Less AI and More You and I

It’s hard to admit, but I’m petrified about what AI is doing to our society, and more importantly, what it’s doing to us.

The news, and of course, social media, are inundated with either showing it, allowing us to “use it,” or talking about all of the technological and scientific advances we’re gaining by using AI. I’m sure there are advancements. But is it really helping? Will it improve our lives, or merely pretend to make life easier for us, and then proceed to take our jobs and our sanity?

Honestly, I want nothing to do with it. And I know it’s going to be hard to do. It’s everywhere, and everyone wants to “move forward” with it, so it’s going to be a part of every business, every store, and every bit of our media. We won’t be able to live without it.

But as someone who loves and lives the slow-lifestyle movement, I’m abhorred by what it’s doing to us.

I no longer have to write up a story on my own; I can have AI do it for me. I don’t have to write a work presentation; AI can do it for me. It can also direct my drive to the store, help me research a vintage item I’m looking into, and be my best friend.

The need for human interaction is becoming obsolete. And therein lies all sorts of hell-on-earth problems.

Yes, there are some time-saving benefits with AI. I have many family members who use it regularly to their advantage for writing social media content and meeting presentations. But if it isn’t our brains writing the stuff, whose brain is it? We learn nothing by having AI write it for us, which means our brains are atrophying.

When was the last time you tried to drive somewhere you didn’t know via memory or from a physical map? I can’t even remember it because my map apps do it all for me.

As a writer, I refuse to use it. First of all, it’s a breach of ethics as a writer to use AI. If I didn’t write it, “the machine” wrote it, which means I can’t take credit for it. I’d rather let my brain work, thank you very much, and write every single word in every article, essay, or blog post I will ever write for the rest of my life, even if it takes days, weeks, months, or years to do it.

I use the Grammarly app to double-check punctuation and typos, but I blatantly say no to taking their offers of “writing these sentences better” with their AI. I absolutely refuse to; I will not do it, and I can’t stand that it will rewrite my words ( even if it is better).

While I may not be able to avoid using it at times (it’s only going to become more prevalent with every passing year), I can do my best to use my brain when I can. And I have full power to choose the slow living lifestyle, rather than the AI lifestyle.

Here’s how.

Write Your Words Every Day: From writing a simple Instagram post, editing a review on Amazon, to writing a text to your sweet grandmother, you can literally have it all written by AI. All of it.

How to combat this? Don’t use it. I can hear you whining, “But it’s so much faster and easier with AI.” It is. But a machine is writing for you. So, either disable the AI feature (which is almost impossible!) or ignore the “help” from AI with every post you make, which is what I do.

I sell vintage clothing online, and my platform gives me the option to let AI “write my posts for me.” I refuse to do it. I write every word; I will tell you why I love this old piece, and why you should too, with the heartfelt words of someone (a human!) who loves vintage.

Pretend it’s like the old times, like way back in the day of 2020 before AI was everywhere, and write that text without AI help. Then, do one better: take out a crisp sheet of paper and a pen, and write a letter to someone you love. Your brain will relearn to write, reminding it how you once did this writing thing not so long ago. You’ll also ward off the atrophied mind mush.

Talk to Real People Every Day: I don’t care what people say, but AI is not your friend. If AI were really your friend, it would tell you to stop talking to it and talk to a real, live, human being. Instead, machines influence us with their “advice,” and it can’t all be good. We are more connected than ever, and yet we’re more isolated, more lonely, and more depressed than ever. Think maybe that’s because we’re relying on AI to help us feel better?

Don’t talk to ChatGPT if you have a problem; call your mama. Don’t ask it how to fix a broken heart; call up your best friend. Don’t take advice from a computer. Instead, ask a mentor; call a wise man; call your therapist! We were made to be with other people, not isolated and to retrieve answers from machines.

Live in the Real World Every Day (Keep Your Online World to a Minimum): This goes against mainstream ideals, but less is more when it comes to AI, just like your minimalistic closet. We’ve become indoctrinated into believing we need to know what’s going on in the world 24/7. But the lie is assuming it’s where we were meant to be, when really, our phones have entrapped us.

We don’t need more news; we need more of each other. We don’t need a machine to tell us how to live; we just need to pray for guidance. The more we’re on our phones, and the more AI we read, the more we cling to it and think we “need” it.

Remember a few years ago when AI was new? Well, we didn’t need it before then to survive, and we did just fine. Remember ten years ago when old Instagram was just pretty pictures, and we could believe everything we saw? Now, we have to read the fine print on images just to see if AI was used.

I can’t trust anything I see and read anymore. That pretty sunrise? AI. That beautiful lady or man? She and he ain’t real. That lovely home perfectly decorated? Not done by a human. That jingle you just heard on the radio? AI wrote and sang that.

If you want to see a pretty sunrise, wake up early to see it. Looking for someone beautiful to look at? Turn to your significant other and remember why they’re so beautiful to you. Want a perfectly decorated home? Hire a real interior designer and then keep your home as minimally stuffed as possible.

Yes, there’s a time and place for a quick Google check of something to get an easy answer, but if you’re doing that all day long, that mushy brain thing is coming for you. And a host of other detriments.

Live a life worthy of living. Instead of AI, fill it with activities that mean something. Make a new recipe; try looking up the recipe via a cookbook rather than asking AI to create something; write a song without the help of AI; create art without AI; write a real letter without AI. Simply refuse to use AI to create your work or solve your problems.

Real life is waiting for you. It has nothing to do with AI, and everything to do with you and me and an honest way of living.

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About the Author: Heather Spiva is a freelance writer from Northern California with a penchant for minimalism, vintage clothing, and coffee. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. Her husband and two grown sons are the loves of her life.