Noshing With Charles B. Kreitzberg – September 3, 2026
Author, AI Can Make You Smarter: Practical Skills. Sharper Thinking. Business Value.
Can AI Make You Smarter? Charles B. Kreitzberg Explores the Human Side of Artificial Intelligence
This week on “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Charles B. Kreitzberg, author of AI Can Make You Smarter: Practical Skills. Sharper Thinking. Business Value., talks about one of the most important questions of our time: How can we use artificial intelligence without allowing it to do our thinking for us?
Charlie discusses the importance of AI literacy, why we don’t want to lose our agency, and why AI should never be treated as an unquestioned source of truth. AI can make mistakes—and learning how to work with it effectively means learning how to talk with it, challenge it, ask it better questions, and even have it ask questions of us.
We explore just how enormous the AI revolution may be, why Charlie decided to write AI Can Make You Smarter: Practical Skills. Sharper Thinking. Business Value. and how an unexpected introduction to AI from his nephew helped inspire his journey.
Charlie explains why AI is not human, yet says it could potentially become “the best mentor we ever had.” But where is the balance? Can AI truly make us smarter—or are we in danger of outsourcing our brains?
We also talk about the importance of human connection, why “we need people—we’re social animals,” the dangers posed by bad actors, concerns about privacy, and why ordinary people—not just technology companies—need to be involved in the conversation about the future of AI.
Charlie also shares how he first became interested in computers after literally locking himself out of his room at Dartmouth, and offers practical advice on getting better results from AI. From his SLATE approach to prompting to the reminder that “vague prompts give you vague answers,” Charlie explains why the first answer AI gives you doesn’t have to be the last answer.
And perhaps most importantly, we discuss the illusion of understanding—and why thinking critically remains essential in an increasingly AI-powered world.
This isn’t about becoming a faster “prompt-jockey.” It’s about learning how to use tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot to strengthen the uniquely human skills that continue to matter most: clear thinking, better decision-making, stronger communication, creativity, and real collaboration.
Can artificial intelligence become one of our greatest tools without replacing the thinking that makes us human?
ABOUT CHARLIE:
Charles B. Kreitzberg is a cognitive psychologist, technologist, author, musician, and user experience designer. He has worked with computers since the 1960s and has spent his career helping people understand and use complex technology. In 1982, he founded Cognetics Corporation, an award-winning user experience design and consulting firm. He later served as Senior UX Advisor at Princeton University. His new book, AI Can Make You Smarter: Practical Skills. Sharper Thinking. Business Value., shows professionals how to use AI to strengthen thinking, learning, communication, judgment, and performance.
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