Thank you for your honesty, Carolyn. Being a resident of the SF Bay Area it's incredibly difficult not to run into AI anywhere I go (just one example: pretty much all of the billboards on the freeways are AI company ads), but I've been keeping it out of my life for the same reasons you stated. Also, I appreciate the tip to filter out the AI overview from searches! Here's to more human connection and creativity.
I find myself in this same position, and this was really helpful to curtail my own impulses about using this tech for my mental health. (Also - no wonder I like your Substack! I’m a Taurus sun, Pisces moon, Leo rising 🥰)
thank you so much for this. i watched a video a few days ago made by a former alcoholic that reframed AI usage as an addiction. and i fear i am on that path if not there already. like you, i have been ignoring my intuition for so long, i am an anxious person who was diagnosed with autism very young, so i grew up believing that my way of seeing the world was not correct. i feel deep shame for my use of llms especially as an artist in art school surrounded by people who are very loudly anti AI (and for good reason). yet the shame doesn't stop me. if anything i use the ai more, to grapple with uncertainty, using it as some sort of external "objective". this post is making me realize i should cancel my claude subscription.
Hi Lauren! Thanks so much for reading it and opening up about your experience, much of which I deeply relate to. I think vocalizing our shame, even if it’s to strangers on the internet, is a great step towards healing.
I definitely encourage you to divest from Claude (don’t give them your precious $!!) but tbh I still have times of using it! I hope you can also have compassion for yourself if you continue to use it while investing in more supportive communities/tools/practices to help you heal and embrace your neurodivergence <3
Carolyn I really appreciate you putting yourself + your experience out there. I'm not an (intentional) AI user myself. However, I know that shame is not a motivator for anything good. I think this post is going to make a lot of people feel not so alone + give them some real practical guidelines for steering away from it. As an intuition facilitator, I believe that learning to trust ourselves at a profound level is crucial #inthesetimes!
Thank you shea <3 I am also so grateful for your tarot zines—the non-linear, exploratory way in which they're written have helped me so much in getting to know the cards more intimately and contemplatively. Excited to see you this Wed!!
Definitely not judging you, what an incredibly brave article on a topic we need to talk more about. I used to be someone who was chronically online as well, from a young age too. Literally met my husband online. I worry, too, that AI will make us lose human connection.
Thank you for sharing this and the resources within it. I do not want to use AI, and yet do not want to be ignorant out of avoidance.
When you shared your experience of running to AI for it’s soothing properties, I was reminded of the years I spent in maladaptive daydreaming, addicted to the fantasy in my even after I knew it was not good for my mental health. There are so many ways to run from what is painful.
I didn’t mean to press enter. I am not trying to compare the experience of one person with an insidious designed-to-be addictive internet tool with serious unresolved ethical and environmental issues. At the same time, I respect it has its uses for some people and some circumstances. I’m sad we live in such a polarized society of us and them.
Thank you. This is very interesting. I am in the try actively to not use AI camp while trying to understand the pukl to do so without judging. Both not judging and actually succeeding in not unintentionally using AI are difficult, though. Appreciate this piece, therefore.
This was a really refreshing and honest and brave post, Carolyn! I can relate to so much. I am afraid of AI and stubborn about not using it for certain things like art. But I’ve also ran to it to relieve medical anxieties but found that the anxiety didn’t fully go away until I talked to a human professional (omg just typing that out feels like I’m in a confessional booth). Your writing is making me think about the ways AI entices me on things it can’t actually follow through on. Also, so sad to read that stat about Korea being #1 users. 😭
I absolutely loved reading your share on this topic. First I was anti-iA, now I am more in the middle. It infuriates me that it steals art from people, I am concerned about the environmental impact (even if eating meat is making more damages, and most people don’t want to hear about this topic), and I am really worried about disconnection between people and their ability to think by themselves. I use iA and made few rules : 1. treat it like a public space : do I feel comfortable strangers knowing this about me ? ; 2. Don’t speak about other people ; 3. I treat ChatGPT as my assistant, but I am the CEO who is in charge of making decisions ; 4. I always speak nice ; 5. I low as much as possible human behaviours from the iA I use (emojis, cheerfulness, emotions speaking,…). I use it probably 3/4 times a week, most of the time not, and it’s enough for me. I think speaking about iA hygiene for mental health is so important. Thank you again for sharing !
