use your fucking brain
It´s mid-august, I´m sitting at the train station as I´m writing this, train after train passing me by, but I needed to leave the house because it´s so hot, and I can´t be bothered to go the library to write, and for some reason, sitting in a very busy train station writing makes me very productive.
📸
I work as a waitress on Intercity trains across Germany as my main job, and something I´ve noticed is people ask very dumb questions. Like, super dumb - what do you mean, you´re asking me if the train is going to Munich WHEN IT LITERALLYS SAYS MUNICH ON THE TRAIN AND WE´RE STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO IT or what do you mean which track are we on, JUST LOOK UP IT SAYS TRACK SEVEN RIGHT ABOVE YOUR HEAD. Don´t tell my supervisor but most times I can´t bother to answer because I know they will be able to figure this one out on their own.
Anyway, I think a big reason for this shift is the rise of AI. I´m not saying that people weren´t asking dumb questions before AI was taking over, but it did get worse, and my coworkers, some of them doing this job for decades, are mirroring my observation.
And it makes sense. ChatGPT can do everything for me, write grocery lists, pick out outfits, write birthday cards, plan a vacation, I would never ever have to decide anything in my life ever again if I didn´t want to.
I got to be honest, sometimes, this feels tempting – I am a bilingual bisexual after all, so making decisions isn´t exactly my greatest strength.
Still, I would never sell my brain for some temporary comfort. Well, this sounds very dramatic. Maybe it is.
It´s like seeking validation for everything from a friend I know has good taste. Of course I can do that. But at the same time, every time I do so, I lose a piece of the ability to trust myself and my own opinion. (Which is funny, because that way, my confidence will shrink, and I could go and buy more products to feed into my consumerism habits to feel better about myself. And in the end, that´s exactly what they want. Just a thought.)
I did use ChatGPT for a while to understand it better – how could I say I´m against something if I haven´t even used it to form an opinion? My opinion on AI hasn´t changed, but at least I broadened my horizon by trying something out of my comfort zone.
And I see the appeal of it, I really do. It doesn´t seem like a big deal as well. It´s just a meal plan. It´s just a grocery list. It´s just a birthday card, no one would even notice that I didn´t write it on my own (spoiler: people can tell.)
This is exactly where I think it becomes very dangerous. Because the lines from asking ChatGPT those simple things, to letting it take over your life seem very blurry.
And suddenly, you´re asking the stewardess at the station if the train is going to Munich right next to the sign. But you´re so used to asking someone else everything. Maybe using your own brain to figure this one out wasn´t even an option you considered anymore.
And like I said, I get it. But I have decided I will do everything in my power to keep my brain protected. I will keep my independence. It´s a decision everyone needs to make for themselves, even though I feel like in most cases, it´s no active decision anymore. It just happens.
This way, the individual becomes a slave to technology. What if you get so reliant on ChatGPT and one day, a paywall gets introduced? What if you form a bond to some chatbot, value their opinion and won´t even notice you´re being influenced into a way the tech bros will profit off? Especially in terms of politics, I think this could become a problem in near future. Who will profit from people stopping to talk to each other and talk to a manipulative machine instead? Well, it won´t be we as a society.
Another thing I think is dangerous is losing the ability to embrace other opinions and discuss important things. Because ChatGPT will always encourage you, it will feed your ego to start gaining your trust.
This is something I will never shut up about because it is fucking scary.
Maybe this sounds dramatic, but I´m not gonna give them my brain. It feels almost like a radical thing to say in today’s age that I don´t use AI.
I will do whatever is in my power to never let anyone take this away from me.
How I´m making sure that my brain is happy and healthy:
I will use the internet, and social media, but I´ll never let this be my only source of education, as echo chambers and personalized for you pages creating bubbles are so fucking dangerous, and I know I sound like everyone and their mom, but this is something I´ll never shut up about. Also, fact checking information because there is so much garbage floating around social media.
I´m always (always always always) making sure I have multiple streams of information, such as independent newspapers, books (!), podcasts, magazines, and of course, other people’s opinions. I´m still learning to listen to people who don´t share the same opinion as I do, but I do notice that sometimes, this feels enriching, and most of all, leaves me with food for thought to build my opinions later on.
I read in silence. Sometimes, I can get lost in a book and read for hours. Sometimes, just thinking of picking up a book makes me tired. Both okay, both valid. But if I feel like reading, I read. Sometimes I force myself to pick up a book, but if I don´t feel it after a few pages, I´ll leave it.
I use the library. Third spaces like these are so important for us, and we need to protect them. That´s all I need to say.
Talking to people and learning from them. Their ways to view the world. Their perspectives. Sometimes I immediately disagree but notice later that they had a point. Being open to other opinions – this is still a difficult thing for me.
I guess in the end, we can´t do anything to change that fact that AI will become more and more powerful. But we can still choose to protect our own brains, our own critical thinking skills, and not become a slave to a machine.