I Deleted All AI Apps From My Phone
ChatGPT, Gemini, even EcoGPT - all of them
No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!
There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.
Friends.
Unpopular thoughts and ponderings are coming in this post as I’ve been thinking a lot about AI lately - it’s in the media, it’s all over the Internet, and people are feeling more and more pressure to use it.
For instance.
Over the last 6 months or so I have had various clients request that I make them an image for their book or podcast or whatnot and that I include some sort of intricate detail(s) that “AI would be good for” or that “AI could easily make”.
AI would be good for?
AI could easily make?
Sigh.
After having this happen a bunch of times I’ve come to realize that it bothers me.
A lot.
For many reasons.
AND.
It happens way more than you might think.
Now - I’m not here today to convice you not to use AI. Hear me out on that, OK? If you want to use ChatGPT or Google Gemini or whatever, knock yourself out - all good. It DOES have some good, helpful uses.
Much like religion and politics, I really don’t care what you believe, think, etc. I might disagree and be curious as to why you see things the way you do, but I’m OK with you using something (whether that be something like AI or something like alcohol) even if I choose not to. I think that approach to life, religion, politics, etc. is one of the many paths forward in these divided times.
But.
For me?
I am aiming to us AI as little as possible in my life and in my work.
Why?
ONE: (TO ME) AI IS INSULTING
The request to include an element in a design that “AI would be good for” or that “AI could easily make” is … well … insulting. Not so much because I could easily make it (I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not proficient in design programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. and so I’m a bit limited in what I can create) but more so because I’m capable of coming up with very good design ideas even if I don’t have the proficiency of a trained graphic designer.
I mean.
Not to brag, but I have a pretty colorful and eclectic portfolio with ideas ranging from bright and trippy to sophisticated and scholarly that I’ve built over the last 7 years or so.
I also find it insulting as an artist because even if I can’t make the thing you want me to make, someone in the art community can; and so why not hire them? Why not reach out to someone who is trained in those programs and who would welcome the challenge to sit at their computer screen over a pot of coffee to tinker with an idea until they nail it?
Ah, because … money.
Right?
And time.
You see, AI has allowed us to get relatively decent results FAST and CHEAP. For instance, a design idea that might take a graphic designer 10 hours at $50/hour to produce will take ChatGPT or Google Gemini 30 seconds to make for free or for a very low cost per month.
The problem, though is …
Phew.
Where do I begin?
The first problem is that getting that quick result from ChatGPT is taking work away from creative, artistic people … people like me. Back when I started doing social media graphics for people, for instance, I had so many requests that I could barely keep up. 3 years ago I was having to pick and choose who I could help because I had so many people asking for help …
Authors.
Podcasters.
Creatives.
Businesses.
Etc.
At one point I was managing a total of 20 different social media accounts for 5 different authors/podcasters/businesses and was designing the images for all of them along with random images and websites and logos for people who would reach out for help.
Images for Instagram.
Graphics for Facebook.
Reels for Instagram.
TikToks.
Packages of graphics for book releases.
Websites.
Logos.
Merch (t-shirts, stickers, etc.)
But.
Then?
AI became more of a thing and the need to hire someone with an eye for design to sit and tinker with Canva or Illustrator or Adobe Express has become less and less and less important. A lot of those people/companies are still posting content, but it’s very often content that is very clearly not made by a human.
The reality is that AI made it for them much faster than I could.
AND.
It cost them next to nothing - something that is really nice for (especially) small businesses that don’t have a huge budget as well as larger businesses that are looking to cut costs here and there so money can be allocated to larger projects.
So, yeah - I get it. It’s appealing and helpful. It saves time. It saves money. And in these crazy times we’re in - how can you say “NO” to saving time and saving money?
This is the appeal, sure ... but the appeal comes with (I think) problems.
Another problem is that it’s robbing us of the high we get when we “figure something out”.
Do you know that high?
The other day I was working on an image for someone and no matter what I did I couldn’t get it to look the way I wanted. I was getting super frustrated and so I went to Starbucks for a bit to grab a coffee and stretch my legs and get some fresh air.
And then?
When I came back?
Something clicked and I moved a few things around in ways I hadn’t previously considered and before I knew it the idea I had in my head started to take shape on the screen and within an hour or so it was ready to go.
I love that feeling.
