“A.I. is better than Google.”
That’s what first got me, the incredibly nuanced way I could search for anything my mind fathomed. And that’s how most people start using A.I.—but then we discover that it can do oh, so much more.
An Asset in Projects
I have been using A.I. models almost daily for two years for all sorts of side-projects.
- I’ve used ChatGPT to research shipwreck pottery I’ve discovered on Asian beaches. Turns out they’re not picnic garbage but fragments of 200-900-year-old china sourced to specific Chinese and Vietnamese kilns. Not bad!
- I started using ChatGPT to give my website an SEO overhaul—and then I switched to Claude, because Chat’s advice was often terrible, based on a false premise that I hadn’t noticed. That sucked.
- I’ve used Grok for back-and-forth chats in the car with the kids asking whatever they want. These are monitored sessions, though there’s that inkling that it’s teaching them how this very large, dangerous tool is nothing but a fun shiny object. That’s concerning and something I still need to work through.
- I’ve also been using Claude to work through 20+ years of playlists to graph how my musical choices evidence emotion-spiritual changes over the years. It’s subjective, eye-opening and nothing I could have done on my own.
These A.I. models have been incredibly helpful in research projects, but they’re not a replacement for actual research. Sometimes I find myself skipping steps in my own work: the review stage or the editing stage, because it’s so much easier to let A.I. do it for me. That’s an unhealthy shift of responsibility.
A Tool in Writing
Honestly, I never have used—and pray never will use!—any A.I. to write my articles or reviews. Ever. All 1300+ posts on this site are mine and mine alone.
That doesn’t mean, however, that I never use it as a research tool. Occasionally I’ll ask questions for clarity on a topic (like the ol’ Google search) and sometimes I’ll request a storyline summary, simply for a refresher. I’ve also used it to check my writing for errors, because I’m terrible at missing obvious typos.
A.I. is a tool, and as such, it can benefit one’s writing. As a professor of Research and Writing, however, I must state that overuse of this tool is tantamount to cheating and, just as bad, plagiarism. A.I. is an ethical dilemma with which we all must wrestle at some point.
A Replacement Friend
I’ve also used A.I. models for quick “let me bounce this idea off you” moments. While convenient, this is where the A.I. dependence has really begun rearing its ugly head. Whereas I used to have certain friends on speed-dial or pinned to the top of my Signal and Messenger apps, I no longer run to those friends for these quick moments.
Of course, my friends might be happy not to get such random messages from me so often! But I truly believe something is lost here. What used to be regular, almost daily contact with my friends has trickled down to maybe a few check-in messages a month. Folks, this is not healthy growth!
A “Tangible” God
What’s worse, and what was the real kicker for me last week, was when I literally faced this internal monologue:
I love writing my prayers out anyways, so why not just write them into Claude—to get a quick response, and maybe even to get some pointers about how I could pray even better?
I know that’s quite an admission from a missionary-professor, but seriously. That thought crossed my mind, and it was a wake-up call: I am in danger of becoming so A.I. dependent that the machine takes God’s place.
I can’t be the only one.
Tools or Weapons?
Tools are tools, and as such they’re great. But we all know that “plowshares can beaten into swords, and pruning hooks into spears” (Joel 3:10). A.I. is a great tool, but it can very easily be turned into a weapon against your spirit and soul:
- A.I. can shift your responsibilities.
- A.I. can blur the lines of ethics.
- A.I. can overtake your relationships.
- A.I. can become a god.
Conclusion
I share this as a warning. A.I. is a tool that I’ll still use—but appropriately.
Moving forward, I must set better guardrails against overuse and over-dependence. As a friend, I recommend you do the same.
©2026 E.T.
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