27 A partner and a critic
Ruchira Parchur, Postgraduate Student, Leadership, United Kingdom
I used GenAI as my intellectual partner across multiple academic contexts. Beyond traditional research and summarisation, I used GenAI to challenge my assumptions and explore counterarguments. In green and amber assignments, I used GenAI to map the intellectual landscape of unfamiliar topics and identify key scholars and debates that I might have missed. Then I employed GenAI as a “devil’s advocate” to test my arguments, deliberately seeking holes in my reasoning. Leveraging to identify unexpected connections between seemingly disparate sources, often led to breakthrough insights that elevated my work beyond traditional analysis. Most innovatively, I created “knowledge sandboxes” where I’d feed GenAI conflicting academic perspectives, and ask it to synthesise novel frameworks, which I’d then critically evaluate and adapt. Instead of passively consuming information, I actively collaborated with GenAI to create my assignments. GenAI wasn’t just a tool; it acted as both a partner and a critic in the process. Due to this, my work offered fresh insights that took me by surprise. This experience really showed me how GenAI can boost my creativity instead of taking it away.
I employed GenAI as a “devil’s advocate” to test my arguments, deliberately seeking holes in my reasoning
GenAI not only saved time, but it also expanded my cognitive capacity & learning velocity as a senior professional juggling multiple responsibilities in life. The transformation went beyond efficiency to effectiveness, creating what I call ‘amplified learning’. The deepest impact was GenAI’s ability to serve as my “coach”. While managing senior-level responsibilities, I couldn’t afford to lose momentum between study sessions. GenAI became my everyday learning companion, maintaining context across fragmented study periods, instantly rebuilding complex mental models, and connecting newly learned information to previously learned concepts. It also democratized expertise by allowing me to engage with advanced concepts that normally requires years of academic study. Instead of spending weeks mastering prerequisites, I immediately used cutting-edge ideas while GenAI provided just-in-time scaffolding for knowledge gaps. Perhaps most valuably, GenAI improved my error-identifying process. Often mistakes went unnoticed until assessments. With GenAI, I asked it for real-time feedback by turning it into my skills coach. The result? I didn’t just complete my modules alongside a demanding profession, I exceeded my own expectations, engaging with material at depths I previously thought impossible given my time constraints. GenAI leveraged my potential to learn deeply, more quickly, and more meaningfully than ever before.
Because AI can make mistakes just like me, I kept challenging its results to give me unbiased opinion
I treat GenAI as my learning assistant and skills coach. Rather than simply asking for explanations, I create dynamic learning environments where GenAI adjusts its teaching style to match my learning maturity. For example, in a finance module, I asked GenAI to present ratio analysis as a 5-year-old in a detective story, where each financial metric became a clue revealing a company’s health. I then escalated its complexity, asking AI to role-play as different stakeholders (investors, creditors, managers) to understand how the same data tells different stories to different audiences in an unbiased way. In the process, I also learnt prompt engineering. My breakthrough came when I had to read 400-500 page annual reports and provide my analysis. Because AI can make mistakes just like me, I kept challenging its results to give me unbiased opinions. This helped me learn and be more self-aware of the tools I engage with. I don’t use just one tool but a wide range of tools to test its thinking and factual information. I created personalised case studies using GenAI, turning theoretical concepts into realistic scenarios that match my career interests. This process helped me practice applied thinking in a safe environment, where I could learn from failures without facing costly mistakes.
