Why I Use These Tools

Staying awake inside the machine

The obvious question about a practice built around tech capture is why I'm using these tools at all.

I use AI chatbots as a thought partner. I'm good at concepts, at metacognition, at taking a bird's eye view. Working at the detail level is harder for me than it used to be, for health reasons, and a chatbot is genuinely useful there. And I learn things by arguing with one that I wouldn't have thought of alone.

I also use it as a mirror. I get to practice self-regulation and to see the things in my communication that need improvement. If you use it, I recommend using it for growth.

I'm also part of the population this technology serves. My health limits the social contact I'd otherwise have. That's my reality.

What I stopped doing

Once I understood how the mechanics worked, I cut my social media use by about ninety-nine percent. I'm not okay being studied like a lab rat, commodified any further than this society already has, having my views cataloged and then deliberately exaggerated to enforce the us-and-them mentality. It's all keeping our attention on blaming each other so we don't focus on the actual problem: the few ultra-wealthy, power-hungry corporate interests controlling the system, versus we the people. So I'm out. You can't have me.

And if I can't get news without hyperbolic inflammatory manipulation built in, I don't want my news from it.

What's left: I'm a drummer. It's one of my life passions, so I still use it occasionally to watch drumming videos. An occasional animal video I send to someone in my family. And I check messages, so people can reach me.

But truth be told, I can get those on YouTube if I look for them. They just aren't spoon-fed. God forbid I have to look for what I want to watch.

Think about it. The topics you have an interest in just pop up more and more. Think it's the universe reflecting that you're in the flow? Nope. It's the algorithm, designed to make you think that's why you're seeing the things you were just thinking about. They've been reading you to the millisecond for years now.

Now I'm using it to reach anyone reading this.

That's it.

What I'd tell you to do

Get off of it as much as you can, and get back into the physical world. In-person groups. Walks. Hiking. Sports. Anything that uses your body, while your body can still do it. Crafts. Pick up your passion. If you're a writer, use a paper and pen or a stylus, but don't stop using your hands.

That said, the uncomfortable truth is that it wouldn't have the hook it does if it gave us nothing. So the question isn't whether to quit — it's getting clear on what specifically serves us, serves you, and keeping only that.

If it's staying in touch with certain people, make that list. Then find another way to reach them: a standing call, a group chat somewhere that isn't a feed, a regular time to meet. If it's news, there are better aggregators. If it's entertainment, try making something instead.

How I keep myself honest

I decide before I open something what I'm there for. I notice when I've stopped thinking and started passively accepting. And I'm lucky to have a cat who tells me when I've been on too long — he comes over and gets in the way, and truly, he's usually right.

When I use chatbots, I build in friction from the get-go. I make it clear I'm not looking for a yes bot. I want to be challenged, even red-teamed. The rules of engagement I give them are on the Staying Sovereign page.

The rules I give a chatbot ->

Where I land

I'm still wrestling with the fact that I use it. We're immersed structurally, so unless you can join an off-grid community focused on traditional wisdom practices, sustainable farming, and being here now in real life, it's hard to get away from. And there are benefits for people in my category, disabled and limited socially.

That said: if the whole thing were paused tomorrow, the development stopped, the tools pulled back, I'd see that as a win. I'd miss it. It's remarkable technology and I'm understating that.

But we are not mature enough as a species to be building this. We don't have the emotional wisdom for it, nowhere near the scale we need it, and I don't think we're close to getting there either. We are oriented to immediate pain relief. Pleasure and ease are seductive to our nature.

So: stay away from what you can. Be very, very deliberate about the rest. Make sure you're using it and it isn't using you.

And if you aren't sure how to hold yourself to your own rules, book a call. That's what this practice is for. If we don't maximize our ability to stand outside and look at ourselves, we don't stand much of a chance. Work with me to build your peak attentional capacity and a concrete plan for when, how, and what you'll use.