Why I study Psychology and build AI products at the same time

Most people think Psychology is about reading minds or working in a clinic. That is the first thing anyone says when I tell them what I study.

But Psychology is in everything. Every single field, every sphere of life. At its core it is just trying to understand why people do what they do, how we think, what shapes our belief systems, and using that understanding to build better solutions. Describe, explain, predict, control. Those are the four functions of science and Psychology does all four for the most complex subject that exists: human beings.

So when people ask me what the point of a Psychology degree is, especially when I am also building a tech product, I genuinely do not understand the question.

Because who do you think the product is for?

As I build Hammet, our AI literacy curriculum for Nigerian secondary schools, my Psychology background is not a side thing. It is inside the product.

Understanding how people learn, how students at different levels process new information, how retention actually works, how critical thinking develops in young people…all of that shapes every decision I make about how this curriculum is structured.

We are not building something that asks students to memorize AI. We are building something that changes how they think about it. There is a difference. And you only see that difference clearly if you understand the learner as well as you understand the subject.

I did not know when I started studying Psychology that I would end up building AI products. But I have stopped being surprised by how much it shows up in the work. Psychology is the bedrock. I am just finally building on it.