How I Became The Professor Everyone Asks About AI Tools

The secret that separates AI experts from AI users in academia

About a year ago, I sat in yet another faculty meeting listening to colleagues either worship AI like it was going to solve world hunger or dismiss it like it was the academic apocalypse. Meanwhile, our department chair was asking if we should use part of our budget on some AI tool that—other than me — nobody had actually tested.

That’s when I realized something: We were all flying blind.

The AI-enthusiasts were using ChatGPT to write entire literature reviews (yikes), while the AI-avoiders were missing opportunities to improve their research workflows. And administrators? They were making expensive decisions based on marketing brochures rather than actual understanding. (This was one of the reasons, I started running online AI Masterclasses.)

At that point, I had already decided to become the person everyone could turn to for real, tested AI guidance. Twelve months later, I’m working on departmental AI literacy initiatives, consulting on AI policies, and colleagues regularly seek my advice on everything from research tools to classroom integration.

Here’s exactly how I did it — and how you can position yourself as the trusted AI expert on your…