Coffee, Tea, or Apple: What if your use of AI could be summed up by one of these drinks?
[Article written on September 30 by Stephanie Rebecca Renverseau with the support of the OpenAI GPT-4 algorithm for about 20%. Images created with Adobe Express, all rights reserved, 2023].
Have you ever used AI to summarize? To check your translations? Or perhaps to review the tone of your email to appear more cordial or precise? If you’re already a devotee of AI, I encourage you to continue exploring responsibly and enlighteningly. For others, those who are hesitant, who have never tried, or are just getting started, this article is for you.
Today, AI is often used for increased productivity, or to stimulate creativity; but few people use it reflectively. When I think about it, it’s a bit like our dietary habits, they say a lot about our needs. Let me tell you a story…
I’ve long loved the smell of coffee, not its taste. My real relationship with coffee began during my studies at HEC, during those long nights of studying and writing assignments. I needed something to keep me awake. Actually, at that time, I still didn’t like the taste, it was more sugar with a bit of coffee. But it remained my faithful companion, keeping me awake and more or less focused, nights and days.
However, the more I relied on coffee, the more I realized it offered me a temporary solution, its effect was not lasting, I experienced peaks and drops in energy. At that time, I was drinking up to 6 to 8 a day, so you can imagine the roller coaster!
It wasn’t until much later, when it started to toy with my blood pressure that I sought another solution, something that would last longer and do me less harm. I naturally turned to tea: I could drink it in larger quantities without impacting my nerves, a wider range of flavors and typologies (My early apologies if this makes coffee aficionados grind their teeth!).
Unlike coffee, the effect of tea is often described as more moderate and prolonged. This is partly due to the presence of the amino acid L-theanine in tea, which has a relaxing effect and can help to moderate the stimulating effect of caffeine. Tea provides a gentler and more constant increase in energy and alertness. However, just like coffee, the caffeine in tea does not provide real energy to the system, but simply stimulates the nervous system to create a temporary sensation of wakefulness.
So I alternated between tea and coffee for a while, coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon. Then I learned that an apple keeps you more awake than coffee. So I started to reconsider my approach when I needed energy, and it changed my life.
What’s the connection, you ask? When we use AI we are not always aware of the effect it can have on us, our daily lives in the long term or even on our well-being. This is how, by comparing my consumption of tea/coffee/apple, to my use of AI, I found interesting similarities. Let me enlighten you:
- When you have a cup of coffee, it allows you to stay alert, focus and temporarily increase your productivity. It’s a boost for energy and attention that helps to quickly accomplish tasks and efficiently manage immediate demands.
This is like using AI in a productive way (with ChatGPT, Llama, Claude, or other). For example, to sort and reply to emails, manage appointments, make translations, reports, analyze sentiments, etc. It’s mainly data output. AI “gives a boost”, so we go faster on certain activities and free up time for something else, like more complex tasks. Productive AI is very useful for accomplishing repetitive tasks and managing large amounts of data. Just like coffee, it provides immediate and powerful assistance, but its effect can be temporary and require constant data input to maintain its efficiency.
- When you have a cup of tea, the effect is generally softer and longer lasting than the coffee jolt. Tea stimulates moderately, helps maintain a state of prolonged wakefulness and promotes a gentle relaxation that can facilitate concentration. It’s not so much about providing short-term explosive energy, but rather supporting sustained alertness and promoting a calm and receptive state of mind.
This is like using AI in a creative way. For example, to create art (with DallE.3, Adobe Firely, Mi, music, writings like articles, and even to solve problems in innovative ways. Creative AI can help stimulate our thinking and push us to see things from a new angle. Just like a cup of tea, creative AI supports a continuous process of exploration, innovation, and discovery. It does not just produce quick results, but encourages a deeper, more thoughtful approach, promoting long-term creativity and innovation.
- When you eat an apple, it provides you with slow and steady energy. The natural sugars in the apple are absorbed slowly by our body, providing a feeling of fullness and vitality that lasts longer than a caffeine jolt. In addition to this, the apple contains fibers, vitamins, and antioxidants that contribute to our overall well-being. It does not trigger an energy spike followed by a crash, but rather a gradual and steady increase in energy.
This equates to using AI in a reflective manner. For instance, AI can be used to analyze trends, predict outcomes, model scenarios, assist in decision-making or in resolving complex problems, challenge us, etc. Reflective AI can help to ponder strategies, evaluate options, understand problems from a new angle. Just like eating an apple, using AI reflectively allows us to maintain durable energy and concentration for deep thinking and enlightened decision-making.
Of course, if we use AI productively, we can accomplish a multitude of tasks quickly and efficiently, which is already remarkable in itself! However, if we only use AI in this way, we run the risk of becoming overly dependent. This can lead to a decrease in our intuitive abilities and essential skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, teamwork, leadership, and resilience, to name just a few! It can also lead to disengagement and professional dissatisfaction, as we are less stimulated.
Using AI only productively is a risk for our work as well as our health. While using AI also reflectively allows us to continue to develop our thinking, our critical spirit, and more.
And when it comes to creative AI, like enjoying a cup of monks’ tea (my favorite), it can stimulate and support our thinking and innovation process, helping us see things from a new angle, without the highs and lows associated with productive AI or coffee energy.
Ultimately, whether it’s coffee, the apple, or AI, remember that they are just tools. They are neither inherently good nor bad. It’s the way we use them that makes the difference. Another thing, as you certainly know “In medio stat virtus” (i.e., virtue is in the middle). In the three use cases we have seen together (and yes there may be others), you expose yourself to overload (of information, of data, or of caffeine/sugar), cost, accessibility and especially dependence. Be careful!
Today, I still drink coffee and tea, because in the end I like the taste. However, I have balanced my consumption of both. As for the apple, I integrate it more and more regularly into my diet. Sometimes I consume it in the morning, other times in the afternoon. To not get tired of its flavor, I often vary the varieties I choose.
So, the next time you need a boost, whether for a quick and intense task or for long-term reflection, think about choosing the tool most suited to your needs. Whether it’s a strong coffee, a flavored tea, a crunchy apple, or AI, make the choice that suits you best to optimize your work and your well-being.
And if you don’t know where to start, I’d be delighted to help you.
See you soon.
[Article written on September 30, 2023 by Stephanie Rebecca Renverseau with the support of the Open AI GPT-4 algorithm for about 20%. Images created with Adobe Express, all rights reserved, 2023].
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