I have written a couple of times on my take on using AI in writing (not a fan) and my biggest heartbreak has been when people whose words I used to love starting using AI to ‘improve’ their writing and then I couldn’t feel them any more. 😢 I hope they come back.
Also the point you make about the water….this is why I try to limit my use.
I find it so tempting to go ‘have a quick chat with Claude’ because he’s trained to give me the answers I want to hear then an hour goes by and I’m feeling validated and clear, yet somehow dirty and tainted because my soul knows something’s not right with this communication. How addicting this is also means I’m doing my best to quit using it at all.
Love it for being able to read cancer scans accurately or do data manipulation. Not to replicate a living breathing human.
Yes Nicola - same. It's so helpful with data for sure... it's beautiful to be having these conversations in real time - my intention with this piece was to defuse the shame and also bring to light the difficult emotions ai stirs up in us... there are so many eco-chambers on it and I think we need to be smarter than that.
It is a complex argument for sure. But I don’t see enough about the water usage, much of which cannot be recycled. This should have us all thinking ‘do I really need to?’ before using it. As a writer and an artist, I’m taking a stand for all that is made with human hands. Great article to bring these conversations up, I’m enjoying reading the other comments.
This is such an interesting topic and conversation 👏 I've actually been writing my own article about AI and the fight we have in our heads about it... the shame and guilt we might feel if we use it. But you're right Claire, its here to stay, so we might as well accept it and try to use it to our advantage!🤪
Even when we think we're not using it (like I did) we are... its embedded in so many systems we all use daily, but we can make conscious choices and decisions around how we incorporate it into our own lives and businesses.
Everyone has a right to use it how they wish and we need to maintain that kindness and acceptance of other's choices that you hold so well in this space 💖
However, I will admit I do have quite strong opinions about it and I will never understand or think its ok to use it for our writing! 🥺 That example of the person who asked for the Emma Gannon tone re-write is shocking and I'm surprised they even admitted it! 😲
On a final note, I just want to say how much I value spaces like these and the human connection and community that gets built here and in other online spaces.🥰
It is essential, more now than ever, that we keep showing up and adding the kind of HUMAN support, connection and meaning that we all need to thrive in this AI driven world.✨️❤️☺️
Yes Eva - grateful we are having these conversations. Yeah I was shocked too - in fact I've been shocked multiple times at how much people tell me about their use with it - not that I think we should have 'shame' per-se but we definitely can't take someone else's voice - it's unethical and unsustainable... you're so right on the human connection and I loved seeing you on zoom this week - that was a DEEP sesh with Toni - I loved it though - can't wait to read her book!!
It was lovely seeing you too 😊 The sesh was so good and super excited for Toni ✨️💛 Got my chat with her 'live' on Tuesday... funny to look back and think she was someone I had once written down on my list of "dream guests" and now it's happening.🥰 The fact that we've become friends too is such a happy bonus ☺️
Thank you for writing this. I had to learn chat gpt for a client three years ago and then suddenly we were using it for everything. I was the oldest person on our team and was watching it churn out just boring stuff. But not my business (like actually it wasn’t my business). My biggest concern is environmental, outsourcing critical thinking, and data and privacy. But I still use Claude for basic things for other clients and only sometimes for myself. I truly cannot imagine getting “coached” by a bot 🤖 and I keep seeing this pop up. As always, it’s never one thing. I’m also weary of people taking advantage of women and causing fear to make us buy something. Great conversation!
Yes Vanessa - the critical thinking point is massive - Claude helps me with stuff I can't do and I'm grateful for that... I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about what Claude is and isn't which is why I wanted to do the get-to-gether this week. This morning I've asked it to catalogue and bundle all of my products (I have 114) and I have been wanting to do this work since last summer but everytime I started I couldn't hold my own threads - it's done now - it took 20 minutes and I have a check list to work through. 💖
Absolutely—and my concern is more for children and teens and young adults who might and are relying on ai 🤖 for more than what you’re describing because their brains are not fully developed and I’m unsure of who’s guiding them? I absolutely use Claude for tasks like you’ve described and it’s helped me with finding gaps in resume etc. such a nuanced topic. Glad we’re having it.
Yes, I too worry about losing our critical thinking skills and kids using it instead of developing the neural pathways required for problem solving, etc... I think its so important for kids to still develop those skills. Sometimes I imagine a world where humans have become so reliant on technology/AI and one day it all just crashes and everyone will be like, "Eeeerm" 🤣
This is up there with one of the best AI posts I’ve read.
Should I be admitting this out one out loud?🤔 well, I’m gonna😆
This is me:
“ChatGPT has supported me with every area of my life from my relationship to my hormones to a whole new business launch plan - it knows me so inside out.”
Though by relationship I don’t mean my romantic one, i don’t need to outsource that when I’ve got a partner where we’ve inbuilt that kind of connection and we can have that conversation together.
I mean the one with myself. Especially helping me fine tune my growth edges and deeper understanding of where I’m at.l and how I can grow and move forward from there. The parts I don’t always see.
It’s helped me increase my progesterone levels - just yesterday, I asked it how I would know my progesterone levels were increasing and the changes I’ve made were working - especially in respect of how I feel.
Part of its response was that I’d feel safer in my body and more grounded. Both ways of feeling I’ve never felt to the extent I do now and have been some of the bigger recent changes to come this season. But I didn’t understand exactly what was contributing to that.
Once I’ve processed it all I’ll be better able to articulate the level of direction, guidance and support that ai has been to my book. And how it’s helped me better understand the magnitude of my creations and what and how I put them out into the world. Currently, it’s a lot - to even hold not just put into words. But it’s coming.
Gotta dash now to get to a netwalking meeting but def wanted to get this one out there.
I often wonder if ai is some kind of mirror. What we’re putting out there/into it is what’s being reflected back.
Thanks my LOVE - for witnessing me in this... I think it's a game changer for chronic health stuff - I was showing Dave how to build a tracker and dashboard for his with artefacts yesterday.
It's a fascinating and nuanced conversation isn't it. I fully confess to being conflicted on this. I see how AI is revolutionising scientific progress and the amazing work my son is doing with it in his Uni studies. And I see how it has the potential to free up our brain space on mundane day to day stuff and organisation. But at the same time I am wary of trusting too much of myself to it. I don't think I want to start relying on it for the day to day stuff, in case one day it just stops. And I really dislike the way it always agrees with you - real life comes with friction (both good and bad) and we ignore that at our peril.
Gosh yes Louise - at uni it will change so much for them. Yes - I never liked Chat GPT it made my skin crawl honestly but Claude is different and you can train it to be objective and remind you things when working with it. It's defo helped me write complaint letters pulling data together and such - it's great on that which frees up capacity fro me massively.
Thanks for such an interesting post Claire, lots to contemplate. I’m quite torn on AI. I worry about the environmental impact and how it’s affecting the arts and creativity. And the thought of learning how to use it is just overwhelming! But as you say, it’s everywhere now and we can’t avoid it, so I think it’s more about using it consciously and wisely (and as Reese has highlighted, men are dominating AI and we need to make sure women are at the decision-making table and we aren’t left behind).
I recognise that it could save me lots of time on admin (if I master it) and perhaps help me deal with perimenopausal overwhelm, but I’m still cautious about what I might use it for. I signed up for Claude this week after your call and it’s done a great job of creating a spreadsheet for me (in minutes) of publicly available contact details for organisations I want to pitch my services to - something that would probably have taken me days to do myself! So baby steps, but I’m looking forward to experimenting and hopefully it freeing up more time for my creative practice and the work that lights me up.
This is a really thoughtful piece, and I love how you are creating space and inviting others in to this conversation. I have lots of thoughts! My ideas are very nuanced. Something that scares me is the fact that the world of social media and the development of AI are happening at the same time. It'd be nice to believe that humans as a whole will choose to use these things as tools for GOOD, but I just don't believe that unfortunately.
I've been noticing myself getting sucked into the world that is Claude. I've asked it questions, mostly business related, almost as a way to see if a problem I have has a solution that I couldn't think of. I always leave the "conversations" feeling depleted like I just engaged in an addiction. For me, that's the sign that it's unhealthy. That feeling of "needing it" - and the massive instant gratification it provides frightens me and I know it's not something I can engage in anymore.
