I'm Storyteller, Not a Coder - But I built AI Tools Anyway

Reenactment of author's coding acumen

It was going to be the coolest video game ever produced. There were heroes and dragons and magic. It was going to be challenging yet fun to play. But me as the creator, I was going to know all of the secrets and strategies. So I would be the true hero-god of the game – skirting all danger and struggle and emerging triumphantly.

So I finished typing my game summary on the computer. And to this day I still remember the last line I entered: “Okay now run the program.”

I was 7 years old. The computer was an IBM PC. The program was BASIC. TVs were square and Ronald Regan was president. Spoiler: The world’s greatest video game was not in fact created that day. 

I did, though, learn BASIC and coded some programs later in my childhood. Later when I was in college, I had a summer job working at a graphic design firm. I assisted the computer administrator in keeping everything running. It was there I learned Unix, and actually, was the hero once in saving a major client’s project (small pat on back).

And that was the extent of my coding and computing days – sure, I learned some Java and Python like many people in the 2000s but only as a dabbler, a Spanglish speaker.

And then  AI emerged.

Now, this isn’t one of those blogs elucidating on how AI changed my work life. Nor about how it is the future and the panacea to all of our work difficulties. Because AI isn’t that. Yes, there is overblown hype. And yes, there is a bubble being created.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be a useful tool. Here are just some of the standalone programs I’ve used AI to help code, that have greatly helped me with my workflow:

• Reddit scraper to search for underreported communities to improve clients’ marketing opportunities and messaging.

• Database that regularly updates with contacts, endowments and missions using publicly available information.

• Editing tool that helps search for relevant popular songs for specific video project topics, moods and tempo.

One of several AI "agents" created to make my life easier y hace muy felices a mis clientes.

Embrace the failure – There are still some serious limitations on what AI can accomplish. Remember AI is only as good as the data that it is using. Sometimes it is going down the incorrect avenue to begin with. You will need to course correct it. You will have to be skeptical. And you sometimes have to “kill your darlings.” Know when to walk away and start anew.

Refine, reiterate, retry – You aren’t going to get the perfect tool on the first prompt. Nor the second. Probably not even the 10th. Just because it works once doesn't mean it'll work every time. I have a few programs still in this category. They work…

So I will make time for myself in the future to further refine them. 

It’s not you, it’s me – Am I asking the right questions? How can I rephrase the specificity I’m requiring? Am I looking at this holistically and how this will fit into and improve my workflow? I have a few concepts that still need to be refined, and some that it is unknown to me if they would actually work how I would want them to.

There are free tools out there

Orange Labs is a supportive AI community that has been a great resource.

Use them. It feels like we are still at the rollout period of AI. There are a number of free lessons and tools out there. The industry is still trying to get buy-in, so they try to entice new users with the freebies. Take advantage of it. Get more comfortable with what AI can do. 

You also can do a lot with the free levels of generative AI out there. I won’t point you one way or another, but personally I have a paid Claude and Claude Code account that I have been happy with the results. It doesn’t mean I won’t switch in the future.

Maven’s free webinars, Google AI Essentials and Anthropic’s free Claude tutorials are low barrier to entry. I also love what Orange Labs is offering – a non-threatening community to be curious in and bounce some ideas and what works for you-isms off of.

And just start playing. Create things. Break things. Question things. If the creator of “the coolest video game” can make some useful AI agents, I fully believe you have the facility to do the same.