Curious about AI? Start small and build your skills, experts say

Keely Goodall

Keely Goodall

15 October 2025 | 10:40

'Universities must encourage students to use AI, and to do so ethically,' says Kobus Olivier, the head of the Information Technology Department at Boston City Campus.

Curious about AI? Start small and build your skills, experts say

Artificial Intelligence AI, Image: Pexels

With numerous AI tools on the market, it can be difficult to know which is the right one for your desired purpose.

For beginners, the choices can be overwhelming, and they may not get the most out of what is available to them as a result.

"It is normal to feel a bit lost; there are so many of them," says Olivier.

To get started with AI, Olivier recommends picking one tool and sticking with it for a while so you can get familiar with all that it offers.

He says ChatGPT is great for beginners, as you can speak to it like a person, and it can do so much.

While some feel that AI harms your critical thinking abilities, he argues that it can improve your insights if you use it to supplement and add on to your work.

"It is like talking to a very intelligent person who perhaps does not know everything," he explains.

He also argued that educational institutions must encourage students to use AI and teach them to use it ethically.

To listen to Olivier in conversation with Clement Manyathela on 702, use the audio player below:

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