Don’t you? Whether you do art or make music or write books or give talks - when that perfect note or perfect sentence or perfect phrase or perfect color hits the canvas … there’s a rush of dopamine that runs through your body as you look back and realize, “I did that!”
AI, I fear, is stealing that from us as we figure out how to rely on it more and make it do things for us that we/other creative people used to do, things that used to give us (or creatives we could ask/hire) that deep sense of satisfaction.
“I did that!” or “Wow, you made that? I love it!” is quickly becoming replaced with “I created the perfect prompt to make AI do that!” … and the 2, for me, are not the same.
TWO: AI MAKES CHEAP KNOCK-OFFS
The reality is that AI is creating these images and essays or whatever else we ask it to create by pulling from whatever information and content is already on the Internet.
And so.
If I ask it to, for example, make an image of a landscape that looks like an oil painting and I want certain colors with a certain vibe and I want it to have a Pop Art theme to it.
Well.
Then it’s going to scan the Internet to find pictures that already exist with those elements …
Paintings painted by artists.
Photos taken by photographers.
Etc.
… and it will merge various elements of those images together to make a brand new image.
Now.
At first? That might not seem like a big deal.
BUT.
I mean - think about out. Because what’s really happening (I think) is that it’s STEALING the ideas from artists who spent hours crafting their piece so it can present you with (in my opinion) a cheap knock-off.
THREE: AI IS OFTEN USED IN DISHONEST WAYS
I‘ve come across this a few times, where people are using AI to design stuff and then selling it as their own without any indication or asterisk letting potential buyers know that it’s AI generated.
Wait.
WHAT?
I’ve seen (MANY TIMES) people create AI images and then SELL THEM on Etsy, eBay, etc. as their own art - sell prints, sell the digital file, etc. without really telling people (other than in the fine print) that they designed it with an AI program.
Yes.
They are creating images using AI (that, admittingly, do look pretty cool) and then selling them as their own.
And.
For me?
That just doesn’t feel very good. It feels dishonest. I mean, it’s one thing to design something cool in AI and let people know it was designed in AI and that you’re selling it as such - that’s great. Maybe they will want to buy it. Maybe they will want to hang it on their wall. Maybe that’s right up their alley.
BUT.
To post the picture to my socials as “my art” or something “I made” and then when people ask me what Adobe program I used to make it or what medium I used and I STILL don’t tell them it was AI … the motives no longer feel artistic or honest (again, in my opinion).
In short, I think AI makes it easier for us to be dishonest even if being dishonest isn’t our original intention.
Big deal, right? “Who cares! It’s just an image.”
Sure - but if this is the “lie” we’re starting with while AI is still relatively new and small … what kind of lies will grow as AI grows? This feels like something (to me) that can get wildly out control very quickly.
FOUR: AI HAS MADE ME LAZY
For 3 months, for example, I used it to generate “show notes” for my podcast. I would download the transcript of the episode, upload it to ChatGPT and ask it to give me an SEO-friendly, short description of the episode that would capture the attention of people and draw them into wanting to listen.
And.
Honestly?
It gave me some pretty great stuff that I would tweak so it was in my voice - it gave me a great description, saved me a lot of time of having to think about how to describe a 45-minute conversation in a short paragraph, AND it made it SEO-friendly so that it had a greater chance of showing up in people’s Google searches.
Excellent!
Or.
Is it?
Because one day I was sending the transcript into ChatGPT and copy/pasting my edited version into the show notes of the podcast when I found myself wondering what other tasks ChatGPT could help me with to save time …
Could it help me brainstorm questions to ask my guests?
Could it help me edit the podcast?
Could it help me create YouTube thumbnails?
Could it help me edit my blog posts?
Could it WRITE a blog post for me that I could edit?
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
In other words, I found myself wondering what other tasks (that do take time, but that I actually enjoy) ChatGPT could take over for me so that I could save time and wouldn’t have to do anything else other than sit in my chair, hit a button, and tweak it’s work.
Hm.
And although that might save time, is it helpful? Is it making me a better podcaster? A better writer? A better interviewer? A better reader? A better thinker? A better communicator? A stronger creative?
Like …
What am I sacrificing on the altar of “saving time” and “being more effecient”?
And.
At what point does the podcast become less of me and more of ChatGPT?
And.
At what point does my voice become so muddied that the show is more AI produced than Glenn produced?
And.
Is that fair to my listeners? To my Patreon supporters? To ME?
Lots of questions, right?
