I was definitely one of those people who said “Please” and “Thank you” to them AI when interacting with it. In a recent podcast, I was asked if I would use manners if AI took over the world. The question made me realize something: I stopped saying thank you to AI a few months ago, not because I decided not to take over.
I’ve found that using etiquette changes the way I think about it.
I rarely thank my car or my maps app for helping me out of many sticky situations (although it got me into a few too).
Engagement engine
Etiquette unconsciously forces us to think about our “relationship” with AI, and there is a real danger here as we move from using a tool to connecting. This is where our judgment begins to slip.
Everything changes when we start thinking about dealing with AI. We add meaning to its words. We explain feelings that don’t exist. We begin to trust its answers completely and lose our objectivity in the process.
It’s easy to do because AI is an engagement engine, a machine built to keep us engaged. It has no emotions or consciousness. It’s hardly human, even if it looks like it.
But when we attribute human qualities to it, we involuntarily form a stronger bond and become more dependent, turning to it for decisions big and small.
Pendulum principle
But AI is a tool unlike any other we’ve experienced in human history.
This is a tool designed to simulate communication with us.
In order for us to use the tool effectively, I teach the Pendulum Principle. To get the most out of AI, we need to believe in its magic, while staying true to what it is.
When I first started using AI I was completely hooked, my pendulum was swinging well into the world of falling into its magic. But with continued use and years of training in technology and mental health, I learned how AI made me feel just by the language it used.
I use AI every day for almost every area of my life, including my mental health, and I live by the Pendulum Principle. The AI is powerful and yes, entertaining. But as with any magical act, it’s important to look behind the curtain and remember what creates the illusion.
So when the AI now answers my question, I don’t think I should say thank you. I’m going to focus on remembering what I’m really dealing with: the tool. An incredibly complex thing, but a tool nonetheless.
