WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'USING AI' AND HAVING AI FORCED ON YOU?

Introduction

You've probably heard someone say "I'd never use AI" or maybe you've said it yourself. It's a completely understandable reaction given how aggressively AI is being pushed into every product and service lately.

Here's the thing though: you're almost certainly already using AI and have been for years. The difference isn't whether you use AI but which AI you use and whether you chose it or it was forced on you.

You're already using AI (and probably don't mind it)

AI isn't just chatbots and writing assistants - it's been quietly working in the background of technology you use every day. For example:

Your email spam filter uses AI to identify which messages are junk. You probably don't think about it as "AI" but that's what it is, and I bet you'd be pretty cross if it stopped working, right?

Autocorrect and predictive text on your phone, photo organisation that lets you search for "beach" or "dogs", search results ranking on Google, streaming recommendations on Netflix, navigation apps predicting traffic - all of these use AI, and most of them have been genuinely helpful rather than intrusive.

Why that AI felt fine

These AI features work in the background without demanding your attention. They solve real problems (spam was overwhelming before good filters), they fail quietly when they get it wrong, and you can ignore them if you want to. The spam filter doesn't interrupt you to ask if an email is spam - it just quietly moves it.

Why 'new' AI feels different

The new wave of AI (chatbots, writing assistants, AI summaries, etc) works completely differently. It's visible and demands attention, pops up with suggestions while you're working, solves problems you didn't have (or didn't know you have!), and can fail loudly and spectacularly when it gets things wrong.

Writing assistants interrupt you mid-sentence. AI search summaries force you to scroll past them. Phone features keep asking if you want AI enhancement. The interruption itself is the problem, even when the feature might occasionally be useful.

The distinction that matters

AI you didn't choose:
Features being added to products you already use without asking your permission or giving you meaningful ability to opt out. Google adding AI summaries to search results you were fine with before, Microsoft adding Copilot to Word when you just wanted to type a document.

AI you might actually choose:
Features you seek out because they solve a specific problem you have. If you want a quick summary rather than reading multiple sources, you might choose to use an AI chatbot. The key word is "choose" - you're deciding to use it for a specific purpose rather than having it imposed constantly.

What this means for you

You don't have to reject all AI just because you're annoyed by intrusive new features. The spam filter and photo organisation aren't the problem - they've been useful for years. You're perfectly justified in rejecting AI features that interrupt your workflow or demand your attention constantly.

The question isn't "should I use AI?" but "does this specific AI feature improve my experience or make it worse?" Judge each one on its own merits rather than accepting or rejecting AI as a category.

When AI might actually help

If you're doing repetitive tasks that involve reading, organizing, or summarizing information, AI might genuinely save you time. A PA managing multiple executives' emails and calendars, someone who needs to review contracts or reports regularly, or anyone spending hours on admin work that follows patterns - these are situations where AI could be useful if you chose to use it.

This site won't teach you how to use AI for specific tasks (there are other resources for that), but if you're curious whether AI might help with something you do regularly, How many AI chatbots are there explains which tools to try.

The bottom line

When you say "I don't want to use AI," what you probably mean is "I don't want AI interrupting me, making decisions for me without asking, or forcing me to interact with features I didn't request."

You're not alone in feeling this way, and you really don't have to accept AI being thrust upon you. The AI that works quietly in the background? That's been fine all along. The AI that interrupts your work to offer unwanted suggestions? You're right to reject it, and turning it off (as covered in Why is AI suddenly appearing everywhere) is a perfectly reasonable response.

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