Rock Candy Reviews

As a creative writer, I stand firmly against the use of AI for the arts. I do not want AI making my animations, making my music, and especially not making my stories in movies and tv. This makes sense from a career standpoint, and also a human perspective. An AI program has no lived experiences, and simply pulls from what it is fed. While humans have their physical senses and emotions to express. It is more genuine and easier to relate to.

However, I have still found myself being put off by AI in other forms of work as well. When AI writes articles, emails, and research, I feel equally upset, even though it has nothing to do with the arts. There is still this air of disrespect that gets under my skin, and I think I have figured out why. It all has to do with time.

There are many instances in our lives where we are forced to spend time on something we don’t want to, or have no interest in. From parts of our jobs, to loads of laundry, there are plenty of things we would rather be doing. It can be frustrating, but everyone knows that building endurance for tough or unwanted moments is important. If everyone shut down as soon as life got painful and unpleasant, society itself would collapse.

AI seems like a time-saver, but it is really just another way of saying “I don’t want to spend time and effort on this, when AI can do it for me”. We as people are losing the ability to persevere and challenge ourselves, because AI is preventing us from learning from each other. Even some schools are taking the easy way out to teach children by using AI in the classroom. (Source:https://www.facebook.com/reel/1381780413366189 )

This also sends a separate message that is even more troubling. When a person doesn’t want to go the extra mile for such important things, that mindset can sneak its way into how we view each other. By taking the humanity out of our work, we run the risk of losing our own humanity. For instance, using AI to write a quick email might seem like no big deal, but it actually says something about the type of communication, and its importance. Not taking the time to proof read, or be genuinely personable, shows how little the person sending the generated email cares about the recipient. Using AI to write the email says “I don’t care enough about you to use my brain and write for you. I have better things to spend my energy on.”

It might sound like an overreaction, but each time someone refuses real human interaction, it gets closer to becoming of the norm. Using AI to communicate runs the risk of people getting accustomed to not thinking about the other person as human. There is no consideration for emotions, politeness or even one’s train of thought. A person’s natural thought process allows for better communication. Using AI can lead to important questions not being asked and lack of context. This kind of miscommunication can be detrimental in businesses and daily life, and can cause problems for later.

Considering that ever since 2020 we have been more isolated and emotionally absent as a society, AI will most likely make these issues worse. AI allows us to turn off our brains and feelings, which is the opposite of what we need to improve our overall well being.