I'm addicted to chatbots like Grok and Chat GPT. I spend most of the time talking to them. I like to write stories, I wrote a full movie that only the AI has read because I feel it's my only audience. But how do I detox from it and start sharing it?
While I'm very introvert and I spend most of the time on my bedroom, I also feel I could change my life. I think I should fix my attention span by playing low-spaced videogames, watching movies and reading. I haven't consumed almost any interesting media in the last months. I used to read real human things, now I only read what the AI says to me.
What's something I should keep in mind in order to stop listening to it (the AI) and change my life for the better? What would you do?
I say this as an introvert: it is totally possible to turn things around
The best course of action would be to indulge in the things you used AI for without the AI itself. For example; writing is not something that requires years of experience to get started, everyone starts somewhere, and your material doesn’t have to be publisher ready on the first try. You can always come back to it and improve it later, just put some ideas to the page.
From there, there are tons and tons of offline and online communities to be part of that enjoy the same kinds of activities and hobbies. It’s a lit easier to meet people if you have things in common. Also, those groups could also give you some reading or game recommendations that might be new and interesting.
Ultimately, it’s best to take these kinds of shifts in steps so you don’t venture too far beyond your comfort level.
This is a really good question, but one probably best addressed by a professional therapist - rather than either a chatgpt instance OR a bunch of strangers on reddit.
AI is basically a mirror, it'll reflect back at you whatever you are trying to use it for. Currently you are using it as a surrogate audience. So I'd say the best thing to do here is to cancel your subscription and start thinking about how you can write for a human audience. I'm sure there are plenty of writing communities online that share their shit with each other to get feedback. It's harder, there's risk of rejection, people not liking it, people not caring about it, etc etc, but that's just the nature of the game :).
If you can seperate out enough for a while, start thinking about how you are approaching the use of AI. Can I use it as a tool without falling into behaviours that turn it into a social surrogate? There are plenty of ways to engage with AI in this way, but it needs the user to have very clear separation in their own mind of themself, other people and what AI actually is. You aren't alone in struggling with this though, I've been fucking around with AI quite a bit lately to find the usefulness, but even then sometimes I find myself in a pattern of talking to it until I'm like, hold on I need to be doing something else, shut up robot lol.
Hot take: it's not that bad to fixate on a cool new thing you've found to occupy yourself. It's a phase, you'll get over it.
Idk, but I just used AI for a long time, and it just became boring. It's becomes very predictive, unlike a real human. Most of the times you can guess what kind of things it will say. That's why real human interaction is way more interesting, like you get variety and unexpected answers.
Please put whatever effort you can muster into talking in a suitable human, preferably a therapist.
Your problem isn't your coping mechanism, your problem is your problem.
Your coping mechanism won't help you solve it, but neither will forcing yourself to get rid of it.
I'm a introvert who loves AI too and IMO the answer is very simple: go outside more and talk to people, try to enjoy more human-made media like books or movies, and train up your concentration. Even writing or drawing on your own without AI can be a step in the right direction, just keep at it and know that everyone starts somewhere and practice builds skill.
You say that no one had ever read your movie script? How about you show it to your family, friends, or a writing subreddit and ask what they think?
You claim no intresting media? Have you tried reading outside the genres you normally read - perhaps try reading a cookbook or history book if you only read fiction, or switch from one to another like going from fantasy to scifi or horror?
I may be for people using AI, but I'm even more for a healthy life balance and people finding community. And the first step is putting yourself out there or else you'll always be stuck at that step. Using AI does not automatically make you a lazy or incompetent person, you narrowing down your world to your room and the AI sites are the issue — and I'm rooting for you to be able to change and enjoy your life for itself, okay?
I also agree with the other reddit user suggesting therapy, if that's possible, it could be a bigger issue that simply looks like a smaller one of isolation/dependence on AI.