The convenience of AI

AI can make things very convenient.

We can ask a question and get an answer. We can turn an idea into words, summarise something we don't have time to read, or ask for help with a decision. There is something appealing about having help so readily available.

I’m curious about what happens when convenience becomes so easy that we stop noticing what we are choosing not to do for ourselves.

When everything is easier

We are used to technology making things easier. AI can now take this much further. It can help us write, plan, research, create and decide, often in moments. We don't have to spend as much time searching, working something out or starting from scratch.

Sometimes that is exactly what we need.

What happens to the effort?

There can be value in effort too.

Working something out can teach us something. Writing can help us discover what we think. Searching can lead us somewhere unexpected. Making something ourselves can give us a sense of connection to what we have created. When AI removes some of that effort, we gain time and convenience.

Yet perhaps we also lose some of the experience along the way.

When convenience becomes automatic

The ease of AI can make it tempting to use it before we have considered whether we need it.

We might ask it to write before we have found our own words. Ask it to suggest something before we have thought about what we want. Ask it to make a choice before we have considered our own preference.

The convenience is real.

So is the possibility that we stop noticing what we are handing over.

Choosing what to do ourselves

Perhaps we don't need to choose between using AI and doing everything ourselves.

We can use it when it genuinely helps, while remaining aware of the things we still want to experience, think through and create for ourselves.

Our attention is naturally drawn towards what is quick and easy.

Perhaps sometimes it is worth pausing to ask: Do I want convenience here, or do I want the experience of doing this myself?

I wonder what you might notice the next time AI offers to make something easier, and whether there are some things you still want to do for yourself.