I can see the possibilities/helping parts of it too. Like the stories of people deciding to go to the ER because of something an AI chat said to them and then that saving their life - though I think that's just my health anxiety speaking. Or when Shopify's AI chat creates code for a small thing on my website, that's been helpful.
But the creative side of me is a little horrified to be honest! I will never, ever use AI to create art or to write, or even to edit writing. It makes me think of the ways I have used it though with my questions- thinking maybe in a more hidden way I have used it to replace creativity, in the sense of using my creative mind to think of answers to my questions. (Hence why I will not be using it like that any more!)
I don't know. I think as a whole, the inner child within me just feels sad. The world needs human connection and kindness more than anything else, and it doesn't seem we're heading in that direction. Humans give into the instant gratification, the possibility of all the things that cause insecurity to be removed. I have an innate necessity for authenticity. I cannot live unauthentically. It is my biggest value aside from kindness. The world feels less and less authentic to me, more fake, more robotic.
Just some of my thoughts! Thank you for bringing this up Claire, always love to hear your perspectives 💗
Oh, this is so beautifully expressed and I want to sit with every single word you've taken the time to write here Bailey.
The feeling of depletion and deception is such an honest and important signal, and I really respect that you've listened to it. That awareness, that noticing, that's exactly the kind of inner wisdom that gets drowned out when we're chasing instant answers or we outsource our power. The fact that you caught it and named it says everything about how deeply connected you are to yourself and what's important too.
I think you've touched on something that I find really hard to articulate, and you've done it so well. There's a difference between using a tool and being used by one. The Shopify code example, the ER story, those feel like tools doing what tools are supposed to do. But when it starts to replace the slow, rich, sometimes frustrating process of your own creative thinking? That's when something precious gets totally lost.
And the authenticity piece. Yes. A thousand times yes. I feel that grief too, honestly. The world becoming a little more polished, a little more frictionless, a little less human. It's a real loss, and it's okay to feel sad about it. That's why I crave romance and nostaligia I think? What I hold onto in this: people like you, who feel that sadness keeps the human thread alive. Your inner child is wise.
Thank you for bringing all of this here. This is exactly the kind of conversation I hoped this piece would open up. So grateful and excited to chat on Mon more. 💗
Oh this made me smile so much!! I really appreciate what you've reflected back :) It makes me feel really seen. Thank you 🥹
I was also going to say this is why I'm really excited that I'm starting a physical letter/snail mail club. I got a postcard in the mail the other day from a poet's postcard club and the amount of joy and delight I felt was insane. Reading what you said at the end about google, Netflix, all of those things really hit me why any type of real connection, in person or offline is now like treasure eve though it's totally normal!
This is such an interesting and thought provoking conversation! I agree that it’s really important to tune into how AI (and other technologies) make us feel and to be aware of negative impacts. I notice this with social media and even TV - too much scrolling or binge watching depletes me. I have to be careful as well to create before consuming or I can get overwhelmed by other people’s content and lose my creative spark.
And yes, AI and the wider internet can be a treasure trove of information, with good outcomes like getting prompt medical treatment. But we also have to question/verify sources given how often AI hallucinates. And it can be sometimes been dangerous - I’ve seen horror stories in the news of it giving suicide instructions, encouraging eating disorders, etc. Algorithms are designed to suck us in, flatter us and sometimes don’t challenge damaging beliefs. So a real risk for vulnerable people.
I also worry about narrowing perspectives or presenting one view as correct - what has the AI been trained on? Are diverse voices reflected or is it mostly white Western males? Are dissenting views acknowledged? Is indigenous wisdom considered (and are these voices credited, or is their work appropriated)? And conversely, are dangerous, hateful narratives allowed to propagate under the guise of freedom of speech? Is disinformation dominating, or are verified facts presented? So many challenges with technology, not limited to AI, but it can amplify at speed.
