I think AI has a variety of great use cases. It has demonstrated consistent utility in tasks-specific applications such as email spam filtering and weather forecasting.

On the other hand, I think LLM AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude are scams. While some people are seeing practical use from LLMs, it is because of artificially low costs. LLMs are currently being subsided by billions of dollars in corporate investment and exploited labor.

I see LLMs in a manner similar to playing blackjack at a casino that gives you $10 every time you win, regardless of how much you bet. Following certain strategies will allow you to win more often, but you will still lose sometimes. Also, casinos are trying to make a profit, and aren’t going to hand people large sums of free money forever.

Using an LLM for the possibility of gaining a temporary productivity boost seems like a big risk for me. I don’t want to be dependent on a tool that doesn’t have clear bounds on where it is used and could become more expensive. Also, I see considering one”s audience as a critical part of high quality work, and LLMs lack the ability to understand humans.

I went through a period of overusing AI in the early 2010s because I overestimated the potential of AI. For example, I was under the impression that I could evolve intelligent AI for a real time strategy game through a genetic algorithm that simulated evolution. I was proven wrong when hitting a wall early in the process with automated formula generation.

Being in the right environments at the time helped me gain a more reasonable view of AI. Most of my computer science classes were about topics not related to AI, and my classmates rarely talked about AI. Also, AI was not a major focus at any of the jobs I had between graduating college in 2014 and ChatGPT’s release in late 2022. As a result, I was able to move away from AI overuse.

On the other hand, if I was in a college program or job where AI use was a major focus, I would’ve had a hard time moving away from AI overuse. I think it is important to consider that many people are currently in environments where using LLMs is a requirement.

In order to reduce AI overuse, I think it is important to help create environments where people can chose to not use LLMs.

This page has more details about my thoughts on AI. https://www.bponnaluri.com/ai/