AI, like any technology, is neutral by nature. It is designed to achieve a task, but at its core, how we go about achieving it—our excitement, fear, happiness, or curiosity—reflects the subjective human experience.
This internal representation holds power we are often unaware of, as it shapes our actions: from choosing which AI tool to use, to deciding what we use it for, and even down to the words we use to communicate with it. This is how we project our internal experience outwards.
With AI, however, projection takes on a unique form.
A good place to start is with the understanding of what projection is.
What does Projection means?
Projection is the silent bridge between our inner world and the one we see outside. It’s the way we take our thoughts, feelings, and experiences—often without realising it—and paint them onto the canvas of reality.
It’s not reality itself; it’s our interpretation of it and how we make sense of the world around us. It’s how we give it meaning. Our ideas, beliefs, and values translate what we experience—from people, circumstances, and situations.
Projection comes in many forms: past memories, education, societal norms, and more. Combined, these elements form the filter through which we see reality.
Projection is neither good nor bad—it simply is. It’s the mechanism that reveals how deeply connected we are to what we perceive. In every reaction, judgment, or assumption, there’s a whisper of ourselves.
To see projection for what it is means recognising that much of what we experience begins within us. Reality, then, becomes a mirror—and projection, the image we place upon it. It’s a subjective experience, and it begins with you.
AI is a New Kind of Projection Experience
Why is AI unique? Because AI is not just something we project onto; we also feed back into it. This creates a new, two-way projection experience.
AI requires reasoning, stories just like humans do to translate reality, narratives, and engagement within its designed role. We call this reasoning data.
We feed AI information that is already filtered through our projections , our beliefs, interpretations, and ideas—and AI makes it its own. This is what we call personalisation.
Here’s the twist: we continue to interact with AI through our projections—what we believe it to be and what we believe it can do. This shows up in things like:
- Our AI tool selection
- The goals we set for it
- How we use it
- And, ultimately, the words we use to instruct it—what we call prompting.
AI holds our projections about the reality it assists us with, makes those projections its own, and reflects them back to us when we use it.
Funny, isn’t it? For the first time, we aren’t projecting onto other people, who hold their own internal narratives.
Instead, we’re projecting onto technology—a tool that, in some ways, becomes us while still being shaped by what we think about it.
Interesting times.
Why Is This Important?
You cannot fight this. Projection does not skip any of us. This is simply how we, as humans, operate. It’s how we make sense of the world around us.
It’s not good or bad—it simply is.
If we want to change how we use AI—to get better results or overcome challenges—data might be the first place we look. But now, we can also recognise that we need to examine our beliefs, perspectives, and understanding of AI. Not only the projections reflected in the data, but also the ones shaped by our understanding of what AI is.
In many ways, our thoughts will either propel us forward or hold us back.
Thought is where we should look for failures that can be adjusted and successes that can be accelerated to take us to new heights.
My Thoughts
When it comes to AI, in many ways, it’s like we’re playing mind games with ourselves.
We’re working in a feedback loop of thoughts—feeding AI through what we call training and data, while infusing it with projections of our own beliefs and assumptions through the way we use it. This is a new challenge in human evolution. We’ve moved from creating through actions, which made us very task-oriented, into an era where simply thinking about something—and changing those thoughts—could become the most impactful task you do to achieve success.
I bet you didn’t see that one coming 🙂
I know we’re not all quite there yet, but as AI—and eventually AGI—become more present, there will be no escape. We’ll have to adapt. So, let’s take baby steps. In this moment, understanding the impact of projection—both in the data used to train AI and in the actions infused with it—is something we should all think about.
Take a moment to review your thoughts. Ask yourself: Can I spot anything that is preventing me from achieving my AI dreams?
If you wish to make this conversation super specific to your experience, book some time to talk
