Speaking
Jay Dixit: AI Keynotes & Workshops
OpenAI Alum, Yale Writing Instructor, Founder of Socratic AI
Jay Dixit is an award-winning writer, writing professor, and former Head of Community for Writers at OpenAI. In that role, he guided writers, educators, and students on how to use AI as a sounding board and thinking partner, not a shortcut to generate prose. The Socratic approach to AI helped inform ChatGPT’s Study Mode, and he has taught this method at Harvard, Columbia, and Wharton, as well as SXSW EDU and PopTech.
Today, Jay runs Socratic AI, delivering keynote talks and AI training workshops on the Socratic approach to AI: using AI to support, inspire, and elicit human creativity — without ever outsourcing the writing, the ideas, or the thinking to the machine. In his keynotes and workshops, people learn to use AI to surface their own best ideas, express themselves with greater clarity and precision, and elevate the work only humans can do.
Most people use AI to do the work for them.
Jay teaches people how to use AI not as a shortcut to generate prose, but as a Socratic thinking partner to help them aim higher, think better, and deliver higher-quality work.
Formats
Keynote (45-60 minutes)
A reframing talk that presents AI as a thinking partner rather than a content generator. Perfect for conferences, company events, and faculty summits.
Interactive keynote (60-75 minutes)
The keynote plus live demos, audience exercises, and Q&A — so people don’t just feel inspired; they practice the framework in the room.
Workshop (90 minutes)
Hands-on training covering practical prompting strategies, the Socratic approach to AI, and ethical use guidelines.
Half-day workshop (3 hours)
A deeper, team-wide session where we practice the Socratic AI workflow on real work: clearer strategy docs, stronger proposals, tighter narratives, better presentations — using AI for feedback and thinking support, not auto-generated prose. I teach your team how to use AI to surface their best ideas, clarify their reasoning, and strengthen their drafts — so they ship higher-quality work without outsourcing the thinking.
What people walk away with
- • A powerful mindset shift from “AI is coming for my job” to “AI makes me so much better at my job”
- • Practical techniques and prompts they can use immediately to elevate the quality of their work
- • A clearer understanding of the difference between lazy prompting and using AI as a Socratic thinking partner
- • Concrete ways to use AI to surface their own best ideas, strengthen arguments, and improve work through iterative feedback
- • A better path to engagement and adoption for teams that are excited, skeptical, or somewhere in between
Watch a short talk (PopTech)
If you want a quick overview of the approach, here’s a short talk on the core idea: AI as a sounding board and thinking partner, not a shortcut to generate prose — a way to help people aim higher, think better, and elevate the work only humans can do.
Prefer a hands-on version? That’s what the workshops are for.
Signature programs
The Socratic AI Mindset: From AI Resistance to Engagement and Adoption
Organizations are investing heavily in AI. But employees are skeptical and feel threatened, worrying about being replaced, or rightly concerned that overrelying on AI will lead to lower-quality work. As a result, they resist adopting AI tools. This keynote introduces the Socratic AI mindset: a different way of thinking about AI that flips resistance into engagement by using AI as a Socratic thinking partner to help people aim higher, think better, and elevate the quality of their work.
AI as a Socratic Thinking Partner: How to Use AI to Aim Higher, Think Better, and Do Your Best Work
Organizations are spending millions on AI tools. But most employees are barely scratching the surface of what’s possible because they’re using AI to reduce effort for the same or worse results. Through live demonstrations, Jay shows the difference between lazy prompting and getting AI to ask the kind of meaningful, insight-inducing questions that help people surface their own best ideas, express themselves with greater clarity and precision, and improve their work through iterative feedback.
Storytelling for Leaders: How to Turn Any Message Into a Story That Captivates Attention, Stirs Emotion, and Moves People to Action
Most stories fail for one reason: they’re boring. And the problem isn’t delivery. Speakers present information without first giving the listener any reason to care or keep listening. Jay’s GHOST™ Method leverages the psychology of attention, using suspense to activate curiosity so listeners can’t turn away. The method works for keynotes, presentations, investor pitches, board briefings, and internal communications.
Custom Session for Your Audience
Tell me your audience, context, and goals, and I’ll design a session around that. Sessions can be tailored for companies, universities, conferences, and creative organizations, and can combine keynote framing, live demos, hands-on exercises, and implementation guidance.
Selected audiences, institutions, and clients
Corporate clients
Universities
What people say
“By far the best presentation I’ve seen on how to actually use this stuff.”
— Nick Gillespie, Editor, Reason Magazine
“When I see the way Jay uses ChatGPT, I realize I’m using it at a caveman level.”
— Sherry Jeng, Human Rights Foundation
Frequently asked questions
How do I book Jay for a keynote or workshop?
Email [email protected] with your audience, context, and goals. Jay responds within 24 hours and will recommend the right format and tailor it to your needs. For conferences and faculty summits, the earlier you reach out, the better.
What talk and workshop formats are available?
There are four formats: a keynote (45–60 minutes), an interactive keynote with live demos and audience exercises (60–75 minutes), a hands-on workshop (90 minutes), and a half-day team session (3 hours). Jay also designs custom sessions around your specific audience and goals.
Do you speak at virtual events as well as in-person?
Yes — Jay is available for both in-person and virtual events.
What's the core idea behind the talks?
The talks reframe AI as a thinking partner rather than a content generator. Attendees learn to use AI as a Socratic sounding board — one that asks questions and surfaces your own best ideas — rather than a shortcut that replaces thinking. The goal is better, higher-quality work that stays fundamentally human.
What do attendees walk away with?
Attendees leave with three prompts they can use immediately, a practical framework for using AI to think better and aim higher, and concrete techniques for using AI as an editor and sounding board — without outsourcing the writing or the creativity.
Can you design a session for our specific audience?
Yes. Send your audience, context, and goals and Jay will design a session around that. Whether you’re a company, university, conference, or creative organization, the session can be tailored to your specific needs and challenges.
Logistics
- • Available for in-person events and virtual sessions
- • AV: screen/projector, HDMI, mic (lav or handheld), and a clicker (if you have one)
- • If you’re considering a session: send your audience, context, and goals, and I’ll recommend the best format (keynote vs workshop vs half-day) and tailor it to your needs
- • Email: [email protected] — I respond within 24 hours
If you have a specific date in mind — especially for conferences and faculty summits — the earlier you reach out, the better.
Interested in a keynote or workshop?
I speak and run workshops at companies, universities, and conferences. Formats range from 40-minute keynotes to three-hour live workshops where attendees practice applying Socratic techniques to their own real work.
Skeptics welcome. My pro-creativity, anti-slop approach consistently wins over audiences who come in suspicious of AI.