From Automation to Augmentation: Designing AI Coaches That Amplify Expertise

Generative AI excels at producing answers, but producing one-off answers isn’t the same thing as developing durable capability. Recent research from Anthropic suggests that heavy reliance on generative systems can improve short-term performance while weakening long-term skill formation. That realization isn’t new. Douglas Engelbart argued that computers should augment human intellect, not displace it. J. C. R. Licklider imagined a partnership in reasoning, not a delegation of thought.

In this talk, Mike Amundsen explores a practical alternative. By separating work into distinct cognitive phases, expanding possibilities, structuring and interrogating ideas, and executing deliberately, we can design interactive AI experiences that strengthen human reasoning instead of bypassing it. AI coaches are one concrete implementation of this approach. Join Mike for an introduction to the skill formation challenge, examine a better pattern for working with AI, and get a live demo of an AI coach in action.