Thanks to AI, I miss the arguments we never settled

I adore artificial intelligence. It seems to be everywhere – from helping with cooking recipes and suggesting new books to assisting with complex research. While AI proves to be incredibly useful, it seems to have replaced the time-consuming and thoughtful conversations I once enjoyed. In the past, my family and I would sit around the table for hours, debating various subjects, challenging each other's opinions, and sometimes even arguing.

Sometimes we would get so caught up in the conversation that we would become heated and need to call in others to help settle the dispute. The discussions would continue over dinner, dessert, and several cups of tea. At times, we would finally find the answer, but often we would not. However, the answers were not always the primary goal.

The real value lay in the journey we took together to reach the conclusion. Today, those conversations have been shortened to mere minutes. Instead of wrestling with ideas and discovering different perspectives, we simply ask AI to provide the answer. While this may save time, it also takes away the richness of the conversation.

We no longer search our memories, defend our positions, or become distracted by new questions. Instead, we receive a smug smile from the AI, confirming our answer. One of the most significant losses I have experienced since the rise of AI is the absence of meaningful conversations. I used to cherish my time with my brother, who was not only my sibling but also my closest friend.

We would have deep discussions about everything under the sun. Our conversations challenged us, made us think, and helped us learn how to disagree, defend an argument, listen, reconsider, and sometimes even admit we were wrong. However, with the advent of AI, those conversations have become a thing of the past. My brother passed away a few years ago, and I miss our discussions deeply.

If he had died a few years later, after AI had become ubiquitous, would we still have had those meaningful conversations? Or would we simply have turned to our phones and asked ChatGPT? While I still appreciate AI and will continue to use it for explaining, organizing, designing, recommending, and polishing, I can't help but wonder if we have lost something equally valuable in our pursuit of instant answers.

Converstaions are not just about exchanging information; they reveal how another person thinks, contain humor, frustration, affection, memory, and personality. These elements make conversations special, and long after the argument is over, we remember the person we had it with. AI may know almost everything, but I fear we have lost the pleasure of searching for answers together.