Five Principles for Navigating AI Development in 2025

The best thing I did on January 1st was stop trying to predict AI and instead, decide how I'd intentionally navigate it this year. 6 weeks in. Here's how my 5 guiding principles are holding up: ✅ Build to Learn - still the #1 thing that separates people who get AI from people who talk about AI. Every week I learn more from 30 minutes of building than hours of just reading. ✅ Agency > Intelligence - this has only gotten MORE true. The gap in understanding between the "I'm waiting for someone to figure this out" person and the "I'll figure it out" person is widening fast. ✅ Product Intuition - when anyone can build anything in an afternoon, knowing WHAT to build is the whole game. Taste is a new moat. ✅ Write to Think - my newsletter continues to be how I process what's happening. The act of writing forces clarity. ✅ Stay Curious - comfort is still a trap. The people thriving right now are the ones who are continuing to stay uncomfortable, because things are only picking up speed. Nothing to revise. If anything, these feel more urgent now than they did on January 1st.