I could go down so many rabbit holes thinking about the pros and cons of AI….! Now back to creating! 😆
Holly I love your reflections!! I agree completely with social media and even TV being incredibly draining. I've struggled with social media for years - with TV, I notice that if I scroll through trying to find a movie to watch, it feels similar to scrolling on social media.
I've seen horror stories too like you mentioned. It is most definitely a real risk and so easily accessible by anyone of any age which is scary. It seems to be constantly validating and it's also not human so people can manipulate it and end up in a dangerous spot.
You shared so many good questions about who it's been trained on and about disinformation. I love how you said AI hallucinates - I've asked it questions and it has given me the wrong answers several times.
I have so many curiosities/thoughts too thinking about all of it and like you said, could go down so many rabbit holes! It's such a wide spanning topic that goes far beyond the chat bots. It's good to be in conversation with others about it I feel because I assume the people creating AI and developing it would rather have people be silent and accept whatever they want to do.
Great , thought provoking and balanced post on the a.i debate, thanks Claire .
I used to Claude to help me organise Resturant’s and places to visit on a recent holiday it was brilliant. I asked distance and ways to travel between each venue , opening times etc all in a few moments.
I also use Claude to edit and give feedback on a draft post. This helps clean it up and can generate new ideas .
I know someone who is using a.i throughout her health and coaching business , generating individual programmes successfully as far as I can see.
Yesterday I tried to book someone to clean our oven and immediately were introduced to their a.i bot. It will be used almost everywhere soon…so it’s worthwhile understanding all the pros and cons.
Ahh yes - I love using it for helping me navigate what's possible with the times I have in London when I go - that's a great shout. Haha - a handy oven bot is so nice. Less of the endless loops and moving us forward can only be helpful.
I have written a couple of times on my take on using AI in writing (not a fan) and my biggest heartbreak has been when people whose words I used to love starting using AI to ‘improve’ their writing and then I couldn’t feel them any more. 😢 I hope they come back.
Also the point you make about the water….this is why I try to limit my use.
I find it so tempting to go ‘have a quick chat with Claude’ because he’s trained to give me the answers I want to hear then an hour goes by and I’m feeling validated and clear, yet somehow dirty and tainted because my soul knows something’s not right with this communication. How addicting this is also means I’m doing my best to quit using it at all.
Love it for being able to read cancer scans accurately or do data manipulation. Not to replicate a living breathing human.
Yes Nicola - same. It's so helpful with data for sure... it's beautiful to be having these conversations in real time - my intention with this piece was to defuse the shame and also bring to light the difficult emotions ai stirs up in us... there are so many eco-chambers on it and I think we need to be smarter than that.
It is a complex argument for sure. But I don’t see enough about the water usage, much of which cannot be recycled. This should have us all thinking ‘do I really need to?’ before using it. As a writer and an artist, I’m taking a stand for all that is made with human hands. Great article to bring these conversations up, I’m enjoying reading the other comments.
Could you link me your pieces - in my blog I share a link to an ai which is more conscious of water use too... I haven't tried it yet.
Sure, there’s only a couple so far but I suspect more will come! Thanks for asking.
https://nicolabird.substack.com/p/made-with-human-hands
https://nicolabird.substack.com/p/the-em-dash
This is such an interesting topic and conversation 👏 I've actually been writing my own article about AI and the fight we have in our heads about it... the shame and guilt we might feel if we use it. But you're right Claire, its here to stay, so we might as well accept it and try to use it to our advantage!🤪
Even when we think we're not using it (like I did) we are... its embedded in so many systems we all use daily, but we can make conscious choices and decisions around how we incorporate it into our own lives and businesses.
Everyone has a right to use it how they wish and we need to maintain that kindness and acceptance of other's choices that you hold so well in this space 💖
However, I will admit I do have quite strong opinions about it and I will never understand or think its ok to use it for our writing! 🥺 That example of the person who asked for the Emma Gannon tone re-write is shocking and I'm surprised they even admitted it! 😲
On a final note, I just want to say how much I value spaces like these and the human connection and community that gets built here and in other online spaces.🥰
It is essential, more now than ever, that we keep showing up and adding the kind of HUMAN support, connection and meaning that we all need to thrive in this AI driven world.✨️❤️☺️
Yes Eva - grateful we are having these conversations. Yeah I was shocked too - in fact I've been shocked multiple times at how much people tell me about their use with it - not that I think we should have 'shame' per-se but we definitely can't take someone else's voice - it's unethical and unsustainable... you're so right on the human connection and I loved seeing you on zoom this week - that was a DEEP sesh with Toni - I loved it though - can't wait to read her book!!
