The Human Is the Loop: Why I'm Stepping Back from AI

After a vacation away from AI, the author reflects on how his reliance on agents and chatbots became an unhealthy crutch, making him less curious, less confident, and even depressed. He describes a productivity ouroboros, where he used AI to optimize his use of AI, and argues that the technology's design and culture encourage dependency. His plan: be intentional about when to use AI, and remember that the human is the loop, tagging in the agent only occasionally.