I have begun relying on AI and I don’t know how I feel about it.

[Tusktusk]

So far this month I have used AI to:

Analyse my colours (thanks MN) and suggest outfits

Create a menu of packed lunches around my dietary requirements and preferences, complete with a shopping list

Plan a holiday itinerary

Save me hours and hours of work and stress by suggesting really useful ways to overcome very particular work difficulties, having been thrown into an out of my comfort zone situation. I have used AI for this on a daily basis this week

Tonight, instead of posting my current family dilemma on mumsnet I chatted about it with Claude. The responses were really good. Wise, thoughtful, non judgemental, practical, understanding… like the best mumsnetters.

Am I starting to rely on it too much?

What have you been using it for?

Do you know how much energy AI needs? Do you realise that MLMs like AI scrape content from all our social media posts? Don’t you care about the ethical issues around AI?

And last, don’t you care about losing all your skills and the power of critical thought to AI?

so, yes, I think you’re using it far too much.

Sounds good to me… how do I start using this?

Same here...it's just too good not to use. It saves me time at work and between us we produce better work.

I think the energy use issue is what worries me the most about it @BellissimoGecko

There are so many threads like this at the moment, I can’t help but feel they’re not entirely genuine.

Please talk to me like I’m 5…. How do I start to use AI please?

I’m genuine @MereNoelle. Been on MN for 17 years. Pom bears. Naice ham. Penis beaker. Snapped and farted.

Tell me more about the colours....

Claude helped me with a contractual work issue as well.

I downloaded an app called Claude. You type in a question like you might in a search engine. Be as specific as you can, e.g. “Plan me five dinners to feed 4 people that are high in fibre low in additives, take less than 30 minutes to make. We don’t like salmon and we want a mixture of vegetarian and meat dinners.”

We all became reliant on google at one point. We all became reliant on phones at one point. We all became reliant on the wheel and the printing press at one point.
All AI is doing in a lot of your examples is curating/compiling google etc results for you so you don’t have to spend time scouring and sorting through it yourself.

I use ChatGPT for my colours too after that thread 😆 I used him for something else today too.

This week alone, I’ve used it to show me a kitchen reconfiguration.

I’ve got it to mock up different colour sofas in my living room.

I’ve used it to improve a technical piece of writing I did for work.

To re-write a sensitive email at work.

Asked it to compare 2 procurement frameworks.

I find it increasingly helpful and invaluable.

I know what you mean, Work started encouraging us to use it 18 months or so ago and I was very reluctant initially but it seems to have got much better in that time and is genuinely so helpful.
I caved and let ds ask it a homework question the other day when an hour of googling had failed us and it presented us with everything he needed-goodness knows how it found it all when we couldn’t.
Ive also tried the holiday itinerary which was great.
i might try the clothes/colour and meal plans.
The energy use is a concern yes but for example in the homework googling-would an hour of research have the same energy cost as 5 seconds of AI?
in the case of the colours-I’d have to drive a significant distance to the nearest human who could do that.
Does it even out? Genuine question.

Thing is you can spot AI written emails and texts a mile off. Comes across so lazy imo

@Wardrobehanger I’d like to know if it evens out too. DP is a cynic and says it doesn’t but I’d like to see some stats about it.

@skinnyoptionsonly I’ve never used it to write an email or text. I’m pretty quick at those - I would think asking AI to do it, with the level of detail I’d need to put in the request and then the copy and paste, would take me more time than just writing it myself. I use it for things that are actually difficult and time consuming.

This is like saying don’t you know how much energy a car uses? Don’t you care about how many people get run over each year? And last don’t you care about losing all your muscle mass to driving around instead of walking.

Or judging someone for using calculators.
Or for using phones.
Or email.
Or planes.
Or trains.
Or make up.
Or fountain pens.
Or literally anything.

The energy consumption is awful, the lack of thinking too, but everyone’s gonna be using it. Whether you want to or not AI will be used across almost all businesses behind the scenes if not up front.

This time last year I’d agree with you but I think it’s getting much harder.

It’s the environmental impact for me that stops me using it. I only fly once per year too and try to be environmentally conscious. Not much point when so many people don’t care though.
With regards to using it for work are you in an industry where AI can take on the role? Could you lose your job to AI and how would that make you feel?
I enjoy looking though cook books and planning meals.
It does sound like you’re over relying on it but I’m not a big tech fan at all and don’t care much for it so may not the be the best judge.

Ibelieve with all my heart that these smart refinements in our lives are making us stupider and I deeply mistrust the motives of the tech people who are pushing them on us. And I agree about the energy issue as well.

Never used it in the way you describe. Wouldn't know how to I don't think.

I do have AI teammates in a game I play. They're pretty crap at it. But that's about it.

I’d like to know the same.

i have no idea how to use AI

YABU for using it instead of asking MN!

@REDB99 I also enjoy looking at cookbooks and planning meals, but here’s the thing: I’m a full time working mum. With elderly parents and other care responsibilities. I just don’t have the time.
But that worries me too - if we make our lives easier with AI, will even more tasks be pushed on us by our employers? Will even more be expected of us?

I used mine to help me decide on what to do with the garden. Just uploaded a photo and asked it to make it look better. Also got links to buy the things in the photo and can't wait to get started.

Got a good few recipes tailored to my health needs as all I could find myself was same old.

It actually massively helped today when my card got declined at Tesco checkout. Money was in there, but it just wasn't working and everyone was staring. I asked the staff to keep my trolley aside as I tried to fix it and asked AI for advice.
Was told to buy an online gift card instead. Literally saved my day.

DW found a dress she'd been searching for for years - no photos, just a description of it and the year she bought it.

I also check with it before buying something to find out where else could be selling it cheaper.

Hate how my hair looks, so I put up a photo of my face and asked for suggestions. Came up with one that really suits me and makes me feel better about myself.

For those people who say they'd never use it due to the damage it causes, I hope you also don't drive, don't fly, don't use air con or run fans etc in summer, only use fully recyclable packaging and never buy anything online for home delivery. Considering we're all on Mumsnet anyway, it might be worth checking what damage using the internet does while you're at it. It all contributes.

it's just too good not to use.

A blogger I follow tried out several different AIs by asking them to tell him about something he had researched himself.

They were all either vague and lacking in detail, or just plain wrong.