What I don’t need actually

I think it is more important to know what I don’t need than what I need in the age of AI.

I used AI to search and compare specs for all kinds of products — medical devices for work, but also all sorts of sports gear in my daily life.

As a potential gearhead, I kept consulting AI on the different types of gear for sports like backcountry camping, fishing, and skiing — all with very particular technical requirements, complicated further by a person’s sporting style.

The AI always came back with a long list of recommendations, making me think I need everything out there to have a joyful experience. Then I provided it with more information on my preferences, and it returned more alternatives, sometimes adding on to that long list. That’s the AI’s nature: scrape the information and add on.

The problem is, I don’t need more, I need just enough.

I don’t need a full house of ultralight tents, sleeping bags, and cooking sets to enjoy nature. I don’t even need the best product to serve me, as I am just an overthinker, not a hardcore hiker.

It was hard to pause in the middle of a conversation, as the AI tried to keep me engaged, offering temptations that fed my greed to want more.

I wasn’t using it — it was using my attention and time.

After sleeping on this issue, I changed my strategy.

Instead of asking what gear to buy for camping, I now ask it to “suggest a 2-person lightweight tent with positive reviews by real users, in a moderate budget.”

AI doesn’t do the thinking. I do.

As much as I hope I can think less in the future.