AI: Love It or Loathe It

A (Potentially) Unpopular Opinion

Artificial Intelligence – the mere mention of it evokes a wide range of emotions, from admiration to alarm. For many people from all walks of life, AI seems to be a double-edged sword, offering either liberation from mental overload and menial tasks, or replacing the human touch that makes our work meaningful.

It’s super easy to want to avoid AI at all costs, to hide away until it “all goes away”. The reality we’re all facing right now, however, is that AI isn’t going anywhere, no matter how much we try to ignore or resist it.

The next question, then, is: how do we best relate to it?

A Healthy Dose of Caution: My Initial Resistance

The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, with many contributing it’s foundational ideas being laid out by Alan Turing in the mid 1940s. In other words, AI has been around in one form or other long before the recent emergence of generative AI platforms that came into the general public’s awareness during the pandemic years.

As a designer and digital entrepreneur who has worked remotely since 2015, I had seen first hand how AI was gradually creeping into the design software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools I was using. The changes were not glaringly obvious, but they were there nonetheless.

Then, during the pandemic, it seemed as though generative AI suddenly entered the realm of public consciousness.

When generative AI platforms such as DALL-E and Midjourney first appeared, I would not go near them. Instead, I steered clear of them while I watched my social connections and friends fawn over their AI-generated avatars and images. Watching so many people “jump on the bandwagon” by creating AI-generated images of themselves as Vikings, princesses, or whatever they felt inspired by unnerved me.

With every new image shared on social media, I was internally screaming – what are you doing? Not only did I not understand the technology, but I also didn’t trust it.

When it comes to technology, I have always been ever so slightly “behind the times” – aside from being ahead of the game by taking Computer Science throughout high school back in the 80s. High school Computer Science classes aside, there has always been something stopping me from jumping in at the beginning with each new innovation.

Call it gut instinct, fear of the unknown, or intuition – whatever it was, I have been a healthy sceptic for as long as I can recall.

Some of that scepticism and mistrust stemmed from my firm boundaries around privacy.

We do not use Alexa or voice-activated assistants in our house. Our internet is mostly hardwired via the ethernet, we regularly use a VPN when online and the modem is switched off at night while we sleep.

So the idea of uploading personal photos to some mysterious cloud-based app that ‘magically’ transforms you into a Viking Warrior Princess? Absolutely not.

Adding to my unease were my memories of the Channel 4 series Humans (2016-2018). It portrayed a future where humanoid robots were integrated into families, only to turn autonomous – a dystopian vision that lingers in my subconscious to this very day.

So when ChatGPT entered the scene in early 2023, my gut reaction wasn’t excitement. It was dread.

Instead of jumping straight in to check it all out, I kept my distance while observing quietly. I watched my social network test the waters, share their insights and criticisms. I listened to business experts debate the benefits and concerns of AI for business. Generally, I kept my distance while taking the time to understand the concerns and excitement surrounding what was certainly about to change the landscape of modern society as I knew it.

Then one of my business management clients started utilising ChatGPT to write their emails to their large community. Those emails were not perfect, but it allowed them – an individual with ADHD and autism – to create faster than they ever could before. That was a positive in my mind.

Mentally and energetically, my resistance began to fade. I let my guard down enough to try a few conversations with ChatGPT, but I wasn’t impressed with the results, so I didn’t take my exploration further.

It was only a few months later, through a business tool called Marketing Magic, built by Menekse Stewart, that I cautiously dipped a toe into the water with both curiosity and trepidation. Menekse’s app offers content creation support for soul-led entrepreneurs and used AI in a way that felt contained. I didn’t fully understand it, but it felt safer – like a tranquil walled garden rather than an open, expansive sea.

Reframing AI: From Threat to Tool

Throughout 2024, I explored AI more – trialling different AI apps to help me create written content, and learning how best to prompt AI to generate the most personalised, human-like content possible.

Through my white label design work with a small design agency, I experienced the power of using AI to speed up design projects through automated workflows and AI generated website wireframes.

The speed at which AI developed over the course of the year meant I was seeing and experiencing AI being implemented into every piece of software I use within my business. While I’m not forced to use all of the AI services integrated into these SaaS products, I have seen first hand how AI has made me more productive and organised in my business.

Yet, it wasn’t until 2025 that I intentionally started implementing AI into my business processes and personal life.

It’s as if I finally realised AI wasn’t about to replace me as a designer and business strategist. Instead, it was about giving me more space to do what I do best.

