Digital Dependence: Managing the ChatGPT Habit

I adore ChatGPT. It’s an integral part of my day-to-day routine, assisting me with everything from quick informational queries and solving tech challenges to conducting in-depth research and drafting intricate documents. My exploration doesn’t stop at just using the basic offering; I delve into Custom GPTs, craft Assistants, dabble with APIs and integrations, and compare outcomes with different models like Claude and Gemini. Given my enthusiasm, it’s probably safe to say I’ve logged more hours on ChatGPT than the average user.

Initially, I was a fervent advocate for ChatGPT within my team, urging them to embrace its capabilities to save precious time on tasks I knew could be streamlined significantly. Rumors and jokes about my relationship with ChatGPT even became a staple around the office.

However, my stance has evolved. Now, I caution the team not to overuse it. It’s not about a dramatic shift but a gentle reminder to not create reliance, to remember what it is that you actually wanted to say, and not lose that essence in the process.

A pattern of homogenization appeared in the content we create, both internally and externally. The succinctness required in technical documentation gave way to elaborate narratives. The directness of our language softened into a poetic flourish. Documents across the board began to reflect ChatGPT’s structured approach — arguing for, arguing against, punctuating with bullet points, and rounding off with conclusions.

I can’t help but think of the hidden irony: we create ChatGPT-inflated text, only for the recipients on the other end to frown upon their length, and quickly turn back to ChatGPT or similar tools to distill these verbose outputs into summaries they could actually comprehend. It’s as if we’ve entered a feedback loop where AI-generated content is both the problem and the solution — a cycle that, while fascinating, underscores the need for moderation.

While I do suspect that LLM is the biggest disruption we’ve ever seen, its adaption path mirrors the lifecycle of all transformative technologies — initial overuse, followed by backlash, and finally, balanced integration (aka Gartner’s hype cycle). As we inescapably go through this cycle, it is still useful to put up a fight individually and attempt to resist its lure. Remember that you have your own voice, and exercise moderation and judgment while crafting content that reflects the depth, tone, creativity, skill, and personality you intend.

This authenticity and individuality in communication is still of significant value to readers, perhaps even more than we realize. While inflating and then deflating text with AI is sometimes essential and useful, we should strive to strike between leveraging technology and preserving the human element in our communications.

As I contemplate these thoughts, it’s time to run this piece through ChatGPT one more time…