The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
Is ChatGPT Making You Addicted?
AI companionship is revolutionizing how we seek information and emotional support, but it comes with hidden psychological costs. Recent studies reveal that heavy ChatGPT users often experience increased loneliness while simultaneously developing an emotional dependence on these systems, exhibiting addiction-like behaviors that could impair real human connections.
• Joint research by OpenAI and MIT Media Lab confirms patterns of problematic AI use
• "De-skilling" occurs when people prefer AI interactions over human relationships due to convenience
• Warning signs include preoccupation with ChatGPT, withdrawal symptoms, and using AI to manage emotions
• Church leaders may be particularly vulnerable when facing isolation or criticism
• Setting time limits, diversifying coping mechanisms, and prioritizing face-to-face interactions helps maintain balance
• AI technology is advancing weekly, making emotional boundaries increasingly important
• Today's AI capabilities represent "as bad as it's ever going to be" - tomorrow's systems will be more compelling
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Have you found yourself tuning to chat GPT more than your friends or family? Could this reliance be affecting your mental health? Stay tuned as we uncover some of the hidden dangers of AI dependence and how to maintain healthy balance. Thanks for joining me. My name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom.
Speaker 1:You're listening to the Healthy Church Staff podcast, and today we're going to talk about an article that I saw I'll try and put the link down in the comments as well the rise of AI companionship. All right, and how does AI affect your mental health? Who would have thought three years ago that we would be having a conversation about artificial intelligence or AI? Right, but now it is creeping into every aspect of our lives Artificial intelligence, especially chatbots like ChatGPT. It's really revolutionized how we seek information and, for some people, companionship, from answering questions and queries to providing some kind of a semblance of a conversation. Ai's role in our lives is expanding rapidly. Let's dig into that a little bit, because I'm starting to see some articles and some research done about GPT addiction or AI addiction.
Speaker 1:Recent studies have raised concerns about users developing kind of an emotional dependence on these AI systems. A joint study by OpenAI and MIT Media Lab found that heavy users of ChatGPT often experience increased feelings of loneliness and emotional reliance on the chatbot. So these individuals may engage in what this study says is problematic use. Okay, exhibiting behaviors akin to addiction, such as preoccupation and withdrawal symptoms. Okay, let's take a look at a couple of stories that they share. Okay, so Tim. They shared Tim's story. For example. He was facing some marital challenges and he turned to ChatGPT for understanding and communication and assistance and, while initially helpful, his increasing reliance on the AI for emotional support highlights the fine line that these researchers are saying between the utility of GPT and dependence on GPT. So the psychological implications could be really real. So engaging extensively with AI can lead to what they call de-skilling. Okay, what's de-skilling? It's a new term for me. I'd never heard of it before either, but what they're saying is de-skilling is where individuals may prefer AI interactions over human relationships due to their convenience. That's de-skilling. Let me unpack that again, because this is a new word for me. De-skilling it's where individuals may prefer AI interactions over human relationships because it's convenient. This shift can result in really unrealistic expectations from human interactions and a decrease in genuine social engagement.
Speaker 1:So how do you know if maybe you're depending too much on AI, and this is really of interest to me because I work alone in my office. I have a team of about 50 people all across the country, a virtual team in my team at chemistry staffing, but I'm largely by myself and chat GPT, I don't think, is a companion for me. I'm just baring my soul here. I don't think it's a companion for me, but it is kind of a work buddy. So maybe it is a companion. Maybe I need to really dissect what I'm saying here. What I'm saying is that I do tend to use GPT a lot to ask questions and determine how I should spend my time or what I should be concentrating on, how I can help church leaders like you even more. So that's how I use it. I don't think I'm preoccupied.
Speaker 1:But this whole it could go there. Because here's the deal AI when it started was kind of lame. It was kind of like, wow, that's cool, but every week, every week, there are advancements and new products and ChatGPT is doing something new every week, and today is as bad as it's ever going to be. It's always going to be better. So what it's able to do tomorrow is going to be exponentially better than what it's able to do today, and that includes this companionship model. Okay, so for people that are vulnerable, for people that are lonely, gpt is really going to step in and fill the gaps. And church leaders, man, we are vulnerable to this because when it feels like everybody's against you and you can just hop on a chat bot and have it say encouraging things or say, no, you're not alone, this is, you know, that's incredibly compelling. So how do we recognize the signs of this AI dependence? Okay, and I'm working with you through this as well, we're living this together, right.