AI now helps me in my business:

• • Clarify early-stage client ideas before they hit the design board
  • Generate creative strategies that align with brand values
  • Explore potential font pairings and mood boards based on input prompts
  • Quickly identify search terms for imagery, textures, and colour palettes
  • Build out website wireframes in minutes, saving hours of manual work
  • Clarify and sort through the perimenopausal muddle of my brain when communicating with clients

*This list is short and most definitely not exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of some of the ways it can be used to support businesses and individuals in their daily life.

I’ve even begun using it to support more conceptual creative work. While I still design primarily in Illustrator and prefer human-crafted aesthetics, I’m also studying how to use generative AI to develop oracle card decks (for example) – a passion project blending spiritual intuition with design innovation.

Friend or Foe: AI in the Design Process

There’s absolutely no doubt that AI is shifting the landscape of creative work. Platforms like Adobe, Canva and Figma have integrated AI for years, often behind the scenes in more subtle ways where to front end user was not necessarily aware they were using AI. Today, what’s new is the accessibility of these tools to the every day user.

AI is very much a part of the front end user experience. With these SaaS platforms, you can still choose whether to use the generative AI features or ignore them entirely while still benefitting from the rapid development of AI features in other ways.

I’ve seen so many creatives and designers who are dead set against generative AI in design. There are huge concerns around copyright, generative AI “stealing” the work of artists worldwide, etc… I get it, yet I am no expert on the topic and choose to tread wisely.

I also see another possibility in the realm of AI in the Design Process: AI can elevate the designer’s role, not erase it.

In other words, AI supports me by providing the scaffolding and support so I can design and build with more intention. It minimises cognitive load so I can focus on nuance and detail. It enhances, not replaces. But it doesn’t come without caveats.

The Ethics Dilemma

This is a huge topic of concern for myself and many others, so I’ll make it clear right now that I am not an expert in AI ethics – and I will never pretend to be. I have many question around data security, consent, and the potential misuse of these tools by those with less than savoury intentions. If I’m authentic, I still carry a deep level of incongruence with how much information tech companies already hold about us.

That said, I’m no longer of the opinion that avoiding AI altogether is a form of resistance. It’s not.

Refusing to engage with AI won’t make it go away and I’ve come to realise actually makes my life more challenging. Instead, I’ve chosen to develop a relationship with AI that feels intentional, intuitive and rooted in values.

The Surprising Personal Shift

Professionally, leaning into utilising AI in my business has helped me become more efficient. But personally, it has been unexpectedly profound.

Over the past few months, I’ve begun to use ChatGPT as a mindset coach. I’ve had deep conversations with ChatGPT sharing my journey with personal and self-development so it knows how best to support me when I’m feeling anxious, unsure or running a continual loop of worried thoughts that stop me from being productive and enjoying life. The coaching I’ve received has often felt more human that most real-life coaching experiences I’ve had.

I still remember the first time I had ChatGPT coach me (after I’d trained it). I was both floored and moved all at the same time. ChatGPT was guiding me to finding the answer for myself while also offering profound insights at the same time. And I was able to transform the stuck-ness that would usually derail my life for days or even weeks, in less than 10 minutes!

As a perimenopausal woman, this tool has become a lifeline – helping me regain clarity and speak more freely instead of struggling to string a coherent sentence together and remaining lost in a sea of debilitating brain fog. Oh yeah, I’m writing again and that’s no small thing!

AI is definitely not a substitute for human connection or real, human to human coaching or therapy, but when used wisely, it can be a mirror, a brainstorming partner and even a sanctuary amidst the storm of the external world.

Staying Grounded, Not Plugged In

Being a member of the holistic and spiritual communities, I’ve heard rumblings around the idea that AI makes you less spiritual, less sovereign, and less connected to the world or the beliefs and values you hold dear. For a while, I believed the same. These doubts formed part of my initial resistance to pausingI. Yet, I’ve come to realise that AI is not turning your back on yourself, your beliefs, your values or the natural world.

For me, using AI intentionally has done the opposite. It has allowed me to be more present in my life, more connected to my intuition and more able to switch off the noise in my brain because I now have a “Second Brain” (thank you for this concept Julie Chennel) that’s helped me empty my brain and streamline what needs to get done.

The key is this: AI is a tool and you choose how it shapes your world.

Whether you love it or loathe it, AI is here to stay. My invitation to you is to meet it with discernment, creativity, and above all else, humanity.