Language is leverage

Everyone knows that ChatGPT communicates in natural language.

That’s why we can ask just about anything in plain English and get an answer back.

But here’s something I’ve learned recently: using language effectively is just as important when asking an AI to do other tasks—like writing code or generating video—as it is when asking it to write a well-crafted paragraph.

“Vibe coding” is taking the web by storm. It’s exciting to tell an AI to “make me a to-do app” and watch it generate working code. But using AI to speak code is only half the battle.

The other half is knowing enough about coding to speak its language—well enough to guide your pair programmer into building exactly what you want.

You can’t do that successfully without knowing the basics—what the code’s doing, what the AI is building, and how to tweak or debug it when things go horribly wrong.

Language is leverage. Whether you’re writing a blog, talking to a group, or prompting an AI, your ability to express ideas clearly shapes the outcome.

The better you are with words, the more precisely you can think, build, and influence—whether your audience is human or machine.