Are we overusing AI?

I was at a friend’s place recently. 

They were working late and kept using Copilot to rephrase their own words into more polished sentences. Not because they couldn’t write, they absolutely could, but because this was quicker.

Out of curiosity, I asked, "Do you always need a tool to help you write?"

Their answer was a simple, honest, "yes".

And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Tools exist to make work faster and easier. But it made me pause and think, at what point does convenience turn into dependence?

Do we really need AI to draft every vacation email? Or to add a witty sign-off to a two-line message?

If we outsource even our simplest thinking by default, what happens to our own clarity, creativity, and confidence with words?

There’s also a larger cost we rarely think about. At scale, even small AI interactions add to the energy and water demands of data centers. It’s a reminder that “free” and “instant” tools aren’t truly without impact.

AI is powerful. But human thought, expression, and comprehension don’t need to be let go so easily.