Episode
How I AI: The prompting mistake almost everyone makes
- Podcast
- How I Work
- Published
- Aug 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 711
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://omny.fm/shows/how-i-work/slop-fixing-2026-08-final
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Summary
How much of your week goes into fixing what AI just handed you? Not writing from scratch, just cleaning up, correcting, and nudging a draft that looked fine for about ten seconds before you actually needed it to work. That endless back and forth has a name. We call it slop fixing, and there is research suggesting it is quietly eating close to a full day of our working week. In this How I AI episode, Neo and I get into why this happens and the two very different ways of working with AI that decide whether it does. You will hear the difference between gunslinging and architecting, what a proper brief actually sounds like, and how to have a conversation with AI before you ask it to build anything. By the end, you will be getting version one at 90 percent instead of 20. What you'll learn: What actually separates AI slop from work that lands The difference between gunslinging and architecting with AI What a proper brief for AI actually sounds like How to have a real conversation with AI before asking it to build anything Why version one can land at 90 percent instead of 20 Practical AI tools for productivity and focus Real-world AI workflows used by high performers How to use AI at work without burning out Smart shortcuts for managing time and mental load Connect with Neo Aplin on LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/neoaplin/ ) and via inventium.ai ( https://inventium.ai ), where he leads Inventium's AI training and upskilling work with organisations and teams. How I AI is a special series within How I Work where Neo and I explore how high performers are using AI at work to boost productivity, make better de…