AI is Making Work Easy… But Is It Making Us Lazy?

🚢 “AI is Making Work Easy… But Is It Making Us Lazy?”

— A Real Experience from a Shipping Professional

🧠 Part 1: “ChatGPT was down... and my work just stopped!”

Last week, something strange happened. My ChatGPT account got deactivated for half a day.

At first, I thought — "No problem, I’ll wait."
But then I realised — the task I was doing could not move ahead without ChatGPT.
So, I kept it aside and started something else. Guess what? That also needed ChatGPT.
Started a third task... and yes — even that one stopped because of ChatGPT!

I was shocked. Just two years ago, I used to do everything without AI. Now, I felt stuck without it.

I started wondering — Is AI making me smarter, or just too dependent?

 

 Part 2: China Shows Us — "Think First, Don't Just Ask AI"

The same week, something big happened in China.

Over 13 million students were preparing for Gaokao, their toughest national college exam.
During those 4 days, the Chinese government shut down all major AI tools across the country!

Yes — tools from ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent, all turned off real-time answers and image recognition features.

Why? So that students don’t just copy answers from AI.
They wanted students to think, not just search.

Now think about it — a whole country paused AI for students to think.
And here I was — a professional — getting stuck just because ChatGPT was down.

 

🧪 Part 3: Research Shows: AI Helped Less, Thinking Helped More

Boston Consulting Group — one of the biggest global consulting firms — did a test.

They gave two groups the same work task.
One group could use ChatGPT. The other could not.

Result?

• The non-AI group did 84% accurate work.
• The AI group only did 72% accurate work.

Why? Because people using AI stopped thinking deeply.
They just accepted whatever the AI gave. Their decision-making dropped.

So yes, AI saves time. But if we stop thinking, we lose our own power.

 

🧭 Part 4: Use AI to Grow Your Thinking — Not Avoid It

Today, AI is everywhere — and it’s powerful.
It saves time, makes things faster, and helps in many ways.

But remember:

• AI can show direction, but you have to walk.
• AI can give answers, but you must ask the right questions.
• AI makes things easy, but you still take the decisions.

AI is like a sword. You can use it to become sharper and smarter…
Or, you can use it as a crutch and stop growing.

China showed that learning is more important than just getting answers.
And I realised — if I stop thinking, even the best AI can’t save me.

 

💬 Final Thought: What Do You Think?

Schools, offices, teams — we’re all using AI now.
But are we using it to think better, or just to avoid thinking?

Learning never ends.
But if we stop thinking, we’ll become dependent.
And when that happens, we are no longer in control — the tools are.

So now I ask you —
🧠 Are you thinking with AI?
😴 Or are you letting it think for you?

 

🙌 Call to Action:

👍 Like if you agree AI should grow our brain, not replace it
💬 Comment below and tell me — How do you balance AI and your thinking?
📲 Follow @ShipOpsInsights with Dattaram for more such real, inspiring content from the world of shipping and life!

 

#ShipOpsInsights #AIInShipping #MaritimeWisdom #ThinkWithAI #RealTalkShipping #SmartToolsSmarterBrains #ShippingLeadership #PositiveMindset

 

📝 Disclaimer:
This blog shares personal thoughts meant to spark ideas among professionals. It is not expert advice, but a friendly reflection to help others grow with awareness.