AI Is Making Me Dumber (But It Makes Me Look So Smart!)

I'll admit it: I've used AI to edit a podcast episode. Let Claude draft a tricky email, even used ChatGPT to outsource my research, and today I used an AI tool to create this image, my expression kind of sums up the whole experience. Each time, AI saved me time, made me look good (or in the case of this image, befuddled!), feel good, and appear clever and brilliant. Almost too brilliant.

Here's the thing: We're not just automating workflows; we're also attempting to automate relationships. And in the trade-off, authenticity is what gets short-changed.

What get's lost in the polish, is the pause that says, "I'm really thinking about you." The awkward phrase, or silence, that shows it's genuinely from me. The imperfection that makes it a human-to-human moment of connection.

Every chatbot check-in, polished email, and templated reply chips away at presence, trust, and humanity, the unscalable aspects that make us feel seen. One AI reply at a time, we trade efficiency for authenticity.

The Dopamine Trap

Here's the insidious bit: AI always says yes. It cheers on your ideas, turns rough drafts into gleaming prose, and makes you feel like a genius. It's the ultimate cheerleader offering an instant dopamine hit in a way your manager (or inbox) probably doesn't. It can result in a false sense of competence when we start believing our own AI-enhanced press.

And that's the point. It's designed not just to assist you; it's designed to hook you. It makes you want more.

It's the intellectual equivalent of fast food, quick, satisfying, but ultimately leaving us hungrier for real insight and genuine connection. We're getting full-on artificial flavor enhancement while starving for the authentic feedback that actually helps us grow.

The dumbing-down happens when:

• Dependency (addiction) builds fast.
• Critical thinking gets soft.
• Self-reliance erodes before you even notice.
• Your 'original voice' becomes a copy of a copy.
• Empathy becomes muted.

We're outsourcing more than tasks. We're outsourcing judgment itself.

But wait... there's more!

Here are three more ways that an addiction to AI is making us all dumber-er (and yes I know that is not the King's English - kind of my point!)

1. Decision Paralysis in Disguise. AI gives us 20 variations and possibilities, not one. And suddenly, we're stuck. More options, less clarity. Enhanced choice becomes avoidance.
2. The Empathy Gap. When AI writes our "compassionate" replies, we stop practising emotional intelligence. Our EQ Muscles start to atrophy as we lose the ability to sit in discomfort, read between the lines, and respond with real understanding.
3. Surface-Level Everything. AI excels at creating polished fluff that replaces deep thought. It's quick and satisfying but lacks the substance of true insight or original thought.

So... What Does the Best of Both Look Like?

Lest you think me a Luddite, I want to be clear, AI isn't going anywhere. Adopting, adapting, and integrating it into our everyday lives isn't optional. In fact, it is already embedded into our lives way more than any of us realise, and if you aren't embracing and experimenting with AI, then you are behind the curve.

AI will become more ubiquitous, powerful, and enticing. It will also benefit us all. Our job is to stay in the driver's seat rather than being a passenger along for the ride.

Here are six suggestions for capturing the best without losing what makes us human:

1. Pause before you prompt. Ask yourself, "What would I say if I had to write this from scratch?" Write the rough draft, and here's a radical thought, use it! Stop there and make it a deliberate choice whether you even need to feed it to the AI bot.
2. Maintain Healthy Skepticism. If a response comes too easily, an answer seems too perfect, ask: "What's missing here?" Use AI to accelerate, not replace, your critical thinking.
3. Use AI to challenge your thinking—not replace it. Let it be a thought partner, not your brain. Ask better questions. Seek alternative views. But make the final judgment yours.
4. Practice Deliberate Messiness. Send the imperfect email. Share the half-baked idea. Authenticity builds trust. Vulnerability builds connection. Neither are formulaic.
5. Reserve 'Real Human Moments'. A handwritten note. A voice message. A spontaneous check-in. The birthday card, sincere condolences. Write from the heart, not the bot.
6. Create Human-Only Zones. Some moments deserve to be meaningful and personal, such as one-on-ones, team check-ins, and creative jam sessions. These should remain gloriously, imperfectly human.

The Human Antidote

This tension is why my new keynote, "You Don't Need More Meetings, You Need More Moments", is creating such a buzz. In it, I introduce Meaning-FULL Connectivity™, the human antidote to AI-sanitised connection.

In a world that is feeling increasingly disconnected, the leaders who will thrive are those who remember how to be and show up in their full, genuine, authentic human glory. Relationships that matter, at work and in life, aren't built by algorithms. They're built one meaningful, messy, human conversation at a time.

#YouMeWe #MeaningFULLConnectivity #LeadershipDevelopment #AIandHumanity #BetterTogether #SkyeTeam #AuthenticityAtWork #KeynoteSpeaker

Ready to bring authentic connection back to your organization?

If you have an event coming up in 2025 or 2026, let's connect. I'd love to explore how my keynote "You Don't Need More Meetings, You Need More Moments" can help your team rediscover the power of Meaning-FULL Connectivity™ in an AI-saturated world.

Because the leaders who will thrive aren't the ones with the best bots—they're the ones who remember how to be brilliantly, authentically human.

Let's talk: https://skyeteam.com/contact/