I’m craving a landline
And other things I never thought I’d say out loud in the age of AI
“The robots” 🤖 as I call them at work, are more powerful, more helpful, and more present than any of us thought it would be at this point.
In the last few weeks, I’ve ChatGPT daily it to process massive amounts of information. I’ve answered questions I’ve had for years. I’ve made decisions I feel genuinely confident in. Everything from small life problems to big business ones. It’s been SO HELPFUL.
And yet.
Here I am… craving a landline. ☎️
Not because I want to go backward. Not because I’m afraid of technology. I’m grateful for what AI can do. But my nervous system is telling me my brain wasn’t meant to process this much information at once.
That’s the part I can’t ignore.
It’s addictive, in a quiet way. It’s the answer to almost any question, instantly. Without embarrassment. Without waiting. Without friction. From how do I fix this overcooked chicken to how many tens of thousands of planners should I produce next year.
And it makes me wonder: what even is Google anymore? I don’t go there when I have a question. I go to ChatGPT. It’s fast. It’s always aiming to please. It doesn’t judge when I have a silly question. Amazing? Scary? Idk.
More than that: my kids have this.
I wasn’t allowed to have the clear phone. The one where you could see its guts. I didn’t have my own line. There were rules and limits and waiting built into growing up. (My dad told me later he listened in on my calls with boys. Bless.)
And now our kids carry a universe in their pockets. Not just a universe. An assistant. An oracle. A machine that will answer anything without shame or boundaries.
A “brick” that shuts off a few apps doesn’t solve what I’m longing for. What I want is slower.
I want to turn my phone off and think at normal speed. I want to process my life with intention instead of reacting to a firehose of information. I want my mind to have the space to form an opinion without outsourcing every question. I want to be reachable for what matters. My mom, an emergency, my family.
But otherwise?
I want off the race car.
I don’t think the answer is pretending AI doesn’t exist. I mean, I would miss my free data analyst GREATLY. And I don’t think it’s moral superiority or a new set of rigid rules. I think it’s something quieter:
Choosing the pace of your life.
Choosing what you let in.
Choosing what you don’t need an answer for right now.
Because just because we can know everything instantly doesn’t mean we should. And I kind of don’t want to live at the speed of a machine. After the last few weeks, I want to live at the speed of a human.
Update: Many of you messaged me about the Ooma phone. I purchased one today! It operates on WiFi, is basic as can be, and is about $100 for the phone + around $4 a month).
Are you feeling this too? I’d love to hear how you’re navigating AI and technology in your own life. Tell me in the comments.
I just bought a DVD player this fall for a similar reason. We try to limit screen time in my home and the TV was starting to feel like a pain point. I worry about how overstimulating and honestly confusing it is to use 5 streaming services to find something we want to watch as a family. Plus, I try to implement opportunities for delay gratification for my toddler and myself in a world that is so instant. It’s good for our hearts to flex our “patience” muscles often. A DVD player has been great for that because we are only watching family movies from the library that we only go to once every two weeks. Besides the serious Blockbuster nostalgia vibes, it gives our brains a break from the decision fatigue in figuring out what to watch as a family on family movie night.
There is a device on Amazon called Cell2Jack that lets you convert any old traditional phone into a Bluetooth device for your cell phone. I have used mine to distance myself from my cell phone at home but not miss calls. You might like the nostalgia of it!