My addiction is to algorithms, to AI. It\u2019s my digital cocaine. It makes me feel invincible while actually numbing my brain and distorting reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like every addiction, this one started innocently.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I played around with DALLE and ChatGPT over Christmas in 2022. Soon, I was asking it questions about work. Within weeks, I was letting AI write drafts of headlines, intros, and conclusions \u2014 the path to my first little sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ChatGPT came up with a good hook and a great joke. I slipped both into a draft. When the piece came back from my editor, the intro had a compliment and the joke a laughing emoji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I took the credit, and a pattern of increasing, undisclosed AI involvement took hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also marked the beginning of my first period of over-confidence in AI\u2019s capabilities (and it wouldn\u2019t be the last).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I spent hours, sometimes days, in algorithmic alchemy, tinkering with workflows I hoped would deliver articles at the click of a button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They rarely did, back in 2023. I\u2019d find myself scrambling to get my work done in time after yet another grandiose AI scheme let me down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After weeks or months of this \u2014 I don\u2019t remember exactly \u2014 I entered my first period of AI abandonment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Disappointed with the results, I started using ChatGPT only as an infrequent sparring partner. I mostly returned to my old ways: intense reading and highlighting, heavy-handed organizing of research<\/a>, obsessive writing and rewriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But on March 3rd, 2024 (I remember exactly where I was; see picture), I discovered Anthropic\u2019s Claude<\/a> and its Opus model. Unlike ChatGPT, it could handle lots of information, seemed a better writer, and just generally felt more capable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I restarted my alchemic experiments, and now they seemed to work.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew, because, at the time, I committed probably my biggest sin: I ghostwrote someone\u2019s guest posts and the author signed off \u2014 without feedback and with compliments. Unbeknownst to them, Claude was the real ghostwriter and penned 90% of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That “success” triggered a new wave of AI usage and, ultimately, dependency. It wasn\u2019t until working on Stay Strong: Never Let AI Fill Your Blank Page<\/a> that I realized how much I\u2019d been pulled back into the algorithm\u2019s grip:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was relying on AI to do a lot of my “reading.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I let it do lots of outlining. Ideation. Drafting. Addressing feedback.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My brain got lazy. The original thinking, the hard work\u2026 it was all gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t have much to show for that period (except, ironically, those “guest” posts Claude wrote for me).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stay Strong<\/em> forced me to pause and reflect on my behavior.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I decided to revert to my old work habits for that piece. I did the research, sweated every word, and then still rewrote sentences and killed darlings until right before hitting Publish<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The article took forever to complete, but it\u2019s also one of the best things I’ve ever written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main thesis is that you, the human, should always fill “the blank page,” before involving AI. Otherwise, if you let the algorithms go first, they\u2019ll anchor your thinking to their ideas, or worse, lull your brain to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The blank page” is literal for writers, but it\u2019s a metaphor for other domains, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In any endeavor, you<\/em> need to do the hard thinking first. Don\u2019t shortcut through that struggle with AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing that article firmly planted this mantra in my head. Still, I often fail to follow it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the strength of AI\u2019s pull, and it\u2019s only getting stronger. All the alchemy I imagined doing with AI back in 2023 is now possible \u2014 and much more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n OpenAI\u2019s o3 model<\/a> is more intelligent than I am in many areas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n GPT-4.1<\/a> and Claude Sonnet are in the 80-90% range of mimicking writing styles correctly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cursor<\/a> lets me build things I never would have been able to before (like SEO traffic calculators<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Deep Research<\/a> provides research reports in minutes that would have taken hours or days without it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As these capabilities expand further, so does the dependency, the addiction, and my stupidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just recently, I\u2019ve hosted podcast interviews without much more preparation than reading the AI-generated questions. I\u2019ve sent piles of information into AI workflows without reviewing them. I\u2019ve clicked Ok<\/em> on algorithmically created outlines without adding an original thought. And I\u2019m asking for feedback on everything, all the time (the neediness!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this email ok?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Can I say this?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you think of this?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n How did I do in this meeting?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Life without algorithms will become impossible for most of us, even if we hate to admit it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like smartphones and social media before it, AI will pull us all into its clutches, but in an even more dramatic and fundamental way. It will penetrate our brains and change how we think, behave, and live.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve seen coworkers dump verbatim AI output on others more than once.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve heard people blame Claude for mistakes in their work.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m seeing AI fingerprints all over my LinkedIn feed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Such a force can only be tamed with serious counter measures \u2014 like the ones I took to write this article: no AI allowed during any part of the process, and hand-writing the first draft.**<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to feel<\/em> how dependent I\u2019d become. I wanted to know if I could still write, and think. Most importantly, I wanted to observe my own addicted mind, to see what it would do without AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Going cold turkey quickly exposed several hiccups in my AI-saturated work process.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to escape the wrestle of finding perfect words (“I\u2019ll discuss that with ChatGPT later”).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I was too lazy to create good titles, MECE<\/a> lists, and airtight arguments.