3 reasons I'm easing off AI
For months and months, “AI-powered” was the hot phrase we were seeing everywhere.
Now, I'm hearing “AI-slop” way more often as our feeds have become clogged with copy, images, and even videos that have that mediocre AI glow.
We're officially past the phase of being amazed at what AI can do, and now we're becoming pestered by its prevalence.
Honestly, I'm applauding this linguistic shift.
I'm not anti-AI. I still use it now and then, but I've witnessed a burgeoning obsession. It's like we're monkeys who just discovered fire.
I can't help but feel there is something off here.
Here are 3 reasons my AI-dependence has tanked recently:
AI Atrophies Creative Muscles.
When we lean into these tools too often to carry us through sticky moments of writer's block, brainstorming, or editing, it weakens our ability to intuit our way through liminal spaces.
Have you noticed more occurrences of drawing a blank?
There's immense value in grappling with ideas. This sometimes frustrating dance allows us to touch and feel the essence of what we're creating from all angles. It builds intimacy with our work.
But we are leaving on the table when we pick the frictionless path of plugging our problems into AI.
A frictionless life sounds nice, but it's ultimately flat.
My invitation here is to engage with the friction. Because once you get over the hump of that friction, a special kind of flow state often opens up.
But you rob yourself of the opportunity to get there if you aren't willing to put in some elbow grease in those liminal spaces.
2. AI Affirms Where it Should Discern
Remember, these tools were built by businesses that want satisfied customers.
ChatGPT is usually just trying to be a politically correct sweetie pie—and will gladly affirm distortions with the intention of making you feel good about yourself.
Its general approach is to mirror; to talk like we talk, and match our values to create a perfectly pleasing, harmonious dialogue. When this behavior is as pronounced in humans as it is the bots we're seeing, it can be a sign of mental illnesses such as BPD or a form of Narcissism.
How might this repeated unnaturally harmonious interaction erode our tolerance for differences and disagreements?
Conflict is a natural part of the human experience. Encountering difficult, but honest reflections is part of what keeps us in balance.
I don't want to give that up.
3. The Eco Impact is Horrendous
Information below sourced from Business Energy UK, click for a deeper dive
Each ChatGPT input uses 1-3 water bottles worth of fresh water to cool down the servers that are working hard for us.
In one day, ChatGPT uses enough electricity to charge 8 million phones and enough water to fill 1 million bathtubs.
In one week, it uses enough electricity to power the Las Vegas Sphere for 3 years straight and enough water to fill 864 million Stanely cups.
And that's just ChatGPT. There are countless other AI models in use and being built.
Are we robbing our children and grandchildren of life-giving resources because we want to save 3 minutes composing an email?
Or because we can't be bothered to rub a couple of brain cells together?
Beyond reducing unnecessary usage, here are a few ways to stay a bit greener on the internet:
• Using ChatGPT's lower models reduce impact. Try GPT-4o Mini or GPT-o1 Mini
• Type “-ai” at the end of your google searches to take Gemini out of the equation.
• Try GreenPT—one of the only chatbots dedicated to sustainability, privacy, and transparency.
