A couple of weeks ago, I went on a trip to Charleston, SC with some friends. I have been there several times in the past. Many of those times without GPS – only an old school map. As we left Daniel Island to visit the historic area downtown, my GPS told me to take a right on an off-ramp. My sense of direction told me this was counter to what I thought I should do, but since I have been well-trained to listen to Google Maps I turned. So did my friend who was in the car following me. The next thing I knew we were both traveling in a circle and going right back on to the same highway we had just left. Then we did it AGAIN. Apparently, GPS was messing with us and decided to see how many times we could make a circle off River Road. Ugg! Finally, we ignored my GPS and opened WAZE to get to out of GPS hell and to our destination.
I know I am not alone in this experience.
Back before I traveled relying on GPS to direct me, I had a great sense of direction. It seemed I instinctively knew my orientation in relation to the mountains (West), the ocean (East), Virginia (North), or Georgia (South). I knew the towns surrounding my destination and found appealing points of interest along my route. Today – I just go where my GPS points me and I am at its mercy. I don’t like it!
Now AI is the latest and greatest digital tool to come on the scene. It is supposed to make our lives better, solve our problems, play therapist when we are depressed, create our social media content and even practice medicine… at least it will read x-rays and one day it may find a cure for cancer. Cool. But here is my concern. It also lies and makes stuff up!
Don’t get me wrong. I use ChatGPT5 and find it helpful. I use it to build schedules, create outlines for slide decks, draw crazy pictures of CSRs with 6 arms, put documents into formats I don’t have the patience to build in Word and even to lay the foundation for marketing plans for practices. But there is one big caveat. I must know enough about my topic to make the correct detailed prompts and to dismiss the nonsense that AI dreams up. I also use critical thinking to follow up on the articles it references to see if they are even real. I have no blind faith in this tool.
For over 40 years I have worked with veterinarians in both practices I managed and those I help as a consultant. One consistent trait I have observed of all good veterinarians is their ability to recognize patterns and use their “instinct” to formulate a diagnosis and a plan. Like the emotional intelligence we tend to gain as we age by having many challenging conversations with others, doctors gain the ability to interpret signs and symptoms in patients because their brain has traveled this path before. I find some of this in my own ability to diagnose animal illness. Even though I have only been around veterinary medicine as a manager and consultant for 40 years, I still see the diagnostic patterns. As an avid observer of the medicine my doctors practiced, I learned and stored a lot of information. I even managed to diagnose a friend with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia before his physicians figured it out. I said, “If you were a Doberman this is what I would say is wrong with you”. Turns out I was right.
Now I fear that overreliance on AI will make us blind followers who never question its truth or accuracy. This is dangerous because we survive as human beings relying on our brains, wits and the ability to read situations and react. The aptitude to collaborate and communicate well with other human beings is the basis of our success as a person and a species. Unfortunately, we now have young people using AI companions to talk to instead of building friendships. It is regrettable that these tools have also led several of these same children to take their life.
I have noticed that AI is too complementary when I redirect the prompts.
It aggravates me.
I don’t need AI to pat me on the back. I just want it to do the work I requested. If I am drilling a hole, I don’t need my drill to complement me on my choice of hole sight or size. Have we now gone from helicopter parents whose kids can do no wrong to AI affirmations telling us the same? At some point in life, someone needs to tell us we are wrong, being a jerk or just are not that special in the big scheme of things. That is why you need close friends! They keep you grounded.
Does AI sometimes have me in awe – you bet. Do I think it will create new problems with the well-being of humans – 100%. Can it be used for good? Of course. Should we maintain our human superpowers and learn from reading, training, studying, and practice? That is imperative!
We are the checks and balances on AI. Use it with vigilance.
We can never forget that when something seems too good to be true, it usually is, and that the companies behind the AI tools are looking to do what all businesses do – make a profit. There is no free ride!
AI is not your friend, your physician, your therapist, or your life coach. It can be your editor, administrative assistant, researcher, and travel planner. It can save you hours of time. The key is to use that time wisely to make better connections with the people you care about. That is AI’s real promise. The gift of time.
