What part of you is already digital? Not your photo, not your filtered face, but your words… your phrasing… your mannerism… the way you speak without speaking.
It’s a strange thought, isn’t it?
Somewhere out there, a version of you might already be learning, mimicking, performing on your behalf – built from your emails, your videos, your turns of phrase.
It’s actually something to which I have been giving a lot of thought lately.
For instance, I was looking at delphi.ai and that people such as Brendon Burchard have essentially made AI versions of themselves to provide answers to questions as if it were actually Brendon Burchard himself providing the answers.
I also saw a video supposedly of the late Louise Hay (Founder of Hay House Publishing) that in the first section of dialogue had “…dollars dollars” – and it was obvious that AI was voicing both the dollar sign and the fact that this was a dollar amount. In other words, this was not Louise Hay.
We tend to think of AI as something separate – a tool, a novelty, a “not me.” But when you let a system finish your sentences, rewrite your message, or suggest your next word… isn’t it speaking in your voice? The lines blur fast. Is it still you if the message sounds like you, but you didn’t actually write it?
…especially if all you did was give it training data and then leave it to its own devices..?
In my latest Wine o’ Clock Wisdom episode, I revisited the haunting film The Congress – a 2013 piece that quietly foresaw the way we’d start digitising not just our appearance, but our very essence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1U-A870Kmw
The film’s central question lingers still: if you give away the right to your own expression, what remains? Who decides what “you” say when it’s no longer really you doing the saying?
…and it isn’t always sinister. Sometimes it’s helpful. Efficient. But that’s how any change in our life often happens. One little change – one little handover at a time. You let the system remember your preferences. You let the algorithm speak for you. You let the auto-responder soften your no.
…and before long, there’s a version of you out there that behaves more predictably than the real thing – and maybe that’s the version people start to prefer.
I am happy to go on record that I think for many things AI is wonderful and that I use AI for all sorts of things – and even to assist in my writing at times – but that’s just it… To assist – the same way a thesaurus assists – or reference material assists… In the end, it is my crafted message.
Think about what makes us ‘special’ – the messy, poetic, unscheduled parts of you? The pauses. The tangents. The things you say wrong before you say them right.
If we are to train AI to ‘be’ us, are those still part of the package, or do we leave them behind in pursuit of polished perfection?
I’m simply asking “what if..?” as I continue to explore my own journey.
It’s simply me wondering and considering – as I use AI to assist in daily life:
What parts of me am I handing over, and why? …and more importantly… what parts am I choosing to keep?
So here’s a gentle prompt, if you’d like to join me in this reflection:
As you use AI in your daily life – to write, reply, organise, create – take a moment to really notice what you’re letting it do – and if the result is a true representation of what makes you, ‘you’.
Then gently ask yourself: Is this something I want to hand over?
Maybe it’s just a list or a schedule.
Maybe it’s also how you express yourself – and in my case, with grammar and punctuation that make editors cringe – but that makes my writing, ‘me’.
…and maybe those are the very things that make you… you.
So today, a suggestion to make a quiet list and ask:
What parts of me am I willing to let AI assist with – and what parts are mine to keep, because they can’t be trained, polished, or predicted?
No judgement. Just noticing. Just wondering.
…because sometimes the most important boundary is the one we pause to define.
Until next time…
Sending love and smiles…
~ Bella