Updated: November 11, 2025
You might have noticed the NotByAI badge. It is more of a commitment, self-reminder, and an encouragement. I don't use AI to create my works. It takes the fun away. No matter how messy the process went and what nonsense the final output ended up, you see the human (hey hey👋🏽)
Some things I think about
Thinkers and futurists had predicted AI's rise decades ago. My generation (millennials) experienced the transition of living in a world without internet, then with internet, then with the start of AI. I have no telling how far AI will be developed in the future, but the generations after me have nothing to compare—they’ll only know the world comes preoccupied with internet and AI; that's a challenge in itself.
Check how Ethan Mollick dissected how it was working with the AI/LLMs (or the wizards, as he called them), so we don't have to. He also suggested when and when not to use AI. Not to mention the direct environmental setback that AI poses. There are choices that we, as individuals, can make.
Center for Humane Technology argued that AI generates bigger consequences for society at large; on how fast we are exploiting it, than on how we try to contain it within rules and regulations. Great inventions require great responsibilities. Let's not forget how AI impacts mental health and potentially harmful for teenagers.
There are some usages of AI/LLMs that I worry about, e.g., students cheating on their assignments, scammers, impersonating real people, and making people lazier to think in general—craving instant results. Bad actors already exists pre-AI, this only gives more tools and options for their ill intentions.
For AI-generated creative works (music, art, etc.), it's difficult for me to see the purpose of creating it in the first place. Maybe when the process is less important than the results? Are there still any use discussing rights and ethics at this point? Still, artists out there can protect their works from being used to train AI using Nightshade and Glaze. Perhaps humanity factor will soon become a mass-market label, just like "organic" and "non-GMO".
How I use AI/LLMs
Aside from the worries outside of my control, there are AI usages that I found useful, like sorting my mind and discussions. As someone with weird range of interests and a small circle of friends who rarely share the same enthusiasm, I'm elated at how AI has helped to keep my curiosity alive. I ask AI questions like I would do to a teacher.
I use LanguageTool (free version) to check grammatical errors. I also use Hemingway (free version) to check readability level for paid copywriting, translation jobs, and some essays. I have recurrent problems here and there with prepositions (on, of, in, at.. and their friends). Accurate use of tenses—especially future perfect, continuous, and perfect continuous—gives me a headache, though for work I am obligated to get them right.
I use Gemini (free version) to replace the increasingly polluted search engine. I used to like the "double check response" feature because it can show which specific article(s) it used to craft the answers, but recently: (1) it feels like doing twice the work, and (2) it doesn't always show articles. I don't like not knowing where and how it got the information, so I made use of "Instructions for Gemini" as shown below:
I am mildly satisfied with the results. It will show Source on the bottom of every response:
I still make use of Startpage and DuckDuckGo for a double double check. Sometimes Gemini makes mistakes, misinterprets the prompt questions, gives poorly executed forced-to-be-neutral feedback, and will change their response to please you if you confront it. I also use it for simple tasks like converting tables from image/screenshot to a spreadsheet.
I use Claude.ai (free version) for discussion about anything that sparks my interest. I've brainstormed how feminism has something to do with the depiction of women in anime. Another time, I discussed the golden age that happened in many cultures/civilizations and the possibility of it happening again in the future. Usually this activity ended up with book recommendations and more articles to read, a process that generates further questions than answers.
I also ask Claude random things like a toddler asking their parents, like "why sky blue", or "why is the moon following us". It's an interesting experience because it will direct me to a productive conversation instead. When I complained about Indonesia's corrupt political government, it gave me explanations on how things built up and resulted in this situation, the historical background, and it kept going until I completely forgot about my anger and instead got well-informed. If I want to follow up on this new insight, I will utilize the search engines to get relevant sources.
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This is an /ai page to give you an idea on how I use AI and acknowledge its disruption on everyday human life. Loathe it or not, if you are familiar with capitalism, AI is gonna stay. Inspired by Damola Morenikeji.