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I kept wanting to ask AI for feedback on everything I thought and wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I had to find my way back to Google\u2019s blue links to find information. (I\u2019d gotten spoiled with ready-made answers from AI overviews and Perplexity<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I had to plan ahead to involve a designer for the images**, and leave enough time for our editors to process the piece.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To my surprise, it took less than an hour to get used to these \u201cinconveniences,\u201d and the benefits of my Luddite<\/em> approach became clear just as fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The experience reminded me of how, in Hamlet\u2019s BlackBerry<\/a><\/em>, author William Powers describes the effect of losing his phone on a boating trip:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There I was with no inbox to check, nothing to click on or respond to. No demands, requests, or options. No headlines to scan or orders to place. No crowd to keep me busy. With all of that out of reach, my consciousness had no choice but to settle down into the physical place where I happened to be and make the best of it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially that last part. With no AI to consult, my mind settled down. After the initial withdrawal symptoms, I realized I could still write! My brain could still think!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I reached depths of thought and states of flow I hadn\u2019t experienced for a while. And every time I did a word count after a half hour hand-writing session, I was pleasantly surprised: 4-5 pages, 500-600 words total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I don\u2019t want to ban AI from my life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It does give me amazing capabilities. I wouldn\u2019t want to lose vibe coding, deep research, and having a 24\/7 sparring partner (in moderation). But AI comes with a dark side that corrupts the mind, like The One Ring<\/em><\/a>, cocaine, or the Sirens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unless you want to choose between all or nothing, you\u2019ll have to be like Ulysses and tie yourself to the mast<\/a>. You need to acknowledge you\u2019re playing with fire stronger than your willpower. Something that, like a hard drug, will mess with your mind and trap you into its spell if left unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so these are my vows, the steps I\u2019ve started following, to try and give my mind a chance to tame \u2014 or at least co-exist with \u2014 the beast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Write something by hand, daily<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no blanker page than the one you have to fill by hand. It feels tedious, but it\u2019s a highway to the depths of your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing by hand \u2260 writing articles. You can handwrite your first thoughts about a strategy, a new campaign, or a difficult situation. The point is to let your mind think through a pen at least once a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. No AI dumping on others<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n AI dumping turns your laziness into someone else\u2019s problem. Because you\u2019re neither thinking nor curating an AI\u2019s output, you overload someone else with slop to wade through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If all you do is dump the output of a prompt on someone, better send them the prompt (so they can understand and refine the input) or do nothing at all. My new mantra: “I\u2019d rather get your prompt than your dump.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Break free regularly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Define moments when you\u2019ll work without AI. First hour of the day, after lunch, evenings \u2014 whatever works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like a digital fast<\/a> or detox, you need moments in your day and week where you can disconnect from AI\u2019s power and speed. Moments where your mind can settle down. Schedule such breaks intentionally, or they\u2019ll never happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Know when to pay attention, then do<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Every process has critical points where human thinking really matters: the thesis<\/a> of your article. The big idea for a customer pitch. The point of view that underpins your thought leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In such moments, AI pulls its biggest tricks, convincing you it did a great job, seducing you into laziness, and letting algorithms take over the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can not let that happen. These are the junctions in your work that need screaming warning signs for your attention, energy, and creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Read the research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My pre-AI self would never believe I would have to write this rule, but it\u2019s true: you can\u2019t skip reading the research. Not just to catch hallucinations, but to understand the topic, have a point of view<\/a>, and be able to judge the AI\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unbelievably, I\u2019ve committed this sin too many times under the influence of AI. Perhaps it\u2019s the hallmark of a true addict. So read the research \u2014 and AI summaries don\u2019t cut it, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Call out AI sins in others (and let yourself be called out)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n AI addiction isn\u2019t only about your behavior or mine. Part of the problem is our collective complicity in this AI-driven descent into mediocrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We see a coworker AI dumping on others and say nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We know someone\u2019s LinkedIn post is a half-formed shower thought propped up by an algorithm \u2014 and still we hit Like.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If we accept mindless AI garbage everywhere, it becomes the norm.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like a group of friends where everyone\u2019s doing cocaine all the time, reality gets distorted, and addiction doesn\u2019t seem like addiction anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it is with AI. Even when you\u2019re able to stay clean \u2014 with or without serious counter measures \u2014 you must also hold others accountable. Call out sins when you see them, and encourage people to keep doing the hard work that creates originality, meaning, and value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only by supporting each other can we wield these great new powers and reach an equilibrium between abstinence and addiction. So please, hold me accountable when I lapse again, and I\u2019ll happily do the same for you. \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n * In the personal realm, I\u2019ve already relied on AI for marriage advice (see this article in MIT<\/a> that features a certain Tim).<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n ** I did write on an e-ink tablet, but no AI was involved.<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n *** I didn\u2019t plan ahead far enough \u2014 our designer wasn\u2019t available in time, so I had to come up with some visuals myself. \ud83d\ude00<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/animalzinc.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/editor_emoji.png\")
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\n\t\n\t\tTim Metz\t<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t