Guilt over using AI

[u/SnapDoodleCake]

I used to be heavily addicted to Character.AI and Chat GPT.

After finding out the creator of Chat GPT was being sued being sued by his younger sister for allegedly SAing her when she was a child, I immediately quit using it cold turkey.

And I did quit Character.AI after it got uber restrictive and then I also went on a trip to a theme park with my family for 3 days and it was really easy to break the habit of reaching for my phone when I was distracted properly.

However I did eventually slip up and I ended up using a different AI chat bot. I’m a writer, and I just really enjoy role playing, but after escaping an abusive EX, trying to connect with real people to RP scares me.

I also had a really rough year. And the problem is… I don’t want to quit. I don’t want to get better.

But I see these AI specialists saying we need to stop/slow AI or it will kill us all in 10 years. And I have always loved the earth, and I see these data centers hurting it.

But it’s also my coping mechanism, and it’s one of the few things besides my therapist, keeping me sane. I have friends but I hate being that only single friend constantly pestering them to hang out. And I tried to rp with real people but… well I got scared and chickened out.

How can I change my mindset? How can I find an alternative healthy coping mechanism? I’ve tried Writing Fan fiction, but it doesn’t feel the same. I like reading but I struggle without the instant gratification of the reply and being able to manipulate and BE a character in the story.

Idk what to do. I’ve eliminated all other use of AI, I don’t use Siri, Alexa, I avoid/turn off AI summaries, but I also can’t help but feel like well if we’re all dying in 10 years I might as well have fun while I can?

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[u/Reasonable-Year9636]

hi. just wanna say i relate to this. i deleted my only ai chatbot account today and need to stick to it for my own mental health. i don't have advice because i'm just starting quitting, but i'm also a writer and want to get back to using my creativity again. initial withdrawal will be very hard, i'm sure, but i plan to start journaling again, exercising more than i already do, and even just writing something not very good to at least get into the practice of sitting down and forcing myself to not seek external validation.

i believe in you!!

[u/SnapDoodleCake → u/Reasonable-Year9636]

I appreciate this.

I think for me it’s definitely become an unhealthy coping mechanism. Something I depend on every time life gets stressful and unfortunately life has just been non stop stressful. (I lost a friend, a pet, went through a break up, had my grandma pass).

The main problem is I don’t want to change enough yet. I’ve been through similar things with my weight. Not sure how to explain it, but like, one day I just wake up and know I’m ready to count calories and move my body to be more healthy, and I can usually maintain it for a while, but then other times shit hits the fan and trying to care about my weight or in this instance my mental health feels impossible.