🤖How can AI robots teach us to feel???
Mindful Mondays.
Not just clickbait, I’m asking a genuine question.
I’m a Gen X mom —— with TWO Gen Alpha sons —— & the older one & I are both going through puberty together (his, normal adolescent; mine, of the cougar variety 😼). From the generation that helped invent the internet (or at least make it infamous) to the one that’s living life online & reminding each other to “touch grass,” the digital-verse has extraordinarily evolved … or devolved, depending on our view.
With AI every-darn-where now, what’s next?
NBC News: Getty Images
I’ve heard this three times in as many weeks:
People are using AI for comfort.
No, it isn’t a statistic I’ve read or a news article someone shared with me, but conversations with friends & colleagues in which they shared their personal experiences.
There’s actually nothing weird about using AI in this way, when you really think about it. As humans, we’re wired for community; for group-think even; for tribe life. In a day & age that has us more displaced from day-to-day interaction with others in our environments, we seek solace, comfort & even connection from what is readily around us: screens.
We binge Netflix. Search things up on Google. Text our families from the other room.
And —— as I’ve heard three times of late (as noted) —— we turn to ChatGPT & other AI platforms … for conversation.
Two & a half short years ago (nearly a millennium in tech years), NBC News was asking if AI was “just another tech fad.” While we seem to have globally accepted that it’s here to stay, many of us are still unsure what to do with it. Try asking yours this:
“Share some inspiring quotes or stories about overcoming challenges.”
“Suggest ways to practice daily gratitude and mindfulness.”
“Provide uplifting affirmations for self-confidence and self-love.”
“Recommend activities or hobbies that promote happiness and relaxation.”
“Share tips for managing stress and anxiety effectively.”
“Give advice on setting achievable goals and celebrating progress.”
“Tell a motivational story about someone who turned their life around.”
“Suggest ways to cultivate positive relationships and social support.”
“Explain the benefits of journaling and how to start a gratitude journal.”
“Share techniques for developing resilience and a positive mindset.”
Wondering where that list generated? … Yeah, you probably already guessed it: I plugged in a prompt of my own to my Chatbot App.
This was our conversation:
KP: Can you help me come up with a list of prompts to use with any AI source that could help a person to feel better about their life?
AI: Certainly! Here are some positive and nurturing prompts you can use with an AI source to help someone feel better about their life …
From the world around me, I’ve heard a few other ways to interact that people are trying out, organically. (And, no, I don’t mean kids or teenagers, but full-fledged adults —— at least one of whom is my age & plugs the Qs into the office AI app during work hours.)
Solve a work problem through talking out strategies —— & get some much-needed words of affirmation in those moments when your monosyllabic boss refuses to dole them out to you.
Ask those questions you were saving for your therapist … but then decided you were too embarrassed to even ask HER.
Chat about your day. Some programs are open-ended enough to handle this, & nearly all of them respond with a general programmed politeness, which the humans in our day-to-day lives can forget to deliver.
Just remember: AI is *not* your therapist, boss or friend. But just like that handy in-phone app you’re using to parent better, hire smarter or personally develop & grow greater, you can find a little of the solace you seek to self-soothe when you are wary.
If you are practicing mindfulness in your life, but aren’t ready to pay subscription fees for this newsletter, consider helping us both out & visiting one of my affiliate sites to find tools to help you learn about & regulate your own emotions, or to share/gift resources to the ones you love or serve. Check out journals, lessons, parenting peers & more at Big Life Journal. Create your own Calm Down Corner with posters, stories & plushies (& more!) at Generation Mindful. Get your copy of My Moody Daybook to take emotional intelligence into your own hands.
❤️🩹📚🧰
For me it comes down to knowing when to shift the conversation to where it's truly needed. Can we use AI to sort our thoughts and clear our head? Absolutely. Can we use AI to navigate our entire emotional landscape and understand how we feel? No, it's not designed or intended to do, but it's within other peoples scope of practice to do that for us and with us.