I guess you can say my relationship with AI is complicated. I’ve written a few pieces about it here on the blog—critiquing its effectiveness (READ: Why you need a content writer over AI [Plus 5 things to look out for]), laughing with it (READ: ChatGPT makes me laugh (And other reasons writers should use AI) and optimizing it (READ: ChatGPT prompts that actually work [13 ideas for writers & people who have to write]).
But I’ll put that all aside and say, I’m also kind of scared of it. This formal blog on my website is usually a little more structured and organized, but I’d like to introduce you to the other side of my brain—the stream-of-consciousness writing you can find on my Substack publication, Voice Notes. The piece below was originally published there on June 18, 2025. If you prefer to read the original post, check it out here, and feel free to subscribe if you like this kind of personal essay-style of writing.
I went on a first date the other day. Nice guy, but not my guy, so I was going to send the “thanks but no thanks” wrap-up text.
Stumped on what to say to strike the right tone of honest and kind, I turned to ChatGPT to write it for me. I gave the context, what I wanted to say, and the general tone, and it spit out a response—an eerily good one.
I asked for some variations of the message, and it gave me four more options with slightly different tones.
While I edited slightly for context, I basically just sent the guy what ChatGPT told me to say.
I’ve also recently used ChatGPT to help with my cover letters, a tricky email to a client, and correspondence with a potential housemate.
Each time, I’ve been pretty surprised by how good the messages are. They’re scarily good. While the wording isn’t always 100% what I’d personally say, they definitely get the message across and adjust for tone, context, vibe.
I think we can deny it all we want, but AI is getting good. Now it will never, ever EVER be as good as a human because it’s not a human. It relies on human inputs, human genius, human ideas to replicate and recreate something “new.” It’s not new because it has to learn from what people feed it. It cannot have novel thoughts independently because it is non-sentient. (I have, however, seen enough sci-fi movies to have a healthy fear of the robots gaining sentience, but that is for another conversation.) AI being inferior to human creation is a hill I’ll die on.
But. It’s learning quickly to give the people (me) what they want. And if we want quick, good enough results with minimal effort, it’s there for us.
At this point, I’m really wondering: should I be more scared of how good AI is getting or my apparent willingness to give into it?
Probably #2, but let’s explore.
I’m afraid of robots
So fear #1 is how good AI is getting. Some people (those invested in AI for their careers or personal interest) celebrate this. It’s the next great technology revolution. It’s going to make everything faster! More efficient! More streamlined!
Okay, sure, but right now, AI is also making everything:
- More similar. AI writing is sooooo boring. I edit a lot of AI-generated work for clients, and it’s easy to pick out because it’s all very similar.
- More fake. AI-generated photos and videos are all over social media. Some are shockingly realistic and help sell products and lifestyles with attractive people telling you what to buy. But they’re fake.
- More boring. AI learns from the inputs it’s fed. And as more people use it and put what it generates on the Internet, it then uses that again to produce “new” info. It’s basically recycling the same ideas over and over again rather than novel, insightful ones.
To me, these are big issues. And it doesn’t even get into the argument that some AI-generated content—like art—is theft. (Here’s a very interesting piece from The New Yorker about a class-action lawsuit by artists claiming AI is stealing their work. I’m no judge, but they should win it.)
Maybe you don’t think these issues are a big deal… the efficiency, the productivity are more important. But do we want to live in a society where everything is just fast and efficient? Is it better for humanity?
Between DoorDash for food and Bumble for dates, there are lots of fast and efficient modern-day realities that, in my humble opinion, are not helping us thrive. I don’t see how max productivity is the best end goal for humanity.
I’m afraid I like robots
And now for fear #2: How much I like using AI. While I am nowhere near an AI expert or deeply into all the different programs, I use it almost every day. Sometimes, it feels innocuous, like using Grammarly to help catch my spelling mistakes (“exercise” and “sandwich” are embarrassingly common ones for me).
But other uses of AI, like drafting my post-date messages, feel a bit off. Why am I asking it to help me with personal correspondence? When did that happen? It’s giving “Her” vibes.
Many, many people are turning to AI today to discuss personal issues, including what was once reserved for a therapist’s office. Spend just a few minutes on this Reddit thread under r/mentalhealth, and you’ll see dozens of people equally excited and freaked out by how good AI is as a therapist. People are turning to AI because it’s free, it’s fast, and it’s always there. They’re using it to sort through real-life problems, stressors, anxieties, and depressive episodes. And, it’s helping. A lot of people (anecdotally) report benefits. Many are equally aware that AI doesn’t replace real, human therapists.
Research bears this trend out, too. HBR put out a fascinating piece on how people are really using generative AI in 2025. One interesting finding is the shift from technical to emotional applications—more people are using it for therapy, organizing their lives, and finding purpose. They found a major shift in use from 2024, where the biggest use was content creation and editing, to 2025, where the biggest use was professional and personal support. That’s just one year, and we’ve not turned to AI for more than just technical help, but personal help.
Does this worry you? It worries me.
I’m afraid we’ll get comfortable using robots as therapists, ChatGPT as our personal scribes. That we’re so quick to use AI instead of our own brains, resources, people, etc.
A lot of people are worried, too. That same HBR article talked about the concerns young people, parents, and educators have about our new reliance on AI. Some acknowledge they’re outsourcing their thinking to AI, others have concerns over privacy, and many fear its impacts in the workplace and schools.
And yet, we’re all still using AI. Over 50% of US adults say they interact with it several times per week.
Anecdotally, I hear references to AI nearly daily. My friends and peers regularly use it for things like writing job applications, planning vacations, getting advice, and more.
Doesn’t seem like AI is going anywhere anytime soon. Doesn’t seem like we’re going to become less reliant on it. Doesn’t seem like it’s going to be less involved in our lives.
So. What do we do?
My only answer is to be mindful and aware of your use of AI. To acknowledge when you’re turning to it instead of your brain, resources, or another human. To search for it creeping into your everyday life. And then, resist it… Often. Use it, yes/I guess, but resist using it, too. Delay your use of AI by engaging your brain and your resources. Then, when you do use it, edit and evaluate the heck out of it.
…let me know what you think.
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