Guides
Things Nick built on camera, written out
Each guide is a companion to one video: the short answer, the steps, the questions people ask, and the moments to jump to.
Is AI replacing writers? What actually happened, three years inIn 2023 the big consulting firms forecast that AI would come for writers first. Joe Lazer bet the other way and wrote the book. Three years later he points to job listings for storytellers more than doubling.
Is superintelligent AI inevitable, or can it still be stopped?No. Max Winga of Control AI argues superintelligence is a choice a few companies are making, and that governments have the leverage to stop it.
Will AI replace your doctor? What a medical futurist actually saysNo. Dr. Bertalan Meskó says AI is covering a global shortage of health workers, and it moves your doctor from gatekeeper to guide.
Why is my AI bill exploding, and which steps actually need a model? A 6-step testBreak your workflow into steps and mark which ones need judgment. In Nick's example, one of six did. Zapier modeled 24 workflows: 71% average savings.
Can a treaty actually stop the race to superintelligence?MIRI CEO Malo Bourgon says yes: a US and China led agreement capping training compute, monitoring AI chips, and buying time for alignment work.
Should an AI workflow use more than one model? How to stay model-agnostic with ZapierYes. Build the workflow so the model can be swapped, and keep your data, tools, approvals, and business rules outside any one AI company.
How do you get your business recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude?You get recommended by being cited: answer your customers' real questions in depth on your own site, then show up on YouTube, Reddit, and review sites.
Why does billing by the hour stop working, and what do you charge instead?Hourly billing prices you as a commodity. Alan Weiss prices the client's outcome instead: agree on objectives, metrics, and value before any number.
How do I build an AI board of advisors that tells me the truth about my work?Wire five AI advisor personas to your real transcripts and performance data, tell them to disagree with you, then ask the questions you avoid.
Will AI replace your job? What an AI risk researcher says is actually comingAI labs openly aim to automate all human labor, but Nate Soares argues the real danger isn't lost jobs, it's minds nobody knows how to control.
Can we keep control of AI? An Oxford neuroscientist answersProbably, but only if people keep the value calls: Christopher Summerfield says the real AI risk is a slow loss of control, not extinction.
How do I build an AI agent that does real work for me, without writing code?Nick built a working research agent in Zapier Copilot from one plain-English prompt: it finds five guests every Monday and drafts the outreach emails.
Is the 10,000 hour rule real, and what actually builds mastery?No. 10,000 hours was a number Malcolm Gladwell chose, not a finding. Dr. Alex Auerbach explains what actually separates good from great.
How ready are we for the next pandemic?Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm says we are not ready, and that the science is further along than the funding or the leadership.
Who owns the AI economy, and why does that decide who wins and loses?Economist Justin Wolfers says AI is an ownership problem: the same tool frees the worker who owns it and impoverishes the worker whose boss owns it.
What does college become in the age of AI, according to Howard Gardner?Gardner says campuses turn into lifelong learning centers: a small floor of reading, writing, math and coding, then coaching toward what you care about.
Does trauma define you? Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman on the victim mindsetKaufman says being victimized is real and separate from a victim mindset, and that you still get a say in what happens next.
How does FC Barcelona's La Masia academy actually develop players?La Masia develops players by making daily improvement the target, coaching decisions before skills, and letting young players struggle on purpose.
What are the modern etiquette rules that actually matter?Etiquette expert Myka Meier says modern etiquette is social and emotional intelligence: put people at ease, read the room, match the environment.
Does the brain create consciousness? Donald Hoffman says it doesn'tDonald Hoffman argues the brain doesn't create consciousness. He says consciousness is fundamental and the brain is just part of the interface.