It was lovely seeing you too 😊 The sesh was so good and super excited for Toni ✨️💛 Got my chat with her 'live' on Tuesday... funny to look back and think she was someone I had once written down on my list of "dream guests" and now it's happening.🥰 The fact that we've become friends too is such a happy bonus ☺️
Aww you guys - this melts my heart! xx
Thank you for writing this. I had to learn chat gpt for a client three years ago and then suddenly we were using it for everything. I was the oldest person on our team and was watching it churn out just boring stuff. But not my business (like actually it wasn’t my business). My biggest concern is environmental, outsourcing critical thinking, and data and privacy. But I still use Claude for basic things for other clients and only sometimes for myself. I truly cannot imagine getting “coached” by a bot 🤖 and I keep seeing this pop up. As always, it’s never one thing. I’m also weary of people taking advantage of women and causing fear to make us buy something. Great conversation!
Yes Vanessa - the critical thinking point is massive - Claude helps me with stuff I can't do and I'm grateful for that... I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about what Claude is and isn't which is why I wanted to do the get-to-gether this week. This morning I've asked it to catalogue and bundle all of my products (I have 114) and I have been wanting to do this work since last summer but everytime I started I couldn't hold my own threads - it's done now - it took 20 minutes and I have a check list to work through. 💖
Absolutely—and my concern is more for children and teens and young adults who might and are relying on ai 🤖 for more than what you’re describing because their brains are not fully developed and I’m unsure of who’s guiding them? I absolutely use Claude for tasks like you’ve described and it’s helped me with finding gaps in resume etc. such a nuanced topic. Glad we’re having it.
Yes, I too worry about losing our critical thinking skills and kids using it instead of developing the neural pathways required for problem solving, etc... I think its so important for kids to still develop those skills. Sometimes I imagine a world where humans have become so reliant on technology/AI and one day it all just crashes and everyone will be like, "Eeeerm" 🤣
Yeah - is your kid in secondary school yet? The home work is an eye opener - it's problem solving of the worst kind...
Ha ha... yes, I have one currently doing her GCSE's (😱) and one in year 5 x
Aww I feel like the schools and portals are a part time job do you?
This is up there with one of the best AI posts I’ve read.
Should I be admitting this out one out loud?🤔 well, I’m gonna😆
This is me:
“ChatGPT has supported me with every area of my life from my relationship to my hormones to a whole new business launch plan - it knows me so inside out.”
Though by relationship I don’t mean my romantic one, i don’t need to outsource that when I’ve got a partner where we’ve inbuilt that kind of connection and we can have that conversation together.
I mean the one with myself. Especially helping me fine tune my growth edges and deeper understanding of where I’m at.l and how I can grow and move forward from there. The parts I don’t always see.
It’s helped me increase my progesterone levels - just yesterday, I asked it how I would know my progesterone levels were increasing and the changes I’ve made were working - especially in respect of how I feel.
Part of its response was that I’d feel safer in my body and more grounded. Both ways of feeling I’ve never felt to the extent I do now and have been some of the bigger recent changes to come this season. But I didn’t understand exactly what was contributing to that.
Once I’ve processed it all I’ll be better able to articulate the level of direction, guidance and support that ai has been to my book. And how it’s helped me better understand the magnitude of my creations and what and how I put them out into the world. Currently, it’s a lot - to even hold not just put into words. But it’s coming.
Gotta dash now to get to a netwalking meeting but def wanted to get this one out there.
I often wonder if ai is some kind of mirror. What we’re putting out there/into it is what’s being reflected back.
Thanks my LOVE - for witnessing me in this... I think it's a game changer for chronic health stuff - I was showing Dave how to build a tracker and dashboard for his with artefacts yesterday.
