In the wake of trying to quit drinking, I often asked myself the question in what way AI might be a tool or maybe a bad influence on habits and addiction.

Of course, depending on what you ask the AI, you will get answers that might just give you the approval that you don’t have a problem, because the way you write the prompt and then interpret the outcome, you might just think: “Mh, my drinking ain’t that bad. AI says I am ok, so I oughta be ok.” Of course, in such a drinking pattern, you are likely to accept the answer for granted and you feel confirmed to continue drinking.

I really needed to check my motivation and the answers and the way I wrote the prompt. In multiple ways, AI can become a hazard to qiutting drinking.

I have, however, found ways to make AI a tool to help me quit:

1. Reframe App: This app provides an AI that can give you advice how to cope with maladaptive coping strategies, cravings and the like, because it is trained to answer your questions around drinking habits.
2. Generative AI: Different coaches and podcasts gave me the idea to try to visualize my fears and the addiction in order to make it more tangible or personal (like the “bad advisor”), and it helped me express my feelings like in the pictures you see now and then in the heading block of my posts.
3. Search function AI: Diverse searching engines can generate helpful answers if you are willing to accept that the answers need to be double checked for valid content. But if you find the right way to prompt and interpret the outcomes, it really grants you help, for example summarizing a book on alcohol or habits you might want to read or just give you a hint of orientation.

All in all, AI is a powerful tool if you are willing to accept its flaws and accept that it only reproduces from a vast mass of data it is trained on. And: you should try out different AIs or methods, refine your prompting and question your own motivation.

But: An AI could never replace real people or therapists for me. It is only a tool to make things flow more smoothly.

Until then: Keep up the faith in yourself and take one step at a time.