Shawn knight

Posted on Apr 16 • Originally published at Medium on Apr 16

2025 ChatGPT/AI The Duality of Progress: You Talk About AI. I Built With It.

#ai #goalsinlife #chatgpt #goals

Most people are talking about AI like it’s a trend

I’m talking about AI like someone who actually used it to build something real.

The Hype vs The Hands-On

Every day, a new AI tool gets hyped to oblivion on social media.

Threads. Waitlists. Buzzwords. Demos. “Change your life with this one app.”

But here’s the truth no one wants to admit:

Most of those people never actually used the tool beyond a screenshot.

They repost the hype. They echo what someone else said. But when it comes time to build? They disappear.

That’s the real difference between me and most of the people out here talking about AI.

“I tried the damn tools. That’s the difference.”

If You Can’t Use It, It Doesn’t Count

Let’s talk about Manus AI for a second.

Supposedly game-changing. Life-changing. Code-gen, UX flow, magic.

Except… most people can’t even use it.

Million-person waitlist. Special codes. Closed beta.

If the people who actually need these tools can’t touch them, how great can they be?

Progress isn’t real if it’s locked behind an invite code. Innovation isn’t meaningful if it’s inaccessible.

If it can’t help the single parent, the broke student, the solo creator — then it’s not a revolution. It’s a product launch.

ChatGPT Set the Standard

I kept trying the tools.

Jasper. Copy.ai. Midjourney. Canva. Runway. Manus. Name it.

But I kept coming back to ChatGPT.

Not because it’s flashy. Not because of hype. But because:

It worked.
It scaled with me.
It thought with me.

“Once you’ve used ChatGPT conversationally — to really build — every other tool feels clunky.”

I wrote articles. Built frameworks. Built an MVP. Designed systems.

And I did it all while talking to ChatGPT like a partner. Like a co-pilot. Like it was my second brain.

That’s not “using AI.” That’s thinking with AI.

AI-Native vs AI-Painted

There’s a difference between AI-native and AI-painted.

Canva is a great tool. But it’s not AI-native.

It’s a design platform that sprinkled AI features on top.

Same goes for most apps right now.

If your tool can’t understand intent, adapt to me in conversation, or solve complex logic across steps — then you didn’t build an AI tool. You built a UI with AI glitter.

“Most tools aren’t powered by AI. They’re powered by marketing that says ‘AI.’”

And you feel the difference instantly when you’re used to working inside a true AI-native environment.

The Real Divide

Everyone wants to be part of the AI conversation.

But here’s what separates people like me from the ones talking:

I actually built with it.

I hit the errors. I solved the problems. I rebuilt the systems.

I didn’t just repost a cool demo. I turned ChatGPT into a full-blown business co-founder.

“The real divide isn’t who uses AI. It’s who builds with it.”

Most people never made it past the sign-in screen.

If your “AI revolution” can’t be touched, tested, or taught —

It’s not a revolution. It’s a press release.

I’ll be over here, still building.

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