It's a fascinating and nuanced conversation isn't it. I fully confess to being conflicted on this. I see how AI is revolutionising scientific progress and the amazing work my son is doing with it in his Uni studies. And I see how it has the potential to free up our brain space on mundane day to day stuff and organisation. But at the same time I am wary of trusting too much of myself to it. I don't think I want to start relying on it for the day to day stuff, in case one day it just stops. And I really dislike the way it always agrees with you - real life comes with friction (both good and bad) and we ignore that at our peril.
Gosh yes Louise - at uni it will change so much for them. Yes - I never liked Chat GPT it made my skin crawl honestly but Claude is different and you can train it to be objective and remind you things when working with it. It's defo helped me write complaint letters pulling data together and such - it's great on that which frees up capacity fro me massively.
Thanks for such an interesting post Claire, lots to contemplate. I’m quite torn on AI. I worry about the environmental impact and how it’s affecting the arts and creativity. And the thought of learning how to use it is just overwhelming! But as you say, it’s everywhere now and we can’t avoid it, so I think it’s more about using it consciously and wisely (and as Reese has highlighted, men are dominating AI and we need to make sure women are at the decision-making table and we aren’t left behind).
I recognise that it could save me lots of time on admin (if I master it) and perhaps help me deal with perimenopausal overwhelm, but I’m still cautious about what I might use it for. I signed up for Claude this week after your call and it’s done a great job of creating a spreadsheet for me (in minutes) of publicly available contact details for organisations I want to pitch my services to - something that would probably have taken me days to do myself! So baby steps, but I’m looking forward to experimenting and hopefully it freeing up more time for my creative practice and the work that lights me up.
Love that conscious approach - yes in peri -Claude projects are the way forward even seeing those as all the strands we hold you know?
I'm the same as you Holly. I think I would describe myself as a balance of cautious/curious.
This is a really thoughtful piece, and I love how you are creating space and inviting others in to this conversation. I have lots of thoughts! My ideas are very nuanced. Something that scares me is the fact that the world of social media and the development of AI are happening at the same time. It'd be nice to believe that humans as a whole will choose to use these things as tools for GOOD, but I just don't believe that unfortunately.
I've been noticing myself getting sucked into the world that is Claude. I've asked it questions, mostly business related, almost as a way to see if a problem I have has a solution that I couldn't think of. I always leave the "conversations" feeling depleted like I just engaged in an addiction. For me, that's the sign that it's unhealthy. That feeling of "needing it" - and the massive instant gratification it provides frightens me and I know it's not something I can engage in anymore.
I can see the possibilities/helping parts of it too. Like the stories of people deciding to go to the ER because of something an AI chat said to them and then that saving their life - though I think that's just my health anxiety speaking. Or when Shopify's AI chat creates code for a small thing on my website, that's been helpful.
But the creative side of me is a little horrified to be honest! I will never, ever use AI to create art or to write, or even to edit writing. It makes me think of the ways I have used it though with my questions- thinking maybe in a more hidden way I have used it to replace creativity, in the sense of using my creative mind to think of answers to my questions. (Hence why I will not be using it like that any more!)
I don't know. I think as a whole, the inner child within me just feels sad. The world needs human connection and kindness more than anything else, and it doesn't seem we're heading in that direction. Humans give into the instant gratification, the possibility of all the things that cause insecurity to be removed. I have an innate necessity for authenticity. I cannot live unauthentically. It is my biggest value aside from kindness. The world feels less and less authentic to me, more fake, more robotic.
Just some of my thoughts! Thank you for bringing this up Claire, always love to hear your perspectives 💗
Oh, this is so beautifully expressed and I want to sit with every single word you've taken the time to write here Bailey.
The feeling of depletion and deception is such an honest and important signal, and I really respect that you've listened to it. That awareness, that noticing, that's exactly the kind of inner wisdom that gets drowned out when we're chasing instant answers or we outsource our power. The fact that you caught it and named it says everything about how deeply connected you are to yourself and what's important too.
