I recently tried to write a letter, but my handwriting was a complete mess. These days I hardly ever write by hand, and my dependence on keyboards seems to have ruined my cursive skills. I’m not the only one—handwriting is becoming a lost art. My child might never even learn to write in joined-up letters at school. Typing is faster, but research shows that taking notes on a keyboard instead of writing them by hand might actually weaken the brain’s ability to retain information.
Keyboards already feel outdated—now, as AI becomes more ingrained in daily life, what will that do to our minds? We’re still learning the consequences. Tech companies insist we need AI to stay competitive. Mark Zuckerberg recently claimed that without AI-powered smart glasses, people will soon be at a “serious cognitive disadvantage.” But a recent study suggests relying too much on ChatGPT could hurt critical thinking. And that’s not even considering AI’s other downsides, from its enormous environmental toll to its exploitation of underpaid creative workers.
Not everyone is eager to embrace this AI-driven future. Enter the “AI vegans”—people who avoid AI for ethical, environmental, or personal well-being reasons. Yes, “AI veganism” is a real term (no, I didn’t invent it, though I wish I had—it’s pretty catchy). It reminds me of how fake leather, often made from plastic, was cleverly rebranded as “vegan leather” to make it sound more appealing.
Will AI veganism take off? Hard to say. But like traditional vegans, its followers will probably make sure you know about it. While expecting everyone to go “digitally vegan” isn’t realistic, we should all be more aware of how much AI we use and its environmental cost. Maybe AI apps should display a “digital calorie count” before fulfilling requests? Sure, I can generate an image of a cat in a spaceship eating a taco—but that might waste a bottle of water and ten times more energy than a Google search. Do you really need that picture? Just something to think about.
—Arwa Mahdawi, Guardian columnist
