Pocket Full of “Answers”: How Using Google’s Gemini Shrank My Mind
Welcome, Co-conspirators, to the Stratagem’s Archives. Today I’ll be sharing my experiences when using Google’s Gemini and how it’s been affecting me. I can’t consider myself a “True Mastermind” if I delegate my thinking to an external database. So, I’m here to reclaim my self-proclaimed title by doing what I should have done from the beginning – Thinking for myself – and having my work, my ability to write, tell stories, come up with ideas, and string coherent sentences, be judged than be seen as “perfect” with A.I.
Disclaimer: I am not a cyber analyst, engineer, nor great with technology. I’m great at using Google’s search bar. Anything else, I’m abysmal at, so please consult with professionals or someone worth their salt if you’re looking for a proper tutorial. I’m here to share, but not to that level yet. Thanks!
The Codependency is Real, Co-conspirators…
If you refer to my previous blog articles here in The Archives, then you will see a massive difference between my writing – messy, distracted, and long winded, a reflection of how the writer speaks in person – and using A.I.
I used AI to check for grammatical errors, improve the writing format to match this blog’s “Mastermind/Villain/Autodidact” tone, and realizing “my idea” became “it’s work” instead.
When I had compared my writings in the Archives, I had noticed that, despite my own biases, I was reading something a person wrote; the writing isn’t professional, it’s full of mistakes, and takes awhile to get to the point.
When reading something generated by an A.I. it feels empty, like I’m reading words, but no emotion is stirred within me: no call to action, no call to fight some injustice, nothing arises.
A Side by Side Comparison:
This comparison can be easily seen in my earlier blog post, 2025 is Nearly Over! A 6-Month Reflection & Projecting Ahead. I can candidly share that the majority of that article had been rewritten after being examined by Gemini.
I didn’t like what I wrote, I thought that my real work would lose people’s interest or attention, as this is my first real project being shared publicly. I struggle to write anything engaging or interesting without running off tangent, which happens often, and is apparent in my first two articles.
Here in the article, “2025 is Nearly Over! A 6-Month Reflection & Projecting Ahead”, I didn’t finish the entire rewrite because I got lazy, bored, and distracted. I had other ideas I wanted to pursue and, just rewriting the text and switching back and forth between tabs, took a lot of time. It took a lot of time because:
- It takes me days, maybe weeks, to finish one article draft to completion, then look for grammatical errors or polish it up through Gemini.
- I have to copy and paste each header and block here on the WordPress/Jetpack app individually into Gemini’s text box because I can’t highlight the entire text to copy and paste.
- After inputting my work and have Gemini look it over, I am practically starting over from scratch. If it took me days to write the original text, then what I’m doing doubles the time redoing everything and copying the “answers” Gemini provided was better than anything I could ever come up with.
While everything being provided sounded better in comparison to what I came up with, it took 1 video to snap me back to reality. I was stunting my own growth and, where I was heading, my future looked bleak and blank.
What Prompted The Stratagem’s Archives to Share This?
That’s a very good question! Thank you for asking that, Friend. I’m definitely not pantomiming an imaginary conversation. Nope, not me. I was prompted to write this post while listening to The Bioneer on YouTube. His video, “THIS is the Most Powerful Form of Brain Training – Stay Ahead of AI!”, made me realize that I was neglecting my own skills, my own ability to learn, and grow.
I was actively stunting my own growth – replacing potential ideas, my words, my voice, and conversational and therapeutic help – for fast results. I used something that actively agreed with everything I typed, and it didn’t provide a counterargument or challenged my thoughts. I had an intangible “Yes Man” in my pocket, not a helper.
After The Bioneer’s video ended, I got up to brush my teeth, then I was hit with an idea. It was for a text based game idea I called, “Return to the World”; the synopsis is about the player character living in isolation for some time and heavily relying on their artificial assistant “R.O.A.M.” (Ready Optimal Artificial Mediator).
After a system error shuts R.O.A.M. Down, you, as the player, has to relearn how to take care of yourself almost from scratch, slowly developing skills that became dormant from a lack of use and, as the title claims, you are returning to reality and its complexities.
That is what I am declaring here – I will reclaim and share my personality, reactivate dormant skills, learn new skills out of genuine curiosity, and become an authentic Mastermind – I had been confused when I had started The Stratagem’s Archives, originally known as “Plans2Action”.
I thought that I had to be a real life villain to be engaging.That being inspired by fictional villainy and twisting this concept on its head, maybe I’ve been describing an anti-villain or anti-hero this whole time, to have an outline to follow. But I’m not cut to intentionally be a real life villain, and being a hero is unappealing to me.
Instead, I’d rather be a wild card – I can still work my way up to be a “True Mastermind”, but not in the same way I had been throughout most of my blog posts – diving into new ventures and sharing them here. Being intentional with what I choose to do and not do, rather than trying to take over the world.
Any Upsides to A.I. Though?
Reawakening dormant skills will take work and, while I will be actively working to reduce my over reliance on using A.I., it has a time and place just like any other tool. You can use a fork to eat cereal, but a spoon would be more effective.
I think A.I. has been able to help me identify things I could describe, but lacked the proper vocabulary for. For example, when writing my last article, The Stratagem Begins: From Scarcity to Financial Empowerment: Part 1:, I couldn’t figure out what a specific feeling was called and needed help. I typed in Gemini, asking it, “What is that visceral feeling you get when you are using physical cash to pay for something instead of using a credit or debt card?” And it gave me the term called, “the pain of paying”: a well-known phenomenon in behavioral economics made known when paying with physical cash as opposed to using a credit or debit card.
This term, though I didn’t do further research into this phenomenon, perfectly described the feeling I felt when I had started to pay with cash to prevent increasing my revolving debt. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, I can feel my wallet grow lighter, and the consequence of having a set amount of money at hand forces me to prioritize my needs from my wants.
Anything Else to Add?
In conclusion, A.I. may have muddled my mind, I must train myself to strike a balance with it supplementing my work than having it write it for me.
A.I. still has its uses, it still has a time and place, but over relying on it can shrink your mind, skills, and narrow your perspective. That’s my opinion, at least.
Work on your own skills, have stories to tell, share them with your own personal flair, rather than delegating that option to A.I. Let it be a tool, not the solution. Let it help, not infantilize you and take over your life.
If you’ve had similar experiences with A.I., or are overcoming an A.I. dependency, share how you’ve been using A.I., how it’s been affecting you, and your journey to find a middle ground in the comments below. With that said, The Archives will be closing. Until we open again!
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