Summary of the Key Points
This article criticizes the current phenomenon of the blind proliferation of “AI+” technologies: from the WeChat beta feature of “AI-assisted writing/comments for Moments” to companies using AI customer service to cut costs, and ordinary people relying on AI to make decisions. In many cases, forcing the use of AI is not only ineffective but also causes problems or even actual losses. The article warns that over-reliance on AI is making humans lose two of their most precious qualities—judgment based on common sense and sincerity in emotional interactions. AI should be a tool to free us from mechanical tasks, not a “crutch” that replaces human thought and genuine communication.
Detailed Analysis
1. The Alienation of AI in Social Interactions: Machines Talking, People Zoning Out
The WeChat beta features of “AI-assisted writing for Moments” and “AI comments” have turned what should be genuine social interactions into scripted conversations between machines. Imagine posting on your Moments, with AI helping you come up with the text, and your friends reading it only to have AI write their comments for you. Two large AI models are being polite to each other on the screen, while you and your friends are too lazy to think of a simple response—this is not an example of technological progress; it’s a form of self-destruction of social sincerity. The core of social interaction is the emotional connection between people. Even a simple “haha” or a like given with your own hand expresses your true feelings. If we find even that effort too troublesome, social interactions become empty shells.
2. AI Making Bad Decisions, People Bearing the Consequences
The article cites three poignant examples:
- The Old Farmer’s Mistake: A seasoned farmer followed an AI-generated weed removal plan, resulting in the death of all his hundred acres of sesame plants because the AI failed to consider the suitability of the pesticide.
- Ctrip’s Refund Issue: Users were overcharged when trying to cancel a ticket, and although AI customer service used seemingly logical lies to deceive them, it was ultimately a human who handled the refund—companies use AI to save costs, but users end up paying for algorithmic errors.
- The New Parents’ Misdiagnosis: Novice parents relied on AI to diagnose their child’s illness, mistaking viral pneumonia for a common cold, which delayed treatment. AI lacks understanding of individual differences, and parents entrusted their child’s health to a chatbot.
These examples all show that humans have stopped questioning the nonsense coming from AI, replacing their own judgment based on common sense and expertise, with the consequences always falling on real people.
3. The Right Way to Use AI: Not to Take Over What Humans Should Do, but to Assist With What They Don’t Want to Do
AI is not omnipotent; its value lies in simplifying tasks:
- Use Cases Where It’s Useful: Helping engineers find code errors, doctors quickly review thousands of medical records, and workers extract key points from long documents—these are repetitive, mechanical tasks that AI can free humans to focus on more valuable activities (such as innovation for engineers and diagnosis for doctors).
- Use Cases Where It’s Not Useful: Social interactions (comments on Moments) and decisions that require experience or common sense (like farming or medical diagnoses)—these tasks involve human emotions, experience, and expertise, and AI cannot replace them; forcing its use only causes chaos.
4. A More Fearful Scenario Than an AI Uprising: Humans Turning Off Their Own Thinking
The article’s greatest concern is not that AI will destroy us, but that we will give up thinking on our own:
- In the past, using navigation systems made us lose our way; now, using AI to write texts or make decisions makes us too lazy to even make basic judgments.
- Long-term reliance on AI can lead to the atrophy of our “thinking muscles” (our ability to think independently) and a decline in empathy (our ability to express emotions genuinely).
In the end, if we hand over both our brains and hearts to AI, we become mere puppets—a situation far more terrifying than an AI-dominated world.
Conclusion
AI is a tool, not a parent. Use it when it can help you reduce your workload, but don’t let it take away your ability to think and your sincerity.