Please Use AI
A viral personal essay framed as a poem warns that using AI for tasks like writing wedding speeches or planning trips can quietly displace the messy, time-consuming human interactions that give life meaning. Commenters are sharply split: some see AI as the latest step in a long line of technologies that trade authenticity and community for efficiency, while others argue it’s just a tool that, used well, frees time and expands access to knowledge. Underneath the debate are recurring themes of social isolation, loss of craft and pride in work, and uncertainty over what it means to “live well” alongside increasingly capable AI systems.
Overall reaction to the piece
- Many call it beautiful, moving, and tragic; some say it crystallizes a sadness they already felt about AI and modern life.
- Others find it overwrought, condescending, or emotionally manipulative, seeing it as “browbeating” people for using tools.
- Several note the format is essentially a poem / free verse, which affects how it should be read.
AI, human contact, and authenticity
- A central theme: AI risks replacing small “excuses” for human contact (asking for recipes, advice, trip ideas), which are actually core to relationships.
- Supporters argue that efficiency is over‑valued and we’re systematically trading authentic, messy human moments for frictionless AI interactions.
- Critics counter that people already used books, Google, and YouTube for these things; AI doesn’t uniquely cause this loss.
Tool vs. replacement; “false dichotomy” debate
- One camp says the piece creates a false choice: you can both call friends and use AI where appropriate; tech use is about personal discipline.
- The other camp responds that in practice defaults matter: AI is always available, nudging people toward “too much AI” and fewer human encounters.
- Some emphasize that many don’t even have the rich social networks the poem presupposes, so AI can be a lifeline rather than a replacement.
Creativity, meaning, and deskilling
- Multiple commenters report an “existential” loss of satisfaction when AI generates code, slogans, or text: the result works, but feels soulless and not “theirs.”
- Others say they enjoy shifting from coding to architecting or from hand‑crafting to directing models, even if it changes their sense of craft.
- Concerns about “deskilling” and “cognitive surrender” appear: over‑reliance on AI weakens writing, programming, and problem‑solving muscles.
Comparisons to previous technologies and social media
- Repeated parallels to cars, TV, social media, search engines, and smartphones: tech has long reduced incidental human contact and serendipity.
- Some argue we already saw the optimistic story (“the internet will connect us”) curdle into addiction and alienation; thus skepticism about AI is warranted.
- Others see AI as just another powerful but neutral tool: it can isolate or empower, depending on norms, business models, and individual choices.
Broader social and ethical anxieties
- Thread touches on loneliness, erosion of “third places,” kids raised on screens and AI content, and fear of a more isolated, “Solaria‑like” future.
- There are side debates on transhumanism, platform ethics (e.g., Substack), job loss (outsourcing and AI), and whether tech elites undervalue messy humanity.