I recently used chatgpt for the first time for astrology, and was surprised that I liked what it was saying... I did notice foibles. I already decided that I'm not going to continue with it. I think you are *brave, you are not alone, and to let you know, people are open to discussing it. You need not be fearful or ashamed, ever!
<3 <3 <3 Thank YOU Carolyn for inviting me into discussion about this with you and for this incredibly thoughtful post.
"To make real collective change happen, I believe we need to be better at speaking with this conflicted group of people without drowning them in shame. Shame makes people run towards AI, not away from it. We need to be able to have real conversations about AI at a human-to-human level to move towards moral action."
^^^ THIS!!!!! Times 1000!!! Fighting off the "inevitability trap" that is so oft touted by AI boosters must first start with this as a goal IMO. Most people are not the architects of technology; they are absolutely able to be reached with real, thoughtful conversation and work to persuade them to resistance.
Thank you for this, I felt like I could relate to so much of what you were feeling and I'm glad you wrote this to help others (like me) who are struggling with moving away from AI to feel good about the choice to opt out when so many people shout that "AI is here to stay and you need to get with the program"
Maybe those shouts are true for certain industries but definitely not across the board! And we have to remember that's what AI companies need us to believe...
It's the old capitalist spiel of "this is inevitable, so just play along" isn't it. And yes, it certainly might be of use in some areas, but it's certainly not inevitable that it needs to be used by everyone on such an enormous scale
I love this line: "Every time I sought AI instead of staying with uncertainty, I was denying my intuition." thanks for writing this!
Thank you David!
Thank you for your honesty, Carolyn. Being a resident of the SF Bay Area it's incredibly difficult not to run into AI anywhere I go (just one example: pretty much all of the billboards on the freeways are AI company ads), but I've been keeping it out of my life for the same reasons you stated. Also, I appreciate the tip to filter out the AI overview from searches! Here's to more human connection and creativity.
I find myself in this same position, and this was really helpful to curtail my own impulses about using this tech for my mental health. (Also - no wonder I like your Substack! I’m a Taurus sun, Pisces moon, Leo rising 🥰)
I'm relieved to hear it resonated 💛 and that is wild! Both earth sign suns too! Happy Taurus season to you :)
thank you so much for this. i watched a video a few days ago made by a former alcoholic that reframed AI usage as an addiction. and i fear i am on that path if not there already. like you, i have been ignoring my intuition for so long, i am an anxious person who was diagnosed with autism very young, so i grew up believing that my way of seeing the world was not correct. i feel deep shame for my use of llms especially as an artist in art school surrounded by people who are very loudly anti AI (and for good reason). yet the shame doesn't stop me. if anything i use the ai more, to grapple with uncertainty, using it as some sort of external "objective". this post is making me realize i should cancel my claude subscription.
Hi Lauren! Thanks so much for reading it and opening up about your experience, much of which I deeply relate to. I think vocalizing our shame, even if it’s to strangers on the internet, is a great step towards healing.
I definitely encourage you to divest from Claude (don’t give them your precious $!!) but tbh I still have times of using it! I hope you can also have compassion for yourself if you continue to use it while investing in more supportive communities/tools/practices to help you heal and embrace your neurodivergence <3
Carolyn I really appreciate you putting yourself + your experience out there. I'm not an (intentional) AI user myself. However, I know that shame is not a motivator for anything good. I think this post is going to make a lot of people feel not so alone + give them some real practical guidelines for steering away from it. As an intuition facilitator, I believe that learning to trust ourselves at a profound level is crucial #inthesetimes!
Thank you shea <3 I am also so grateful for your tarot zines—the non-linear, exploratory way in which they're written have helped me so much in getting to know the cards more intimately and contemplatively. Excited to see you this Wed!!
