Write things yourself
Writing things is really hard sometimes. Starting at a blank editor, watching the cursor flash, it can be difficult to get started, to wring some words out of your keyboard.
Thats why its so tempting to reach for the AI tool so quickly. With one simple tap or prompt, you fill your screen with words. "Close enough", you think. "I could have written than myself anyway".
Is that actually true, though? Are you really expressing yourself anymore? Did you actually even read the words just printed on your screen?
Writing, and more broadly communication is such a foundational part of what makes us human. We all know "I think, therefore I am". But what about "I write, therefore I am human". Language is such a beautiful gift, giving you to ability to describe anything you can imagine in vivid detail, tell jokes, boast, flirt, or just plain be silly.
I recently encountered AI features in my work gmail account. I was waiting for an important message, and opened it up to reply. I found Gemini instantly neatly drafted a full reply for me. "But thats not even what I want to say?" I thought. I trawled through the settings, disabling everything that looked remotely related. Sure enough, when I started a reply again, the exact same thing happened again. AI overeach is happening everywhere in our lives, and those buttons are so damn tempting.
But I encourage you - write that email yourself sometime. You might find it liberating.