AI Overwhelm

Is anyone else completely bored and overwhelmed with AI hype? The volume of new tools and content is rising at an unmanageable rate, while the average quality collapses into a horrendous heap of mediocre (at best) turd.

I’m not against AI, more so, the drama that surrounds it. I’ll occasionally use Gemini to help generate any code I might need for WordPress. Additionally, I dabble with Adobe Firefly to test out ideas based on my own photography or 3D renders.

As it’s baked into pretty much everything now, I guess most people are using it in some way or another, but fuck me! It’s getting a bit much, isn’t it? The barrage of news and scaremongering is completely infuriating.

Everyone is burnt out

From what I see of people’s personal musings online, folks are more burnt out than ever before. This, in my humble opinion, is largely down to the frankly ridiculous change in pace that’s expected of us. Now that we have AI, we can do everything ten times faster, right? Only ten times? I’ve 50x’d my productivity, bro!

I mean, we could, but is anyone stopping to consider the end result? The output will most likely belong on that pile of turd I mentioned above, and your brain will be completely frazzled.

What we’re losing here is the mindful act of creativity. The slow, calming and mentally rewarding process of spending time and effort on something you enjoy.

Slow the fuck down

Spoiler alert. If everyone starts working between ten and fifty times faster, there won’t be enough work to go around. We’re already seeing frequent waves of uncertainty, leading to businesses cutting right back on their spending.

Paired with the fact that working this way is totally chaotic, this is a reminder to myself (and anyone else that needs it) to slow the fuck down. Work at your own pace, work mindfully, enjoy the moment.

Managing exposure to the hype

Part of my work is SEO, one of the sectors most ravelled up in all of the AI nonsense right now. I’m struggling to even be able to see or listen to this bullshit at the moment. Why has it all got to be so dramatic?

This was actually a huge part of the reason for swapping my personal social media accounts back to photography and design. Overwhelm.

If something isn’t sitting right with you, take a break and come back to it. If it’s still not resonating or connecting, it might be time to change direction.

In terms of SEO, the basic principles remain the basic principles. I’m over here doing what I’ve always done, nothing new. At the moment, this is bringing in more than enough new clients and customers. Maybe this will change further down the line, but for now, it’s stick with what you know.

Fall behind

Everyone says if you don’t keep up with AI, you’ll fall behind. I’m more than happy to do so. You can always find me in the less crowded and chaotic space at the back of the gig.

Who knows how this approach will pan out? One thing’s for sure, it won’t be as catastrophic as the content you see online will have you believe.

Bringing mindfulness back

I guess this post is ultimately about inviting a slower pace back into your life. Meaningful work, creative practices, and a sense of purpose.

Maybe I’ve blamed the increased overwhelm on AI a little here, but in reality, it’s just overwhelm in general. Social media, screen time, digital everything.

We’re all going to use AI in some way or another throughout the rest of our lives, but let’s not forget the old way. Much like the resurgence in physical media, these days were, in hindsight, priceless.