I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Learn how to recognize and use AI productively while maintaining your own identity and not losing what it means to be human in author J.D. Macpherson’s “Human Again: In the A.I. Age.”

The Synopsis

Are you using AI or is AI using you?

In a world where algorithms shape thought and automation floods the creative field, Human Again is a field-tested playbook for staying awake, original, and alive in the age of machines. Part reflection, part practical guide, it invites readers to explore identity and inspiration in real time, learning to think with AI rather than be replaced by it.

Blending cultural insight, personal experience, and practical tools, Macpherson explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity, work, and identity, and how to harness it without losing yourself.

You will learn how to:

• Ask sharper questions that create leverage, not noise
• Build a High Signal Question Engine to think deeper and faster
• Use the Socratic method and mindfulness to train deeper thinking
• Recognize the “qualia,” the unspeakable textures of human experience, that no algorithm can touch
• Protect your authenticity, taste, and voice while others sound the same
• Learn how to compound clarity and creativity

Whether you are a professional, a creator, or simply curious about what is next, Human Again shows how to use AI better than anyone around you while keeping what no algorithm can replicate: your judgment, conscience, and imagination.

Because finding identity and inspiration in the AI age begins with remembering what it means to be human.

The Review

This book was so insightful and engaging right from the start. One of the most difficult debates in recent years has been the use of A.I. and both the good and bad it does for humanity. While extremes paint AI as the future SKYNET promised in the hit film franchise The Terminator, the negatives being focused on right now is AI replacing jobs and humans altogether in professional spaces. Yet the author refocuses that conversation, exploring the need to work in tandum with AI as not just a tool, but a partner to unlock one’s own potential and success in work. 

The thing that resonated with me in this book was the clear and conversational tone of the author’s writing style and the techniques the author displayed in working with AI. The techniques included INK, or Insight, Not Knowledge, which utilizes AI to provide more depth to the answers being provided instead of just quick solutions, and the Socratic method, which asks AI to look for hidden meaning or point out mistakes that may have been overlooked, and these are just two examples of the insights the author provides. 

The Verdict

Thoughtful, engaging, and memorable, author J.D. Macpherson’s “Human Again: In the AI Age” is a must-read nonfiction narrative that readers can get invested in. AI is not going away, and for this reader, I’ve always believed it was not the AI that we would fear, but like all technology, the humans who abuse it. Learning to work with AI and use it not to replace us but work in concert with it, and explaining how no matter what AI is able to create, it takes humanity to give it actual meaning, making humanity’s role in AI use truly valuable. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

J.D. Macpherson is an author and journalist who works in the messy middle—turning complex ideas into stories people actually want to read. Relentless, jargon-allergic, and unmistakably human, she cuts through hype with a reporter’s instinct. A Canadian with a background in theatre and philosophy, Macpherson loves people-watching and finding beauty in unexpected places—and has an especially soft spot for chicken katsu.