AI as Scaffolding, Not a Substitute: A HumanPrint Interview with Tracy Albinson

What happens when you stop asking AI to work like everyone else’s tool and start building it around the way your own brain actually works?

In this episode of HumanPrint, I talk with Tracy Albinson about the Portal, a custom system she built around Claude and Obsidian to support memory, executive function, writing, research, and the way she makes connections as a neurodivergent thinker.

We get into AI as scaffolding rather than a substitute, why she deliberately limits what the system is allowed to do, the difference between memory and context, and how she uses AI heavily without handing over her writing, judgment, or autonomy.

Tracy’s approach is deeply personal by design: build what helps, leave out what doesn’t, and keep yourself in charge of the process.