And I’m not alone in this, because even college professors are struggling with students using ChatGPT and other AI sofware to write their term papers and essays as it (again) pulls from millions of pieces of information available on the Internet (that has been written and compiled by HUMANS) to write a paper for a college student who waited until the last minute to write their paper or, maybe, just doesn’t feel like doing the work.
Sigh.
How much AI is too much AI?
At what point does AI shift from a brainstorm partner to a cheap employee?
At what point does AI’s voice become elevated over our own voices?
FIVE: AI IS DESTRUCTIVE
You’ve probably heard about all of these “data centers” that are going up around the country. These are gigantic buildings that house millions of dollars worth of computers that house the information that AI pulls from to make whatever it is that we ask it to make.
And these data centers are massive, ranging anywhere from 100,000 square feet to campuses that cover hundreds of acres.
In fact.
The largest campuses cover millions of square feet and might eventually occupy up to 1,000 acres of land.
One building.
With millions of pieces of technology in it.
Covering over 1,000 acres of land (1,000 acres of land, by the way, can be home to around 500,000 trees).
WHAT.
On top of that the primary way that these data centers are cooled is with water. The computers run so hot that they need to be almost SUBMERGED in water, which is accomplished by having water literally fall from the ceilings on to the computers to cool them off.
And how much water do they use?
The average data center uses between 1 milion and 5 million gallons of water a day, which is equivalent to the daily water usage of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 residents.
AND.
If you have noticed, much of the US is in a drought these days and even though water restrictions are being placed on residents, there are little to no restrictions being placed on the data centers.
That’s not to mention - how many people don’t have access to clean water? Are we really OK with water being poured on top of our billion dollar data centers when it could be given to a child or a family who has none? I mean, do we not see any problem with that at all?
Sigh.
It’s literally STEALING land from nature and draining our planet of water. In fact, the UN has recently warned that if we keep building these data centers and AI continues to expand like it is, we could have a planet-wide drinking water ciris by 2030.
That’s alarming, friends.
And so there you have it. I still need to use AI, of course. It’s not 100% avoidable, unfortunately. Even if you do a Google search - AI is involved to an extent as it gives you a “summary” of what is available on the websites it pulls up for you. It’s also being built into programs like …
Zoom.
Canva.
Microsoft Word.
… and many others so much so that it’s difficult to figure out how to avoid it or shut it off.
Even if I don’t want to use it, I find that it sneaks its way into various places that I frequent for my own work. And sometimes people I work for will ask me to use it for something specific and so I will do as much as I can on my own and then use it for whatever part of the task I need it for.
For example.
I use a program called Opus which cuts long form video into smaller clips that can be used for reels. Although it still requires me to adjust the clips, edit the clips, etc. it does some of the heavy lifting of adding captions and whatnot. I use this for my own podcast on occasion as well as for 2 other people I do work for.
BUT.
I’ve deleted the main AI places from my phone and refuse to use them anymore - ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.
If I’m asked to use it to make an image, I inform the person that I can attempt to make something similar without AI or I uggest they find someone else who can make it OR they use AI to make it themselves because I have both personal and moral struggles with AI.
Even though it could save me time with my podcast, I know that doing the work of writing a description, generating a title, brainstorming interview questiins, etc. will only make me a stronger creative person … even if those things do take a considerable amount of time.
Even though everyone seems to be flocking to ChatGPT to make fun memes, get answers to health questions, get help in writing letters, etc. … I’m choosing not to.
Yes, as I shared above …
I find it insulting.
I think it makes cheap knock-offs of art, letters, essays, etc.
I think it makes it way too easy to be dishonest with our work.
I’ve found that it’s made me lazy.
And.
Most of all - it’s desctructive to our planet.
The reality is that we have in our hands a superpower that is developing so fast that we aren’t able to keep up with understanding the (largely unintended) consequences to our planet and to our lives - our brains, bodies, and our souls. I saw someone in congress the other day say that they recently went to an AI convention where they were told that the amount of technological development coming in the next year will outweight what we’ve seen in the last 10+ years.
Phew.
And so I think we need to pump the brakes a bit and really take some time to think about what this technology is, what it’s doing to us, what it’s capable of doing, and how we can best utilize it in ways that are safe for humanity, safe for the environment, and safe for our kids and their kids, and for generations to come.
But.
That’s just me and where I’m at.
Much love,
Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO