Artificial intelligence is definitely becoming part of our assistive technology toolkit, and I find that genuinely fascinating. As someone who has used assistive technology for many years, I have watched technology change the way we read, write, communicate, organise ourselves and access information. AI now feels like another stage in that development.

I massively use AI to correct and improve the content I create. It speeds up the process and allows me to create and share content much more quickly. The thoughts and ideas are still mine, but AI helps me get those thoughts out of my head and into a format that other people can read and understand. For someone with severe dyslexia, that is incredibly powerful.

I’ve been using ChatGPT for nearly three years now, and every time I use it, it seems to get better and better. From improving written content to AI generated images, customisation and the overall growth of what it has become, it has developed into a tool that I use every day.

For those of us who use AI regularly, it is becoming embedded into our everyday workflow. But I think there is an important conversation that needs to sit alongside that growth. We need to use it ethically and responsibly. For me, AI shouldn’t replace my thinking. It should support it. If I dictate an article into AI and ask it to improve the grammar and readability, the ideas, experiences and opinions still need to be mine. That distinction is important.

I don’t use one AI platform for everything. I also use Microsoft Copilot for some of my work because of its integration with Microsoft 365, tenant security and the ability to work with organisational information. I’m also extremely interested in Microsoft’s continuing journey with AI and what the next generation of AI agents could mean for everyday work. The potential for these tools to become increasingly integrated, accessible and useful is something I will be watching closely.

Over the past six months, I have also been using Claude. I tend to use it more for coding and developmental work rather than my everyday tasks. Recently, I’ve been developing a new coaching framework around neurodiversity, and I’ve been naturally speaking to Claude using dictation as part of that development process.

Something interesting happened during one of those conversations. I had already questioned some of the terminology I was using because something about it didn’t quite feel right. Claude picked up on the terminology too. It didn’t give me the answer or suddenly tell me what I should do. Instead, it offered another opinion and challenged my thinking.

That was useful. Listening back, reflecting on the conversation and considering another perspective helped me develop my own thinking further. I think this is an area where AI can become particularly powerful. AI doesn’t always have to give us an answer. Sometimes it can help us ask a better question.

For entrepreneurs, managers and executives, that creates an interesting opportunity. You can test an idea, explore different viewpoints, question an assumption and get feedback before taking something into the marketplace or an important meeting. It becomes somewhere to think.

We are now moving beyond simply typing a question into an AI tool and receiving an answer. Prompting, looping, AI agents and automation are becoming increasingly important parts of how we interact with artificial intelligence. That fascinates me because it changes the conversation from simply asking, “What can AI tell me?” to “How can AI support the way I work?”

For neurodiverse individuals, I think that question becomes even more interesting. Could AI support planning, help us organise thoughts, reduce some of the barriers around written communication or allow us to explore an idea without the pressure of immediately having the answer? Could it become part of someone’s individual toolkit alongside more traditional assistive technologies? For me, it already has.

I don’t think AI replaces traditional assistive technology, and I don’t think every AI tool will work for every neurodiverse person. But I do think the definition of an assistive technology toolkit is expanding. AI is increasingly sitting alongside dictation, text to speech, productivity tools, accessibility features and the other technologies many of us already use.

The important part is understanding why we are using it. Use AI to support your thinking, not automatically replace it. Use it to remove barriers, explore ideas, challenge your thinking and help communicate something that is already in your head. Most importantly, use it ethically, responsibly and with an understanding of where the human needs to remain in the process.

Artificial intelligence will continue to develop. The really fascinating part for me is seeing how we develop alongside it and how we choose to make it part of the way we live and work.

I’d love to know how AI is becoming part of your everyday workflow, particularly if you are using it as part of your own assistive technology toolkit.

Stay connected and follow my thoughts on AI, technology and neurodiversity at ArranSmith.co.uk.