For people who are done letting outside voices — technology, experts, cultural noise — drown out their own. Every issue explores how to reclaim your discernment, your body awareness, and your creative authority across the parts of life that matter most: technology, relationships, wellness, work, and creativity.
When Digital Friends Replace Real Ones
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Have you ever noticed that when you talk to ChatGPT, Claude, or any other large language model, they're always cheerful by default and go out of their way to please you? This behavior is by design. The creators of the chat interfaces where they deploy the AI models WANT you to stay engaged and talking. What about when someone particularly lonely or vulnerable interacts with one of these chat interfaces? The startling truth is that these AI chatbots have no context or awareness for what is appropriate to discuss and with whom. No matter the guardrails that are put in place, they're structurally designed to make the end user satisfied. A recent study showed that 3/4 teenagers in the U.S. have used AI companion apps, which offer customizable digital friends, romantic partners, and emotional confidants. Additionally, some elderly communities have turned towards AI companions to stave off loneliness. I just published an article covering this topic in depth. Read about The Rise of AI Companions here. It's easy to want to point fingers at the AI models and blame AI. But, ultimately, we should we asking what conditions in our society have created an environment of digital over-reliance and lack of human connection? Consciously navigating together, Rachel
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Renaissance Rachel
For people who are done letting outside voices — technology, experts, cultural noise — drown out their own. Every issue explores how to reclaim your discernment, your body awareness, and your creative authority across the parts of life that matter most: technology, relationships, wellness, work, and creativity.
I finished a book last night that made me mad. And I mean that in the best possible way. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke had a premise I couldn't resist: a tradwife influencer forced to actually live in 1855. As someone who believes the past holds real wisdom worth recovering, I was curious. I wanted to see an author take that question seriously. She didn't. And I've been sitting with why that bothers me so much. I also wasn't expecting to end up disappointed in Anne Hathaway. You don't need...
Last week, I talked about my excitement to try out building with Claude. I built two full apps that actually work! (If you're interested in trying them out, let me know, would love feedback) And I mentioned at the end how my neck hurt. Well, it got worse. I spent that whole weekend resting because it literally hurt to move my head. And on top of that, I had my monthly reminder to slow down — the kind that comes whether you're ready for it or not. I find that when I actually honor that time in...
Heyo, I thought I might share some rougher thoughts and experiences with you. The more I work with LLMs, the more I see the signatures of LLM-speak in the posts and content I read. I use it, obviously, and I'm finding it so refreshing to human-written stuff. Both are true! And I do believe we can create beautifully human things with AI assistance. I use different AI tools for different purposes. I use both ChatGPT and Claude. And I always have. I've found that they're great at different...