Giving our tasks to AI may also mean giving up the mental muscles those tasks were keeping strong.

People report feeling safer and more heard by machines than by other humans who might not stay present.

We are now asking something that is not real to help us determine what actually is real.

The question is not whether AI is useful but what we are surrendering in exchange for that usefulness.

I love AI, as it is so helpful.

I wouldn’t dare use AI. I hate AI. I hate the effect it’s having on us.

Both of those positions miss something.

AI is here to answer our questions, to do the dirty work, to organize our formatting, to read between the lines, and then to deliver some item: a consultation, an upgrade, a ghostwritten piece, or an organizer. And in that process, we seem to be giving up our own autonomy. And with that process of giving up our own autonomy, maybe we’re actually giving up a piece of our humanity.

Even if we’re so-called proficient or effective with AI, that doesn’t make it less intrusive

There’s a certain kind of person who becomes very excited about it. Who is somehow eager to dump everything and anything into its reservoirs and have the LLM do the organizing. I understand the appeal. But this is not something natural. And in fact, it may be leaving us lazy.

Use it or lose it. We’re no longer doing our own writing. We’re no longer doing our own organizing. And therefore........

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