Really enjoyed this one. The honesty about AI costing you your intuition is rare to read.
Definitely not judging you, what an incredibly brave article on a topic we need to talk more about. I used to be someone who was chronically online as well, from a young age too. Literally met my husband online. I worry, too, that AI will make us lose human connection.
Your vulnerability is inspiring Carolyn! ❤️
Thank you for sharing this and the resources within it. I do not want to use AI, and yet do not want to be ignorant out of avoidance.
When you shared your experience of running to AI for it’s soothing properties, I was reminded of the years I spent in maladaptive daydreaming, addicted to the fantasy in my even after I knew it was not good for my mental health. There are so many ways to run from what is painful.
I didn’t mean to press enter. I am not trying to compare the experience of one person with an insidious designed-to-be addictive internet tool with serious unresolved ethical and environmental issues. At the same time, I respect it has its uses for some people and some circumstances. I’m sad we live in such a polarized society of us and them.
Thank you. This is very interesting. I am in the try actively to not use AI camp while trying to understand the pukl to do so without judging. Both not judging and actually succeeding in not unintentionally using AI are difficult, though. Appreciate this piece, therefore.
This was a really refreshing and honest and brave post, Carolyn! I can relate to so much. I am afraid of AI and stubborn about not using it for certain things like art. But I’ve also ran to it to relieve medical anxieties but found that the anxiety didn’t fully go away until I talked to a human professional (omg just typing that out feels like I’m in a confessional booth). Your writing is making me think about the ways AI entices me on things it can’t actually follow through on. Also, so sad to read that stat about Korea being #1 users. 😭
Thank you Joyce! I am now imagining a confessional where we all divulge how we use AI 🤖 it's good to have it out in the open!
Loved reading this. ALSO HI CAROLYN!!! So happy to find you on here.
omg HELLO Kristina!!! So lovely to reconnect!
I absolutely loved reading your share on this topic. First I was anti-iA, now I am more in the middle. It infuriates me that it steals art from people, I am concerned about the environmental impact (even if eating meat is making more damages, and most people don’t want to hear about this topic), and I am really worried about disconnection between people and their ability to think by themselves. I use iA and made few rules : 1. treat it like a public space : do I feel comfortable strangers knowing this about me ? ; 2. Don’t speak about other people ; 3. I treat ChatGPT as my assistant, but I am the CEO who is in charge of making decisions ; 4. I always speak nice ; 5. I low as much as possible human behaviours from the iA I use (emojis, cheerfulness, emotions speaking,…). I use it probably 3/4 times a week, most of the time not, and it’s enough for me. I think speaking about iA hygiene for mental health is so important. Thank you again for sharing !
I recently used chatgpt for the first time for astrology, and was surprised that I liked what it was saying... I did notice foibles. I already decided that I'm not going to continue with it. I think you are *brave, you are not alone, and to let you know, people are open to discussing it. You need not be fearful or ashamed, ever!
Thank you Sara!!
<3 <3 <3 Thank YOU Carolyn for inviting me into discussion about this with you and for this incredibly thoughtful post.
"To make real collective change happen, I believe we need to be better at speaking with this conflicted group of people without drowning them in shame. Shame makes people run towards AI, not away from it. We need to be able to have real conversations about AI at a human-to-human level to move towards moral action."
^^^ THIS!!!!! Times 1000!!! Fighting off the "inevitability trap" that is so oft touted by AI boosters must first start with this as a goal IMO. Most people are not the architects of technology; they are absolutely able to be reached with real, thoughtful conversation and work to persuade them to resistance.
Thank you for this, I felt like I could relate to so much of what you were feeling and I'm glad you wrote this to help others (like me) who are struggling with moving away from AI to feel good about the choice to opt out when so many people shout that "AI is here to stay and you need to get with the program"
Maybe those shouts are true for certain industries but definitely not across the board! And we have to remember that's what AI companies need us to believe...
It's the old capitalist spiel of "this is inevitable, so just play along" isn't it. And yes, it certainly might be of use in some areas, but it's certainly not inevitable that it needs to be used by everyone on such an enormous scale