AI Is Turning Us Into Dumb Liars

Idiocracy is real.

I know a company that passed on a candidate. Because their follow up ‘thank you’ note was clearly written by AI.

My take? Good.

I have a complex relationship with ChatGPT. I used the hell out of it. But I also worry it’s also making us Dumb Liars.

It makes you more productive, full stop. In fact, the first draft of this post was me voice-recording my thoughts straight into ChatGPT. It cleaned up the rambling and gave me a solid starting point.

Try it. It’s great. In fact, I think the voice-to-text-to-data capability of AI is the best application that you should start doing ASAP if you’re not already.

Stay more engaged in client/candidate/team conversations because you’re not hammering away at the keyboard, trying to keep up. And capture twice the detail. (Disclaimer: always ask for permission.)

But there are very real downsides to AI overuse:

1. We’re getting dumber. And it’s all because of frictionless technology.

Check out this video from How Money Works titled “Are We Gettin Stoopid?

It’s worth the watch, but the tldr: after centuries of increasing intelligence, human cognition is on the decline. And it started around the same time smartphones and tablets became our fifth limb.

There’s a long held belief that the younger generations are the most tech savvy. The problem is: that’s no longer true.

The UI of modern tech is so frictionless, anyone raised in the last 15 years never had to learn the basics of how it works. Kids aren’t building computers in their basements, modding their own video games, downloading music illegally, etc.

It all just works now. No one has to think about it.

The more basic example the video mentioned: maps. Something as simple as navigating a city or the interstate highway system used to take some level of brainpower and reasoning to get you from point A to point B.

Now? Your phone tells you, step by step.

It might seem silly, but when you take simple daily tasks that require brainpower and remove them from your life…you’re literally using your brain less. Every day.

The dumb adds up.

2. Deepfake Personalization™️ is lying. Full stop.

I’m not against using AI to write emails. And I’m also not against using it for editing, summarizing, or even cold outreach.

I am absolutely, positively, 100% against using it to pretend like you’re writing a personalized note.

The worst trend I see in sales (as someone who receives a lot of cold emails): someone pretending they viewed my profile or read my post as a way of building false familiarity.

If you say you enjoyed something I said, but you didn’t even read it with your own eyes, you are a liar. That’s it.

Success on a team, or in sales, or in any meaningful aspect of life comes down to building relationships.

Which is built on trust. Which requires not using AI to lie.

In summary: Automate the boring stuff. Not the personal stuff.

And maybe go outside. Get lost. Find your way home without your phone.

You just might learn something. Or get mugged.