How has AI changed the way you handle everyday tasks?”

[u/Ill-Ranger-9052]

AI tools have become part of everyday life really quickly. People now use them for writing, research, planning, studying, brainstorming, and organizing tasks.

I’ve noticed they can save a lot of time, but they’ve also changed the way I approach problems compared with a few years ago.

For people who use AI regularly, what tasks has it genuinely improved for you, and are there still things you prefer doing completely on your own?

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[u/Mysterious_Bag_9061]

It makes me spend a hell of a lot more time fact checking than I ever had to do before. Just because you can ask it a question and get an answer doesn't mean the answer isn't complete bullshit

[u/Low-Bake8401 → u/Mysterious_Bag_9061]

It's just one more answer.

It shouldn't take much longer. 

[u/zjqj → u/Mysterious_Bag_9061]

It could be because of the type of questions I ask, but adding “cite all your sources and provide links” almost always works for me every time. Maybe I’m missing something though.

[u/Ill-Ranger-9052 → u/Mysterious_Bag_9061]

That’s actually one of the biggest downsides for me too. AI can give you an answer instantly, but sometimes checking whether it’s actually correct takes almost as much time as researching it yourself.

[u/neobirder123 → u/Mysterious_Bag_9061]

Could you give an example of a task where AI actually made you spend more time fact-checking? I'm curious whether it also depends on how the question was asked and what context was provided.

[u/Masseyrati80]

A lot of the way in which people use LLM's nowadays is a bit like asking for someone to make you something you'll enjoy ingesting, and someone slapping Hors d’Oeuvres, a main dish, a dessert, and a half-burned cigar in a blender and offering that blend as a meal.

I was once half-way through a video about how to figure if your car has issue X or Y, when I realized that not only the narration was AI, the content was, too: a sentence at the five minute mark confidently 100% negated something said in the first minute of the video, and the general style of the text started to feel off.

Regular search engines, which deservedly get a lot of flak, too, at least don't allow you to forget that info is spread to millions of sources, some of which are more credible than others. LLM's bundle up crap from sources like reddit without being able to differentiate truth, jokes, misinformation and disinformation, while still offering its answers with seeming confidence.

I've made it into a routine to skip AI summaries and scroll to actual search results, keeping in mind that google has a literal bidding system where companies can choose how much they're willing to pay for clicks for certain search words, meaning there's a lot of paid content in the first "results" you're presented.

[u/neobirder123 → u/Masseyrati80]

I think your concerns are valid, especially when AI-generated content is published without proper fact-checking.

But I also wonder how much of the problem comes from AI itself, and how much comes from the way people use it. In your car video example, if the creator had carefully reviewed the script and checked the technical information, wouldn’t those contradictions have been caught before publishing?

I also think we’re still learning how to integrate AI into our workflows. New technologies often come with a lot of trial and error, extra work, and constant improvements. Computer systems went through that process too, and in many ways still do.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we should excuse AI’s mistakes or blindly trust its output. I just don’t think we should hand everything over to AI, including our own judgment.

For me, AI is most useful when it helps me think, explore, and learn, rather than doing all the thinking for me.

[u/feelinsumgood]

I don't rely on it for truths....but it sure helps me with my shopping - finding best prices

[u/feelinsumgood]

I don't rely on it for truths....but it sure helps me with my shopping - finding best prices

[u/ledfox]

AI has changed how I handle everyday tasks by demanding instant, intense scrutiny every time I see an image. The first step is to identify a flaw in the image and the next step is to ask "is this a mistake a human artist would make?"

Once I've determined if an image is art (made by a human being) I can appreciate it. If an image is machine generated I refuse to look at it.

Now when I read a book, I get to wonder "Was this actually written (a trait unique to humans) or extruded by a machine?" I've observed people more intelligent than myself stymied by LLM salami.

I short, AI has made art and literature into a quagmire of often justified distrust.

[u/Murphuffle]

When it comes to internet searches, at least on Google, I have to be even MORE specific with my questions, and I have to keep rephrasing and rephrasing. You can easily get wrong answers to questions if you do not use as many descriptive words as possible. You have to constantly refine your questions to get unbiased feedback. I guess in that regard it is sort of helping me be more descriptive and detailed in conversation, like at work where I am training a new hire.

I don't think they save any time. People seem to spend more time trying to get good results from it. Writing an email? I've seen coworkers spend more time using Copilot to craft a response than it would take to actually just respond to the email.

[u/Siukslinis_acc]

It is a better search engine. Like, I can go "show me shops that have this item and are around a specific radius".

[u/neobirder123]

AI has become part of almost every aspect of my life. I’ve even created different projects for different interests, including one just for Reddit discussions, haha.

I use it for health-related questions, my child’s education, and conversations about musicals, movies, and all sorts of everyday things.

Having over 40 years of life experience, I feel AI has made me more observant and helped me think more deeply. Sometimes I only have fragments of knowledge or a vague feeling about something, and discussing it with AI helps me explore ideas I might never have considered otherwise.

But sometimes I stop and wonder how my child will use AI while growing up, especially when he’s still developing his own knowledge and judgment.

As for what I prefer doing without AI?
Experiencing things firsthand. I want to watch an entire movie or musical, or take part in an activity, and fully experience it for myself. Then I can come back and have a long conversation with AI about what I felt and thought.

For me, AI doesn’t replace the experience. It helps me reflect on it afterward. And I enjoy doing that.

And honestly, I’m grateful to be living in an era where all of this is possible.

[u/spkingwordzofwizdom → u/neobirder123]

I’m curious why people would downvote such a well written explanation of someone’s personal use of AI?

[u/neobirder123 → u/spkingwordzofwizdom]

C’est la vie ! 😂

[u/truthseeker1228 → u/neobirder123]

Well said!

[u/neobirder123 → u/truthseeker1228]

Thank you!

[u/Ill-Ranger-9052 → u/neobirder123]

I like that way of looking at it. Using AI after the actual experience instead of replacing the experience itself makes a lot of sense. I also think the question of how younger people will grow up using it is going to become really interesting.