Speaker 1:How do we recognize the signs of AI dependence? It's essential to be aware of signs of indicating an over-reliance. Okay, so are you preoccupied, constantly thinking about interacting with chat GBT or your favorite AI interface? Are you preoccupied, constantly thinking about interacting with chat GBT or your favorite AI interface? Are you preoccupied or constantly thinking? Are you doing it on, not just on your computer, but on your phone constantly? Are you preoccupied?
Speaker 1:That's number one indication that you may have an over-dependence or co-dependence on AI and chat GPT. So that's the first one. Second one is do you feel like you have withdrawal symptoms? Okay, do you feel anxious or unsettled when you're unable to use the chatbot. Do you feel a loss of control? Are you spending more time with GPT than intended, neglecting other responsibilities? Are you spending more time with GPT than you are with your spouse or your family? That could be a pretty big red flag, right Mood modification flag.
Speaker 1:Right Mood modification Does using chat, gpt? Are you using chat, gpt and AI to alleviate some negative emotions consistently? These are some signs that you may be developing an overall dependence on GPT. And again, this is something three years ago we would have never even thought was a possibility. All right, so how do you? What are some strategies you can use to maintain a healthy balance, to ensure a balanced relationship with AI? And again, maybe you've not even messed with the chatbot. Maybe this doesn't even apply to you, doesn't even apply to you, but maybe you are like someone like me. That is just, I've always enjoyed technology and I've always enjoyed kind of looking at what's new. And AI, for me, has been a fascination. I don't think it's an addiction, but it's always been a fascination of what can this do, how can it help, how can it help me in my work, how can it help church leaders, those kinds of things.
Speaker 1:Here's some strategies to ensure that you balance your relationship with AI, and the first is just set time limits, allocate specific times for AI interactions and stick to those. It's just like social media right, it can be a time suck. It's just like video games. It's like anything that you enjoy. If you enjoy ChatGPT, you're going to spend probably more time doing it and using it than what you want to. So maybe you just need to set some time limits and maybe you need to also diversify some coping mechanisms Engage in various activities like exercise or reading or hobbies or other things away from your computer, away from your phone, away from AI, to help manage some of the stress.
Speaker 1:If you feel like man I'm stressed I need to go ask ChatGPT what it says I should do Okay, and then strengthen human connections, prioritize those face-to-face interactions and build a robust support system, not online, not on social media, not on artificial intelligence, not on chat, gpt, but with those around you, with face-to-face, real life, human interactions and man, if you need to. If this just gets to a point where you feel like I need some help here, it's not a horrible thing to seek professional help, seek a counselor, seek a coach, someone that can help you work through that, if you find it challenging to reduce your reliance on AI or just technology in general, consider consulting with a mental health professional, a counselor, a coach that can kind of help you through there. All right AI tools like ChatGPT they're designed to assist and enhance our lives, but they're not designed to replace human connection. Recognizing the signs early on of this dependence that you may be getting, taking proactive steps, can help you maintain a healthy balance. Okay, so that's my sermon for today.
Speaker 1:Again, something we would have never thought two or three years ago that we would be having a conversation. We even know what this technology was, and now it's. It's not just on chat gpt, it's in word, it's on social media, it's in everything that we're doing. Every company, every platform is introducing and implementing some kind of artificial intelligence into their platform. So it's hard to escape, but we need to do so in a biblical way and in an ethical way and in a moral way and in a way that's healthy for our life balance as well.
Speaker 1:I'd love to hear your comments on this as chat GPT Is it something that you're concerned about that you're getting a little bit too reliant on or a little bit too close to? I'd love to hear your comments. Podcast. At chemistrystaffingcom we talk about things like this that are interesting to me but also, I think, probably interesting to a lot of us as church leaders, as far as how do we stay healthy, how do we serve well. Those kinds of things are what we talk about every day here on the Healthy Church Step podcast. If you're not subscribed, go ahead and hit subscribe and join me again tomorrow right here on the Healthy Church Step. Have a great one you.
