I Will Never Use AI

I’ve been hearing a ton lately about the use of AI technology for a variety of things in life. From writing papers to fears of letting AI run the world, there seem to be people all over the map on this issue. But where do you fall?

My favorite comment lately is the one that emphatically says I will NEVER use AI.

What I love about this claim is that it’s typed from a smart phone into a social media platform. Not to mention the fact that spell check, which likely was used during the typing of the post, is at a minimum a base form of AI.

Look I get it! If you watched I-Robot then you’re probably a tad freaked out about artificial intelligence running the world! But really? Never going to use it? It’s all bad? Can’t have a good use at all?

I mean seriously, I really am not a fan of automated checkout stations at the local grocery or hardware store. I’ll wait a few extra minutes if it means I can talk to a real human instead of fumbling all over a touch screen. It’s less about the tech and more about keeping people in jobs!

The idea behind AI is to automate what we don’t actually need to do. Are there processes or actions that can be done without a human touch? What are you doing that can be done without you handling it at all, or at best minimally?

Thank about the general use of AI for a second. There could be some good uses for AI. I mean after all, a program that’s able to search common problems to a situation and find best practices all with a simple written or even spoken command, is a pretty helpful tool! Gathering lists of vacation spots in a given area so you can research them, could be pretty darn helpful! Finding best practices on a given topic without scouring the inter webs could save you tons of time!

I use AI technology from time to time. No, I don’t use it to write sermons, there’s a bit of an ethical dilemma there to say the very least! But I will use AI to come up with a list of topics to write about, or a creative title for something, or a different way to word a paragraph or email. I have a bible software that allows me to research a word or phrase to gather insights on how it’s used throughout the Bible and in cultural contexts outside of biblical history.

I’m kind of curious where you land on the use of AI. But one more thing before we close this post out (and yes I’m really typing this at my standing desk with my forearms cramping after an arm workout). Just thought I’d make that clear.

For those who use AI, here are 3 keys to keep in mind.

1. If you use it, don’t hide it. One thing that’s pretty terrible is claiming something as yours when it’s not! That’s called plagiarism if you didn’t know. And yep that cool spell check AI that’s built into my laptop just fixed the word plagiarism for me because I stink at spelling!
2. Using AI can’t replace your real work. If you’re a content creator type person, you can’t just use AI to replace your workload. You can use it to get started or get you over a creative hump but you really need to touch the content to assure it’s yours. I’ve tried to have AI create content in my style, but it really can’t get the method of writing that is “me.” You will need to put your stamp on it at a very minimum.
3. This one’s for my pastor friends – don’t have AI write your sermons. Really not a great idea. Use it for an illustration perhaps, but don’t have an AI bot replace your study time and investment into the topic about which you’re speaking. It’s not just a bad idea; it’s kind of a bonehead move. Not to mention unethical unless you’re going to admit that ChatGPT wrote your sermon for you!

Look, there are many other cautions and rules when it comes to the use of AI. These are three of my top go to thoughts when it comes to using AI in my daily work. What are your thoughts?