That may be a slight exaggeration, but not by much…
It feels like everyone is using AI for everything these days, doesn’t it? We are rapidly outsourcing our thinking to AI and that is terrifying. Some will say using words like terrifying to describe this phenomenon is a major overreaction, but I stand by this language. There are studies out weekly on just how the use of AI is rotting our brains and our ability to think and reason and problem solve.
A year ago we wrote our own emails and reports. Searched for information and followed links to get the answers we sought. Created our own PPC strategies. Analyzed performance data and drew conclusions and had questions to discuss with clients and stakeholders. Now? Many are turning to an AI to do this stuff for them. And they are not realizing the cost of doing so. It is shocking just how fast people are losing their ability to do these things on their own (and certainly voluntarily losing their confidence in their ability to do these tasks on their own) when they rely on an AI to help them.
I am on the record as being quite anti AI. A lot of it is for these reasons (along with the environmental aspects). But I am increasingly worried about where this all ends. If we keep outsourcing thinking what happens when we truly can’t do it without the AI? What happens when the next generations don’t even have the skills to do the thinking themselves? The consequences of that are too terrible to think about for too long.
So can AI play a role and not rot out our ability to think for ourselves? Yes, it can. But you have to be deliberate in how you use it for that to happen. Need a better way to phrase something? You can ask AI. But you do not need it to write the entire email for you. Don’t understand something and want to ask AI to explain it? Ok. Have an AI summarize anything you need to read? Terrible idea. Reading comprehension is already plummeting among kids. Don’t sign up to atrophy your comprehension ability!
I still believe that the current AI companies are going to crash and burn, so think carefully about how much of your thinking want to outsource to them. Don’t let your skills get weak in favor of AI.
How much are you relying on AI in your work and personal life? Would love to hear from you on this!
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