samuel writes for both the wall street journal and harvard business review and is considered one of the leading voices experimenting with ai tools in practical, real-world ways. she revealed that she has built more than 200 automation systems, in addition to a personal ideas database used to craft marketing email campaigns.
one of the most striking examples highlighted in the report is her use of the suno app to generate songs that explain complex concepts. her new podcast, “me + viv,” explores her relationship with an ai assistant she trained to function as a coach and thinking partner. through the podcast, she also hosts critics and skeptics of artificial intelligence.
practical tools and tips
according to the report, alexandra samuel shared five key tips for leveraging ai in professional work and media production:
1. using suno to turn text into music
suno is an ai-powered platform for generating customized music. samuel relies heavily on it to produce songs for her podcast. she notes that reaching a final version often requires dozens of attempts, as challenges arise when changing voices, musical styles, or languages within a single song. she advises writing lyrics manually rather than relying solely on automatic generation.
2. using coda to build a custom productivity hub
coda allows users to create flexible documents and databases. samuel used it to build a personalized system to track story and post ideas, including editor details and contact information. with one click, multiple ideas can be combined into a single email pitch, with follow-up data updated automatically.
3. using capcut for ai-assisted video editing
samuel uses capcut alongside custom python scripts to produce music-driven videos for social media platforms. this workflow helps synchronize written subtitles precisely with the timing of spoken or sung words.
4. connecting claude to documents via the model context protocol (mcp)
by linking the ai assistant claude to documents and databases through mcp, users can search files and ask direct questions within them. samuel emphasized the importance of security considerations, especially when handling sensitive information or sources.
5. using claude code to reduce repetitive work
claude code runs locally on users’ devices and assists with writing code and performing technical tasks. samuel shared that she created nearly 200 python programs using this tool, including pdf merging tools, video subtitle generators, and browser extensions.