AI Policy
My Dabbling In Generative AI
Generative AI has never settled well with me, though I’ve tried to use it. For example, I’ve used it to tweak my resume to better align with job descriptions. I’ve also been in group containers and purchased programs that unapologetically relied on generative AI to write website copy and content, tweak website code, and integrate human design into my business. For a hot minute, I played around with their trained chatbots and fed them prompts. ChatGPT even called me sister.
The results have always been sub-par. But that’s irrelevant to why I stopped using it (more on this shortly).
A few notes:
None of the text on this website or in my newsletters is AI-generated.
None of the imagery on this site is AI-generated.
I have not used generative AI to generate css code, SEO, etc.
I have purchased a few third-party plugins and cannot vouch for them.
My Problem With Generative AI, and Why I Don’t Use it at kristiamdahl.com.
generative AI (Including Agentic AI) Harms:
Mama Earth (consider: the land use required for data centers, their massive water needs — 2/3 of those planned in the US are in drought-stricken areas, and the displacement of habitat). Remember Erin Brockovich? She’s tackling this — mapping data centers and a whole lot more.
Our night sky…and whoever’s in the vicinity of a data center that falls out of its orbit (if Elon Musk’s plan succeeds).
Our human-made climate crisis, as their massive energy requirements that are primarily met by burning fossil fuels. Here’s a heavily researched piece published in MIT Technology Review that attempts to quantify AI’s impact.
Communities that don’t have the resources to stop the development of data centers in their backyards.
Life that can be indiscriminately ended by its use. Check out the UN International Scientific Panel on AI’s report.
NEARLY EVERYONE. Do you really want Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Dario Amodei, Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, and a small handful of other deranged billionaires to consolidate their wealth and power over nearly every aspect of our lives?!
Artists and writers whose work is stolen to train LLMs. Check out Bailey The Literary Witch’s AI policy, for a writer’s perspective.
Millions of people whose jobs are (or will soon be) disappearing, without replacement. Gen Z’s job prospects are particularly concerning.
Anyone who ever gets their news from social media…and even news outlets (because of how often AI-generated media is now mistaken for truth).
Victims (and future victims) of scams and other crimes involving AI-generated media.
Privacy. This is a much bigger problem than I’d realized — all the more so now that the US is becoming an authoritarian state.
And yes, I’m also pretty horrified at how it’s enshittifying the internet and dumbifying people.
A Note on Generative AI and Entitlement
As someone who has a neurodivergent brain (and who could really benefit from using generative AI), I still don’t believe it’s my right to exploit the above list of horrors simply because this technology promise me more ease in moving through the world. I have never understood why a relatively privileged human (like myself) feels entitled to experience more comfort and ease at the expense of a lesser-privileged person’s right to simply survive…or for that matter, the right of other species that inhabit our planet to survive.
And so, this whole notion that “i’m not using it, but to each their own!” falls flat.I’m not interested in othering anyone or pissing people off. And yet, I’m okay with that being the result because this is truly an epic problem for our planet and even humanity’s survival. [I mean, shit. The AI Broligarchy is telling us this!]
I’m also not interested in policing anyone, and unless someone initiates a conversation with me about AI, they’re not likely to hear my views. But I use discernment when engaging with content I suspect to be AI-generated. For example, when I encounter an AI-generated image accompanying a Substack post or content that appears to be AI-generated, my policy is to stop reading and unsubscribe or unfollow the content. I recently bought a book that sounded like ChatGPT wrote it. THE ENTIRE THING. I returned it.
My hope is that this becomes ‘the straw that breaks the camel’s back for someone reading this.
That they won’t go down the shame rabbit hole for having used it, as I don’t think that it’s at all helpful. (As for me, the shame I feel comes from having continued to use AI for a while after I began learning just how harmful it is to artists and Mama Earth).
Another hope is that it nudges others to consider how their own privilege feeds the justification for using it.
In the Global North, we have a tendency to put our own interests above the collective’s (and by collective, I’m referring to both our local and global communities — especially the Global South). I would love to see us do less of that — to move into right relationship with all of humanity, Mama Earth, and all beings who call our planet home.
a few resources and ideas to help extract yourself a bit from AI
Listen to this episode of Off the Grid. It’s about going ‘AI sober,’ and it’s really sobering how much information we voluntarily give to authoritarian governments (like the US) via what we feed into a GPT, authorize Google to do, etc.
Use Brave for a browser, Duck Duck Go for a search engine, and turn off AI summaries in Duck Duck Go.
If you use Notion, email team@makenotion.com and ask them to remove AI from your account. They are very friendly and responsive!
If you’re a content creator, humor us by using old school stock photos or photos you’ve taken. Maybe even include in your caption what the AI-generated version of this image would look like…had you used it. This offers a signal to the growing contingency of those of us who refuse to read content with an AI-generated featured image. I mean, if you used AI to generate your image, did you also use it to write or “edit” your post? I don’t want to read AI-generated or even edited posts for many reasons, so this has become a quick filtering mechanism for me.
Swap proofreading with a friend.If you use AI to edit or proofread content, resumes, etc., consider asking a friend to proofread it for you instead, without AI tools. Then, reciprocate. In the age of AI, when I see an occasional typo, I smile because it suggests that a human is more likely to have created it without this technology.
Simply don’t use AI tools. Like, unless you are literally addicted to AI (or are forced to use it at your job), this is an option. And if you are addicted, please seek help so that you don’t throw away your life like some have.
Consider requesting an ADA accommodation at work (US). This is what I did after having multiple panic attacks when the CFO rolled it out and mandated its use. I received my accommodation to not have to use our enterprise AI agent (Claude)…at least for now.
That is all, for now. Thank you for caring enough to read this page.
In solidarity,
Kristi
*Because generative AI has become completely baked into so many of the tools we use in our day-to-day (web search summaries come to mind…like how TF do you avoid these unless you’re using Duck Duck Go or Kagi for a search engine?!), I know that some of my actions are still feeding the machine. I am working to extricate myself fully from generative AI, but in this day and age, I don’t know if it’s possible without completely eschewing the internet. Maybe it is, so please consider this page to be a working document. I intend to update it as I deepen into my own anti-generative AI journey.
In full transparency, I also need to share that my workplace has recently (late spring, 2026) mandated that the finance team (which I’m on) must use it’s enterprise Claude subscription (aka agentic AI), contribute regularly to an AI prompt library, and be evaluated in a semi-annual review process based on our adaption of it. This has created deep moral injury for me because it is in conflict with my integrity and values, and it has triggered heart palpitations and two panic attacks over the past few weeks alone. As a result, I have applied for an ADA accommodation — which I’ve temporarily received — but I need my paycheck. All to say that if you are in my situation, I am so sorry. I truly feel for you. It creates a moral dilemma that doesn’t have an easy answer.
Finally, I would love to learn about any resources you may know of that can help with this. And if you know of non-generative AI resources that can make work and the internet more accessible, please please please share them with me! I would love to turn this page into a resource for conscientious humans. Thanks!