--- title: Super Simple Way to Understand Artificial Intelligence description: "When someone talks about AI, there are just two questions to ask: whose data and whose math?" image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/data%20plus%20math.jpg --- [Skip to main content](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/super-simple-way-to-understand-artificial-intelligence#maincontent) [ «  View All Posts ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog) # Super Simple Way to Understand Artificial Intelligence May 3rd, 2023 1 min read By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) ![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/data%20plus%20math.jpg?width=450&height=302&name=data%20plus%20math.jpg) Some people throw their hands in the air and say they don’t understand artificial intelligence. Others think they understand AI, but really don’t. Here’s the down and dirty way to think about any AI application: it’s just data plus math. For example, with [ChatGPT](https://openai.com/product/gpt-4) as most people use it today, you’re using public internet data plus math from OpenAI. Data plus math. I was [talking about this idea ](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/katebradley_ai-spoileralert-activity-7056755266553360384-Rj3v)with my awesome friend Kate Bradley Chernis, the CEO of [Lately.ai](https://www.lately.ai). I love that Lately.ai takes my data and uses Lately.ai math to create short form content like tweets from my long form content like this article. My data plus Kate’s math. How cool is that? When someone talks about AI, there are just two questions to ask: whose data and whose math. While public internet data is getting most of the AI buzz, the real gold is applying math to your own data. I’m doing this myself in many ways. For example, I created a private AI app with all 19 years of my blog posts plus six of my books with a ChatGPT interface. I can instantly find what I’ve written in the past and use it to create something new. Cool. I’m also playing around with my data in the HubSpot CRM. Take a look HubSpot co-founder and CTO Dharmesh’s video demo of [ChatSpot](https://chatspot.ai) for how this works. It’s a new world! Are you in it? Disclosures: I am an advisor to both HubSpot and Lately. Image: Initial design via Shutterstock AI image generator [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/413105/4ea36e3d-7d0e-437c-925f-1187f1e5f598.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/413105/4ea36e3d-7d0e-437c-925f-1187f1e5f598) [ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire. Connect: [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com) Topics: [ Marketing ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/marketing) [ Artificial Intelligence ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/artificial-intelligence) Don't forget to share this post: ## Related Articles [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Fanocracy%202e.jpg?width=1500&height=841&name=Fanocracy%202e.jpg) ### New 2nd Edition of Fanocracy Publishes Today: Your Human Connection in a Polarized, Noisy World July 14th, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/new-2nd-edition-of-fanocracy-publishes-today-your-human-connection-in-a-polarized-noisy-world) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/bunnies%20and%20bees.jpg?width=1500&height=823&name=bunnies%20and%20bees.jpg) ### Bunnies and Bees June 22nd, 2026|1 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/bunnies-and-bees) 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