What AI can do with a toolbox: Getting started with Code Interpreter
The Wharton professor's original field report on why an AI that writes its own code beats memorizing formulas.
Open oneusefulthing.org →
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Why let AI analyze my data instead of learning Excel formulas or SQL?
The short answer
Because the bottleneck stops being syntax and becomes asking good questions. Modern AI tools write and run real code on your files, so a founder can get in seconds what used to take weeks of formula and query practice. You still want enough data literacy to sanity-check what comes back, but you no longer need to master VLOOKUP or JOINs before getting real answers from your own numbers.
A quick orientation. The real value is below: resources worth your time, from people who've actually done it.
18 resources worth your time
Ethan Mollick on Code Interpreter's statistical common sense
Shows AI restructuring messy PDF data and running models unprompted, the exact grunt work founders dread.
Open x.com →Code Interpreter might be the most useful application of AI so far
Mollick's line that things that took weeks in his PhD were done in seconds, with fewer errors than a human analyst.
Open fortune.com →
How AI Completely Reshaped This Data Analyst's Job (Luke Barousse)
A working analyst explains candidly which parts of his job AI actually took over.
Watch on YouTube youtube.com →How We Use AI as Data Analysts (Data Career Podcast ep 76)
Two practitioners compare the tasks worth delegating to AI versus the ones worth learning yourself.
Open creators.spotify.com →Do You Still Need to Learn SQL in the Age of AI?
The balanced case for how much SQL a non-analyst actually needs now that AI writes queries.
Open mavenanalytics.io →Should you still learn SQL (in the age of LLMs)?
A veteran SQL author argues the skill shifts from writing queries to judging them.
Open sqlpatterns.com →SQL in 2025: What's New and Why It Still Matters
The counter-argument: why a thin layer of SQL literacy still compounds even with AI on top.
Open learnsql.com →Excel vs Power BI vs SQL vs Python vs AI
A clean mental model for stacking AI on top of traditional tools instead of choosing between them.
Open blog.datawithbaraa.com →
AI Was Supposed to Replace Data Analyst Jobs. Here's What Actually Happened
A reality check on what AI genuinely automated in analytics versus the hype.
Watch on YouTube youtube.com →What even is the modern data stack, featuring Benn Stancil
A founder who built a BI company explains why most companies over-invest in data tooling.
Open changelog.com →Analytics is at a crossroads
The sharpest industry writer on what AI actually changes about the analyst's craft.
Open benn.substack.com →Analyzing data with ChatGPT (OpenAI Academy)
OpenAI's own free walkthrough, including the framing prompt 'I'm trying to decide X, based on Y'.
Open openai.com →Everything's a Fad (Including This Podcast), with Benn Stancil (The Test Set)
The pandas creator and a BI founder debate what survives of data work after LLMs.
Open wesmckinney.com →Data Analysis With AI in 21 Minutes
An ex-Meta data scientist's compact framework for when AI beats doing the analysis by hand.
Open classcentral.com →Analyzing data in ChatGPT like your job depends on it
A data-tool founder shows the practical ceiling of chat-based analysis, and how to work within it.
Open definite.app →Why the Future of AI in Data will be Weird, with Benn Stancil
Why 'insight' needs human context even when AI does all the computation.
Open datacamp.com →
Will AI Replace Data Analysts? The Honest Answer
A no-hype breakdown of which analysis skills still pay off for non-analysts.
Watch on YouTube youtube.com →More in Data Analysis
- How do founders get insights from CSVs, analytics, and surveys using AI? 18 →
- What can AI-in-spreadsheets (Claude in Excel, Gemini in Sheets) actually do? 20 →
- Which AI tool should I use for data analysis: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or a dedicated tool? 18 →
- Can AI write SQL for me and query my database in plain English? 18 →
- How do I know the numbers AI gives me are actually right? 18 →
- Is it safe to put my company's data into AI tools? 18 →
- How do I build dashboards and charts with AI, without a BI tool or a data team? 18 →
- How do I analyze customer feedback, reviews, and support tickets at scale with AI? 18 →
- Which metrics should my startup track, and how can AI help me stay on top of them? 18 →
- Can AI clean up my messy data: duplicates, formats, and half-filled columns? 18 →
- Do I still need to hire a data analyst, or can AI cover it for now? 16 →
- How do founders use AI for financial modeling and forecasting? 18 →