AI and Self Improvement
?As I have confessed in previous columns, I am a self-help junkie. I have been since my adolescence. Also confusing to me is that in my life journey to self- perfection it has not always resulted in my desired objectives. I would like to have more money in savings and investments.? I don’t have anywhere near six pack abs. I would like to drive a vehicle not approaching 30 years of longevity. Oh, how I enjoy rental cars!?
?
Which means I was intrigued when I came across the use of AI apps for personal and self-development improvement. The use of AP apps to recommend career strategies, provide mental health advice, or suggest different relationships paths. The concept is intriguing and something out of an old Twilight Zone story, where the robot takes command over the lead characters and everything turns out well, usually. Surreal and artificial, I could not imagine how AI apps could be used and adopted for self help and support, until reading and researching further. That is another reason I write these columns.?
?
AI is pushing the boundaries on all aspects of work and life and one of the latest iterations is its use in personal self-development. Expect a tide of information ahead as AI and personal self-improvement apps flood the media and marketplace with how it can relieve depression, offer career advice, and provide guidance with relationships. Knowing how the commercial marketplace oversells benefits and services, skepticism is understandable, and it is questionable how many of them will be around in the years ahead, so why bother with further exploration??
?
Well as always, while we do not necessarily like what the future is bringing, it does not matter. You can expect AI to be an element providing nutrition, lifestyle, career, relationships, personal self-improvement and on and on. Self-improvement and AI apps are here and will be a factor in most people's lives in the future.??
?
Now, I do not think of myself as a Santa Fe woo woo guy, but I was struck when reading the TED talk from Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Sulleyman, forecasting on how our use of AI will be like our digital companions, much like our cell phone are now except in a much more invasive manner. He cites examples of individuals using AI to talk about their hopes, dreams, ambitions. Like a Star Wars movie with your trusted droid???
?
Consider “Friend,” a new device scheduled for introduction to the marketplace next year. Friend is a wearable device around your neck or wrist that you will talk to, and it will respond with words, advice, and feedback similar to if it were your real “friend.”? It was developed by an entrepreneur Avi Schiffmann, a Harvard dropout who was visiting Japan, unable to speak the language and feeling lost and cold without companionship and no one to connect with. He thought of how nice it would be to share his feelings and get feedback. It’s kind of like how we all talk to ourselves, but this time someone is listening and offering you feedback. Weird. How it will perform commercially is a gamble, but it is a prediction where these kinds of AI apps are going in the future.??
领英推荐
This is only the beginning of what will certainly be more customized use of AI, chatbots, virtual assistants for self-development and personal guidance. Consider Elysai, an AI based app that will provide you with digital companions who can engage in meaningful conversations, read your moods, and explore aspects of your life offering suggestions and guidance. Or Rocky AI, an app that offers different coaching features like how to focus, having an entrepreneur mindset, or becoming a mentor.?
?
Dr. Gena Gorlin is a clinical professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. She and Dan Shipper, co-founder of Every have created a course, “Maximize your Mind with ChatGPT.” Promoted as a tool that uses AI and the psychology of personal self-improvement, it offers support in creating goals, identifying causes of procrastination, identifying psychological blocks, using AI to coach you through life’s decisions to create a better you.??
?
The professor offers a detailed take on her use of ChatGPT in her professional life on the YouTube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7g2YoAw52k. In developing the material, Gorlin downloaded years of her personal journals about her life, relationships, career, and other personals asking the app to assess, examine and offer recommendations on patterns, issues, and strategies to improve and move ahead in the next phase of life. She said the feedback from the app was unprecedented and surprising, providing her new insights and revelations to consider in the years ahead. From that and working with Shipman, they created the beta course, Maximize your Mind.?
?
Whether using AI apps for brainstorming sessions, downloading personal information, or seeking feedback on what’s next in your life, the possibilities and potential are obvious. You now have a second pair of ears to hear what’s on your mind offering suggestions, providing strategies, giving resources that can advise you in career and life. Her use of the AI app is an innovative approach on how AI can be used to advance personal self-development and is sure to be replicated.????
?
Don’t think of AI as a replacement for your personal self-development or any other application. Think of it as a tool to enhance your development path. Just as a library or good bookstore offers vast resources for your exploration and self-discovery, the AI app will be a similar tool offering vast more resources, customization, and 24/7 availability. AI provides tools and resources once reserved for only those with more affluent means. It can guide us to become the best version of ourselves. And for that reason, while recognizing it won’t remake me overnight and has its limitations, its application is one I’ll continue to follow and explore.?
?