of its underlying technology is shared with OpenAI, giving it strong conversational and creative capabilities alongside its productivity features.
*Because so much of modern life happens inside documents, spreadsheets, and email, Copilot often feels less like a separate application and more like an extra set of hands.*
Gemini – Google
Gemini is Google’s AI assistant, and its greatest strength lies in its close connection to Google’s services, including Search, Gmail, Docs, Drive, Maps, and YouTube.
It is particularly effective at research, helping users locate current information and work across their personal documents and data. For anyone already invested in Google Workspace, Gemini offers a seamless experience that brings AI directly into familiar tools.
Google continues to expand Gemini’s capabilities, making it an increasingly powerful assistant for both everyday tasks and deeper research.
*Gemini has become one of my preferred tools for research and for navigating Google’s vast ecosystem of information. When I want to connect ideas across different sources or work within Google’s services, it is often one of the first places I turn.*
Perplexity
Perplexity is designed first and foremost as a research assistant. Unlike many conversational AI systems, it emphasizes accuracy, transparency, and citations, allowing users to verify the information it provides.
For anyone who wants to investigate a topic, track down references, compare viewpoints, or fact-check claims, Perplexity is an exceptional resource. It combines the strengths of a search engine, a librarian, and a conversational guide.
*I think of Perplexity as a particularly diligent research assistant. When I need references, supporting material, or simply want to verify that my understanding is accurate, Perplexity helps me dig beneath the surface and follow the trail of evidence.*
Duck.ai – DuckDuckGo
Duck.ai takes a different approach to artificial intelligence. Developed by DuckDuckGo, it allows users to interact with several leading AI models while placing a strong emphasis on privacy.
Conversations are not used to train the underlying models, and users can experiment with AI without creating an account. Rather than building a single all-encompassing ecosystem, Duck.ai serves as a gateway to multiple AI systems, making it easy to compare different responses and perspectives.
*What appeals to me about Duck.ai is its emphasis on privacy and experimentation. In a world increasingly shaped by data collection, that commitment to user privacy feels refreshing.*
A Final Thought
No AI assistant is best at everything. Each has its own strengths, limitations, and style of interaction.
I do not see these tools as replacements for human creativity, wisdom, or intuition. Rather, I experience them as collaborators: different voices around a digital table, helping me research, question, write, and explore.
The real magic does not lie in artificial intelligence itself. It lies in the conversation between human curiosity and these remarkable new tools.
Finding Your Own Way
You do not need to master all six. Start with one that fits your work, spend some time with it, and let the relationship develop.
Think of it as any creative partnership — the more you bring to it, the more you get back.
These AI tools are here to support your voice, not replace it.
-Richard Edward Ward
N.B. Like any collaborator, AI co-creators can be insightful, surprising, mistaken, confused, and occasionally frustrating. Human judgment remains essential.
Reconnecting With Spirit with Richard Edward Ward
Explore with Richard
- Support My Work With $1, $3, or $5
- Blog
- Everyday Practices for Reconnecting with Spirit
- About Richard Edward Ward
- My Spiritual Paths
- My Teachers, Guides, and Mentors
- Connect on Social Media
- Welcome to Reconnecting With Spirit
- Podcast
- Spoken Word Recordings by Richard
- Richard's YouTube Channel
- Reconnecting With Spirit Bookstore
- Shop
- My Recommended Reading, Listening, Watching.
- Self-Healing Tools & Techniques.
- Intuition & Divination Systems.
- My 365 Daily Inspiration.
- Intuitive Counselling Services
- Posts
- Pages
"I am practical and expect miracles, when I just take the first step forward every day."
-Richard Edward Ward