AI MythBusters
AI MythBusters
A Practical Guide to AI Reality vs. Hype
About the Book
AI MythBusters cuts through the hype to reveal what AI actually is, what it can realistically do today, and how to use it effectively. Through real-world case studies, including a cautionary legal tale, and practical frameworks like the Augmentation Model and Chocolate Fudge Prompt Structure, this book equips readers with the knowledge to harness AI's genuine capabilities while avoiding its pitfalls. Whether you're a professional seeking to integrate AI into your work or simply curious about the technology reshaping our world, this guide provides the clear-eyed perspective you need.
About the Author
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Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter 1: Introduction - Why Everyone’s Confused About AI
- You’re Not Alone
- The Hype Cycle Has Outpaced Reality
- Who I Am (And Why I Wrote This)
- What This Book Will (and Won’t) Do
- Who This Book Is For
- How This Book Is Structured
- What You’ll Get From This Book
- A Note on Tone
- How to Read This Book
- One Last Thing Before We Begin
- Chapter 2: Myth - “AI Can Think” / Reality - “AI Completes Patterns”
- The Intelligence Illusion
- What Is AI, Really?
- The Autocomplete Mental Model
- The Critical Difference: Prediction vs. Reasoning
- Why “AI Can Think” Is a Dangerous Myth
- So What Can AI Actually Do?
- The Mental Model That Works
- Why This Matters for Productivity
- The Turing Test Trap
- Monday Morning Action Plan
- The Bottom Line
- Chapter 3: Myth - “AI Will Replace You” / Reality - “AI Augments Your Work”
- The Question Everyone’s Asking
- The Short Answer
- What History Actually Tells Us
- Why AI Follows the Same Pattern
- The Copilot Model (Not Autopilot)
- What AI Is Actually Good At
- What Still Requires You
- The Real Productivity Numbers
- The Uncomfortable Truth
- The Hybrid Advantage
- Monday Morning Action Plan
- The Bottom Line
- Chapter 4: Myth - “AI Agents Are Autonomous” / Reality - “They’re Scripted Workflows with LLM Calls”
- The AGI Illusion
- What People Think AI Agents Are
- What AI Agents Actually Are
- The Real Use Cases (Where Agents Actually Work)
- What Doesn’t Work (Yet)
- The Economics Don’t Add Up (Usually)
- The Vendor Sleight of Hand
- Monday Morning Action Plan
- The Bottom Line
- Chapter 5: Myth - “AI Is Always Right” / Reality - “Hallucinations and Limitations”
- The Alice Test
- Why Confidence Doesn’t Equal Correctness
- Hallucinations: When AI Invents Reality
- The Skeleton Principle (Revisited)
- When AI Gets It Wrong: Pattern Recognition
- Practical Mitigation Strategies
- The Hidden Cost of Hallucinations
- When to Trust AI, When to Verify Harder
- The Mindset Shift
- Monday Morning Action Plan
- The Bottom Line
- Chapter 6: Myth - “Legal AI Is Ready for Practice” / Reality - “Hallucinations Get Lawyers Sanctioned”
- Why This Chapter Matters (Even If You’re Not a Lawyer)
- The Hallucination Crisis in Legal Practice
- Zero-Tolerance Professions: Legal and Medical AI
- The Four Critical Challenges Beyond Hallucinations
- Understanding the Legal AI Vendor Landscape
- Vendor Selection Framework: The Questions You Must Ask
- The Implementation Roadmap: From Decision to Deployment
- What Actually Works in Legal AI (And What Doesn’t)
- Monday Morning Action Plan
- The Bottom Line
- Chapter 7: Myth - “Just Prompt and Go” / Reality - “Engineering Good Results”
- The Magical Thinking Problem
- The Skeleton Principle (Redux)
- Garbage In, Garbage Out
- The Five Elements of Strong Prompts
- Common Prompt Failures (and Fixes)
- Overcoming AI Limitations Through Structure
- The Right Tool for the Job
- The Human-in-the-Loop Mandate
- Building Your Prompt Library
- Monday Morning Action Plan
- The Bottom Line
- Chapter 8: Myth - “Demos Equal Production Ready” / Reality - “The Vibe Coding Gap”
- The Two-Hour Miracle
- What Is Vibe Coding?
- Context Engineering: The Alternative Approach
- The Iceberg Problem
- Why Vibe-Coded Demos Are Deceptively Fast
- The 80% You Can’t See (Yet)
- The Technical Debt Time Bomb
- The Four Failure Modes Executives Must Recognize
- Choosing the Right Approach
- The Production Readiness Checklist
- Real-World Time Estimates
- How to Use AI Development Effectively
- Monday Morning Action Plan
- The Bottom Line
- Epilogue: Writing This Book with AI
- The Irony Isn’t Lost on Me
- This Book Has an Expiration Date
- What I Hope You Do Next
- A Final Note on Hype
- The Real Opportunity
- Glossary of Key Terms
- Appendix: Case Study Index
- Legal and Professional Services
- Technology and Product Development
- AI Washing and Fraud
- About the Author
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