AI Stigma - are you using it?

You might have noticed a lot of talk about em-dashes and ‘being caught out’ for using AI?

There’s a bit of a strange double-standard emerging at the minute; an 'AI Stigma’.

If you don’t use AI, you’re falling behind (and businesses are pushing for AI adoption like nothing I’ve ever seen)

If you do use AI, you’re cheating, lazy, cutting corners etc.

We’re at an uncomfortable middle-point in AI adoption — where using it makes you feel like you have to hide it.

I've been a bit of a sceptic (to say the least) for a long time, but have recently started to use it for structuring topic pieces, criticising my work etc. I still have MAJOR concerns about people using it for things like data analysis (AI Ethics is a huge emerging area, but a bit too slow right now).

My thoughts on the matter:

- Using AI doesn’t make you less worthy. It means you’re working with the tools of today (unless you’re just copying and pasting everything out of it…)

- It frees up time to focus on actual content, and thinking critically about what we're producing.

- It's more inclusive for people who otherwise can't get past the planning hurdle.

There is no shame in using tools that make life easier, safer, or more creative — especially when used ethically, and especially when we’re in the middle of a supposed productivity crisis - maybe this is the tool we need to use to get out of it - but only if done responsibly!

Let’s stop treating people like they’re cheating just because they’re adapting.