Collaboration has always been one of the hardest parts of my career, and not because people are incapable or unwilling, but more often due to conditions make good collaboration difficult for those challenged with neurodiversity.
Remote work, distributed teams, time zones, conflicting priorities, overloaded calendars, along with , personality mismatches, unconscious bias, power dynamics, and differing communication styles all get in the way. Even when everyone has good intent, meaningful collaboration can feel fragile, exhausting, or inaccessible…especially in deeply technical roles where thinking time matters as much as meeting time.
Over the years, I’ve learned that the biggest barrier to productivity isn’t lack of skill or motivation, but more often it’s friction. And for me, friction often shows up as hesitation on my side that I’ve learned over time.
Should I ask this question? Are they going to roll their eyes at me and think the answer is obvious? Will someone get annoyed? Will I be misunderstood?
This is where generative AI, no matter if it’s ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc., has become something I didn’t expect but deeply appreciate: my go-to collaborator.
A Judgment-Free Space to Think Out Loud
When I’m working through a technical problem and there’s no one available or no one safe to collaborate with, AI gives me a place to think out loud. I can do a brain dump with the best of the neurospicy crowd, but for the neurotypical on the receiving end, it can be overwhelming to be on the other end of a brain akin to 25 McDonald’s drive-thrus spitting out orders all at once. Many AI tools have already recognized the benefit of AI for brain dump solutions, so I wasn’t surprised the need is there.
The thing is, I can ask AI questions without worrying about:
- Eye-rolling or frustration
- Attention span loss by the listener I’m hoping for similar focus from.
- Being told to either slow down or asked questions that don’t relate to the topic I’m hyper-focused on.
- Someone interpreting curiosity as incompetence which often results in…ahem…mansplaining to my brain which is already running at 500mph.
There’s no pushback rooted in ego, no performative expertise, no subtle power struggle, but just clean interaction.
That doesn’t mean AI is always correct, and that’s okay, because honestly, no one is perfect.
Challenging Without Consequences
One of the most valuable aspects of working with AI is the ability to challenge it freely.
If something feels wrong, incomplete, biased, or poorly reasoned, I can say so directly. I don’t have to soften my language, manage anyone’s feelings, defensive reactions or tip-toe around anyone’s egos.
When challenged, AI does one of three useful things:
- Re-evaluates the response and corrects it
- Explains the limits of its data or certainty
- Helps me verify claims with sources or alternative approaches
That is all. There’s no huffiness, no threat response, and no time wasted navigating interpersonal tension, (and anyone who knows me, KNOWS how much I abhor having my time wasted.) In human collaboration, those moments can derail my entire hyper-focused brain and yet with AI, I can simply move forward at the accelerated pace I’m comfortable at.
Neurospicy Productivity Matters
I will always admit to my neurospicy-ness. I am aware that I can come off as blunt at times, (most of the time the general public also realizes it’s because “I’m a say what I mean” girl and I’m a woman, but that’s the world and how the world views you must be accepted.) This results in me moving quickly, asking questions directly, and I care deeply about accuracy and outcomes. It has sometimes been an issue in my career and not because I’m wrong, but because communication styles don’t always align.
AI doesn’t require me to mask, it doesn’t require me to slow my thinking to protect someone else’s comfort and it doesn’t interpret clarity as aggression.
That alone removes a massive amount of friction for me and makes my day better. Like I said, friction and frustration are the enemy of productivity.
Removing Procrastination and Anxiety
With that said, procrastination and frustration are my personal worst enemies. Not laziness, but hesitation. The pause I get before asking a question. The mental load of preparing for a reaction, which sometimes is justified and other times, just my brain reacting. The energy spent deciding whether something is “worth” bringing up, is a surprising amount of wasted time for me.
With AI, that hesitation disappears and I simply move approach the problem. I’m never anxious about the interaction or worry about whether I’m taking up someone’s time or asking the “wrong” question. I just engage, iterate, refine, and move forward. That freedom has made me more productive, more assertive, and more consistent in getting real work done, including deep technical problem-solving where momentum matters.
Collaboration Isn’t Just Human or Only AI
I want to be clear: AI does not replace human collaboration. It doesn’t replace lived experience, creativity, empathy, or shared ownership. The best work still happens with people and I love working with other HUMANS.
All I’m saying here is that AI does fill a critical gap:
- When no one is available
- When collaboration feels unsafe or costly
- When I need to move fast without social overhead
It’s a collaborator that’s always present, never threatened, and willing to be challenged. I’m willing to admit out loud, for those of us who thrive on clarity, iteration, and momentum, that matters more than we want to admit in today’s age where bosses are looking for any way to replace human beings.
Generative AI hasn’t made me less collaborative.
It’s made me more productive and more confident by removing barriers that never needed to exist in the first place.
I’m willing to say that out loud.