I think you've touched on something that I find really hard to articulate, and you've done it so well. There's a difference between using a tool and being used by one. The Shopify code example, the ER story, those feel like tools doing what tools are supposed to do. But when it starts to replace the slow, rich, sometimes frustrating process of your own creative thinking? That's when something precious gets totally lost.
And the authenticity piece. Yes. A thousand times yes. I feel that grief too, honestly. The world becoming a little more polished, a little more frictionless, a little less human. It's a real loss, and it's okay to feel sad about it. That's why I crave romance and nostaligia I think? What I hold onto in this: people like you, who feel that sadness keeps the human thread alive. Your inner child is wise.
Thank you for bringing all of this here. This is exactly the kind of conversation I hoped this piece would open up. So grateful and excited to chat on Mon more. 💗
Oh this made me smile so much!! I really appreciate what you've reflected back :) It makes me feel really seen. Thank you 🥹
I was also going to say this is why I'm really excited that I'm starting a physical letter/snail mail club. I got a postcard in the mail the other day from a poet's postcard club and the amount of joy and delight I felt was insane. Reading what you said at the end about google, Netflix, all of those things really hit me why any type of real connection, in person or offline is now like treasure eve though it's totally normal!
Cannot WAIT to chat more with you 💖
This is such an interesting and thought provoking conversation! I agree that it’s really important to tune into how AI (and other technologies) make us feel and to be aware of negative impacts. I notice this with social media and even TV - too much scrolling or binge watching depletes me. I have to be careful as well to create before consuming or I can get overwhelmed by other people’s content and lose my creative spark.
And yes, AI and the wider internet can be a treasure trove of information, with good outcomes like getting prompt medical treatment. But we also have to question/verify sources given how often AI hallucinates. And it can be sometimes been dangerous - I’ve seen horror stories in the news of it giving suicide instructions, encouraging eating disorders, etc. Algorithms are designed to suck us in, flatter us and sometimes don’t challenge damaging beliefs. So a real risk for vulnerable people.
I also worry about narrowing perspectives or presenting one view as correct - what has the AI been trained on? Are diverse voices reflected or is it mostly white Western males? Are dissenting views acknowledged? Is indigenous wisdom considered (and are these voices credited, or is their work appropriated)? And conversely, are dangerous, hateful narratives allowed to propagate under the guise of freedom of speech? Is disinformation dominating, or are verified facts presented? So many challenges with technology, not limited to AI, but it can amplify at speed.
I could go down so many rabbit holes thinking about the pros and cons of AI….! Now back to creating! 😆
Holly I love your reflections!! I agree completely with social media and even TV being incredibly draining. I've struggled with social media for years - with TV, I notice that if I scroll through trying to find a movie to watch, it feels similar to scrolling on social media.
I've seen horror stories too like you mentioned. It is most definitely a real risk and so easily accessible by anyone of any age which is scary. It seems to be constantly validating and it's also not human so people can manipulate it and end up in a dangerous spot.
You shared so many good questions about who it's been trained on and about disinformation. I love how you said AI hallucinates - I've asked it questions and it has given me the wrong answers several times.
I have so many curiosities/thoughts too thinking about all of it and like you said, could go down so many rabbit holes! It's such a wide spanning topic that goes far beyond the chat bots. It's good to be in conversation with others about it I feel because I assume the people creating AI and developing it would rather have people be silent and accept whatever they want to do.
So interesting to chat about!
Great , thought provoking and balanced post on the a.i debate, thanks Claire .
I used to Claude to help me organise Resturant’s and places to visit on a recent holiday it was brilliant. I asked distance and ways to travel between each venue , opening times etc all in a few moments.
I also use Claude to edit and give feedback on a draft post. This helps clean it up and can generate new ideas .
I know someone who is using a.i throughout her health and coaching business , generating individual programmes successfully as far as I can see.
Yesterday I tried to book someone to clean our oven and immediately were introduced to their a.i bot. It will be used almost everywhere soon…so it’s worthwhile understanding all the pros and cons.
Ahh yes - I love using it for helping me navigate what's possible with the times I have in London when I go - that's a great shout. Haha - a handy oven bot is so nice. Less of the endless loops and moving us forward can only be helpful.
True except in this case I wanted to speak to a human 😂