Recent events have led me to delete the AI apps, and I can’t stay quiet about it.

The catalyst? The (dare I say) cancellation of beloved YouTube creator Hank Green, following his supposed use of AI in a video script.

If you’re not familiar or need a reminder, Hank Green is most well known for his educational videos made with his brother, John Green, on their YouTube channels, Crash Course and Vlogbrothers.

He endeared most of my generation with animated videos about world history and other high school subjects. The Green brothers became known for high-quality, educational content. To some fans, the usage of AI is incongruous with this ethos.

So what was the telltale line that had people in the comments all up in arms?

Tbh, I had no idea that was a ChatGPT phrase, but the keyboard warriors clocked it. To fully understand the background, you can give this Colin and Samir show episode a watch.

Hank Green addressed “the pushback” in a brief video this week where he introduced his personal AI policy.

And this gave me pause.

I feel general unease when I see AI-generated images, videos, and LinkedIn slop, but I hadn’t thought about defining my own guardrails on exactly how, and in what contexts, I’m open to using AI.

I’ve had the ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity apps on my phone, and it never crossed my mind until this week whether I should even have them. The tools are readily available, so why not?

Two days ago, I finally asked myself that very question.

The answer came to me as I was journaling before starting my work day.

So for the first time in a while, I approached a creative task without the input of AI. I was reworking a presentation for my group coaching program and decided to go fully analog for the development.

In our meeting this week, I shared this photo with my group members. My real pen and paper mind map that I used to rework the Ads Ready framework.

I realized how much of the answer lies in the creative process, and that I can’t get to something that you feel excited about if you outsource the thinking to generative AI. So I challenged myself to do the work LLM-free.

I still think AI is great for helping you get unstuck, especially when perfectionism gets in the way of you even getting started (see last week’s post on AI and MVPs).

But AI can also obscure the truth and wisdom that you already have access to.

As a verbal processor and someone who has been an avid journaler since the age of 10, I realized how much my analytical thinking is dependent on a creative process.

Insight comes to me when I’m talking or writing about a topic. If I immediately run something by Claude, I’m bypassing the epiphanies that come from purely analog thinking, just me and a pen and paper. I’m doing myself, my clients, and coaching group members a disservice if I outsource the iterating and analyzing to AI.

While I’m still developing my personal AI policy, I’m going to go with what feels right. For now, that means minimizing my use of AI, and that starts by removing LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity from my phone.

How’s it going so far?

I don’t miss ‘em.

Are you feeling a similar unease about AI? Or even it’s not that dramatic, have you given your usage of AI a second thought?

this week’s mini:

You might be surprised what comes to you when you give your mind some room to explore, sans the Internet.

If you decide to change up your AI usage or even define your personal AI policy, reply and let me know what you’re doing differently.

Stay Steady,
Molly

P.S. If you’re building something and the journey feels lonely (esp in this strange AI world) maybe it’s time for support ⬇️

P.P.S. Today, my husband and I are celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary. He’s been the most important supporter of me as an entrepreneur, and I couldn’t publish something today without acknowledging this big moment 🤍