Artificial intelligence has been making the headlines recently.

Have you heard stories about the technology that can write like a human? You give it a few phrases or keywords, and it can write a blog or newsletter for you. I’ll let you in on a secret – I tried one.

Hate might be a little strong, but I wouldn’t say I liked it, either.

I tried to write a blog using AI technology. It was cumbersome, and the text was bland, boring, and devoid of personality. So while it was informative and grammatically correct, I stopped the service before the trial ended.

I’ll let you in on another secret – I was curious about Noom, so I tried that e-health application too.

Guess what? I felt boxed by forced answers from a limited list.

There was no meaningful “let’s get to know each other” connection. I was also scared that the company would use my information, so I always answered in an alphabetical jibberish that didn’t make sense, nor did I answer many prompts honestly. The group sharing with unknown people made me uncomfortable as well.

Why am I writing about AI?

Since body-media came to market, pre-FitBit, I’ve always been curious about using technology as a tool in health coaching or – gulp – replacing a human. (That’s me circa 2006 wearing a Body Media armband on vacation – yikes.) In fact, most of my papers from my grad school experiment were on this topic

So here’s my takeaway short and sweet – technology can be a fantastic tool but not a replacement for a qualified human. (BTW, this conclusion is supported by peer-reviewed studies.)

The AI writing programs produced content devoid of personality and a human voice.

Noom principles are grounded in science, but their platform’s forced answers from multiple choice options boxed you into their algorithms. Humans aren’t algorithms.

BUT, using technology does have advantages. For example, knowing how many steps you take in a day gives context to conversation to help set goals. There are also benefits to programs that educate (like Noom). So while I don’t want to see humans replaced by AI or health coaches replaced by technology, they can be a great tool to assist in achieving your goals. 

I’m curious. Do you use technology to help you?

If so, what and why?

Please email me with your thoughts.

Finding the right tool to help isn’t always straightforward. I’ll share my experiment with Oura and the Apple Watch next.