The long way round.

A little while ago I was advised to outsource the composition of a potentially sensitive email to AI. I was told that AI is really helpful at crafting compositions to help hit the right tone. At the time I was intrigued and curious. As I have thought about it since, I can't actually fathom it.

I have a lot of internal resistance to the use of AI in general and using AI myself. I feel the pressure from others to use it to "make things easier/quicker/better." I've been struggling to articulate what it is about AI that kind of sticks in my throat, so to speak.

I listened to the podcast of Brene Brown and Adam Grant in a conversation about AI and they articulated at least some of what has been my resistance. I highly recommend listening to the whole podcast.

In the podcast Adam Grant says

"Most people look at writing as a tool for communicating. It's more importantly a tool for thinking. Writing is how you work out your ideas. It's how you identify flaws in your logic and holes in your reasoning. And I think we do our best thinking when we write regulary. The idea that people would outsource not only their communication, but their actual cognitive effort that helps them crack hard problems, to a machine, is terrifying to me."

I wholeheartedly concur, Adam.

It is so interesting to me that this is exactly the reasons I have for why I journal and why I recommend journalling to others.

Coming back to asking AI to write my sensitive email, I couldn't bring myself to do it because I simply couldn't outsource my thinking and processing. In the end I didn't write the email, I had a face to face conversation and it turned out well. I prepared for the conversation, I journalled about it, I spoke to another trusted person about it and I used my own imperfect words to communicate what I needed.

I'm going to continue going the long way round. Like writing things myself. (And in long hand when it comes to journalling.) Writing is what helps me to think. It also gives me great pleasure to sit and draft a blog or write a journal entry, or even a birthday card.

Nope, I can't fathom AI or consider using it, most especially when it comes to creating, writing and generating ideas.

Come and take the long way round these holidays and join one of the Journalling Workshops.