On Being Human

I am always engaged in continuing education and peer-to-peer support for all aspects of my work. In a recent webinar on trends in coaching and the rise of AI in that realm of work, what came up really strongly for me was my intense resistance to it. You will never see me get into a driverless car. I have not and will not be conversing with a chatbot. I definitely don’t want a sentient vacuum. I grew up watching The Jetsons and I don’t even want a Rosie. Besides my outdated phone and our television, I do not have any desire to own other “smart” devices, and I am seriously tempted to get a phone that is just a phone, but I do use GPS and appreciate location sharing with family in case one of us has an emergency. Is this laptop I’m working from “smart”? I don’t even know.

Certainly, at this point there are things that are unavoidable. In my attempts to de-Google my life I am constantly confused and frustrated. I tried to turn off AI in Google and it took away spellcheck. I do use Canva, and I once reluctantly generated an AI image, then felt icky about it and vowed to stick to the readily available photos and graphics.

I think that my brain injury history makes me extra protective of using my own brainpower as much as I possibly can. I have a use it or lose it mentality because for a time, I lost a lot of it. I guess I’m also just an old soul, with my love of history, vintage, and real books. I understand that all these new technologies can be helpful, especially for those who need assistance and accessibility, and even for those who are isolated and lonely. But if I’m being honest, it really makes my heart hurt to think about people trying desperately to find connection with robots.

I have seen the micro-generation that my two brothers and I are a part of referred to as “Xennials” (‘77-’83) because we had an analog childhood and digital adulthood. I have always struggled to keep up. One of my first college classes was “Intro to Computers” because WHAT?! I spent most of high school typing my papers on a typewriter, though we did get a word processor before I graduated. I get my books from both the thrift store and the library, and I just have not been able to get on board with digital books or even audio books. I think that’s mostly a learning style thing, though. My brain wanders when I’m trying to listen.

Then of course there is the catastrophic environmental impact. Am I just being an old lady and negative Nellie? I don’t know. What I do know in communing with my ancestors is that my purpose in doing the work that I do is to reclaim what it is to be human—a shared remembering of life before the automation and commodification of everything—what it is to care for our dead, to sing babies in and elders out, to heal ourselves, our communities, and our relationship to the earth…and so much more.

All that to say, I felt compelled to add a statement to my website about my stance on AI, and it is this:

No thanks. I want to be and stay fully human. I want to hire humans for jobs I might need help with. I want to ask humans for help. I want to learn from other humans. I want to be in community with people. My people.

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico