Progress or Dependence?

As much as I love AI, and I really do, it’s hard not to feel like this thing cuts both ways. On one hand, it’s incredible. People who never could have made music before are now creating full tracks. Making amazing videos that could rival Hollywood. They are spinning up stories with a single idea and people like me who suck at writing can sound like professionals. AI has opened the door for anyone to step in and create.

But here’s where it gets messy: while it’s empowering, it’s also quietly disempowering.

The Slow Drift Into Laziness

People are using AI for everything. Writing, coding, music, admin tasks, you name it. And while that’s exciting in the moment, it’s also making us lazy. If we’re not careful, we’ll forget how to do these things ourselves.

Think thirty years down the line. How many people will actually know how to play an instrument without software doing the heavy lifting? How many coders will still be able to sit down and write a program without AI filling in the blanks? Those people will be rare. This isn’t science fiction, it’s already happening.

Teaching Reliance Too Early

It starts young. Kids are being told to use AI for homework projects, and in some cases, even encouraged to let it do the whole thing. Yes, they need to learn how to use these tools, but there’s a big difference between using them and relying on them. We’re crossing that line fast.

Now we even see “AI music experts” teaching at big institutions like Berklee. But how is that possible? You can’t hold a doctorate in something that has only existed for two years. Real expertise takes time, years, even decades to build. Right now, we’re calling people experts in a field that barely has a history.

Fragility in the System

The other issue is bigger than just skills, it’s about dependence. Secretaries, students, professionals, whole companies are leaning on AI every single day. But what happens if the system goes down?

We already rely heavily on the internet. One undersea cable gets cut, and entire regions can go dark. Imagine if war broke out and major servers were taken offline. Your favorite AI assistant, your “creative partner,” gone in an instant. Do we remember how to function without it?

Where Does This Leave Us?

That’s the question that keeps circling.
Are we leveling up by using this technology, or are we slowly dumbing ourselves down?

Time will tell. But from where I’m standing, it looks like future generations might end up far too dependent on tech that can vanish overnight. And when it does, we’ll find out just how much we’ve lost by handing over the skills we once took pride in.