As someone who works in tech and spends more time on her computer than outside, I get more exposure to AI than most of my non-tech friends. I use “exposure to AI” deliberately, because very often it just feels like more more more… spam.

The ratio between signal and noise has tilted far, far towards the “noise” side, to the point where AI-generated LinkedIn content gets AI-generated comments, turning the previously “social” network into a wasteland of… depression and anxiety.

AI is trained on internet content. A lot of that content is rage-inducing clickbait and negativity. As a result, AI mimics the sentiment, and voilá, doom and gloom all around. Add to this a lack of purpose (other than unfettered capitalism) and the world looks very bleak.

A couple of months ago, I uninstalled Instagram from my phone. In the fight for my attention span, my brain was continuously losing out, and a “quick check” easily ended up being an hour-long scroll without a lot to show for it afterwards - not even relaxation. So now I have to check it on my computer - and the friction is enough to keep me off it most of the time.

There’s also a “no screen in the bathroom” rule at my house (for the kids and me), and the phone does not sleep in my bed. Additional advantage: there’s no snooze if you have to leave the bed to get to your phone.

In my inbox, I’ve started to be very liberal with the unsubscribe button. There’s a handful of (paid) subscriptions that I do read regularly, a bit like I used to read RSS feeds in the past. The freed-up time goes to my book collection and my studies.

Let’s be honest: at the speed of AI, you can do SO MUCH MORE, and yet, you’ll never be done. So you may as well decide how much you want to sacrifice.

AI isn’t magic, nor is it a deity. It’s normal technology. Is it disruptive? Certainly, that doesn’t mean you need to stop your life and align it around AI. It’s a tool - and that means you can decide when and how to use it, and when and how not to use it.

You can do “everything with AI”. Or you can purposefully support causes and ideas that you believe in - just because you can. You can still AI, but maybe writing down your thoughts before asking the AI tool of your choice to tell you what to think is not a bad idea.

Under this same logic, I have shifted to tools that align better with what I want to see in the world. Just today I was able to remove the Cookie banners from my websites. Foregoing the free Google Analytics option, I decided to use Plausible Analytics: European-based, privacy-first, and cookie-free. When I posted about this on LinkedIn, Daniel Prindii shared his own unshittification list: https://danielprindii.com/blog/how-i-unshittified-my-digital-life-big-tech-alternatives. There ARE options out there which do not concentrate every decision in big tech!

AI isn’t that different from fast fashion. Yes, you can get a T-Shirt for 3 EUR. It may mean that you tacitly agree with child exploitation, environmental distraction, and the total absence of workers’ rights.

The ecosystem around AI isn’t that different, not because AI is evil, but because it scales everything - positive intent just as much as suboptimal value propositions.

Last week, I had an interesting conversation with Rafael Vivas (before he interviewed me for his podcast - in Spanish #SorryNotSorry). We discussed the impact of AI on the workforce and how Block laid off 40% of its workforce, despite being profitable. The CEO, Jack Dorsey blames AI.

So here’s my question: how much is enough? Jack Dorsey’s net worth is 5.5 billion (2025). The company is profitable. He could have gone with a 4 day-work-week. He could have asked everyone to use 20% of their time to figure out new things to use AI (or non-AI). Instead, he made sure roughly 4,000 people won’t be able to contribute back to their local economies.

That’s shortsighted at best. And really, does it matter once you are past the billion mark?

So, how much is enough? Especially if you are an entrepreneur or business owner, at what point are you going to give yourself (and your employees) the gift of TEA (time, energy, and attention)?

Apparently, the (American) startup world is currently obsessed with the 996 working hour schedule - expecting new hires to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. I have opinions what this means for productivity and how this impacts everyone who’s not young, unattached, and independent.

And I also very clearly know that I do not want to do that. I want to write postcards to my friends. I want to write emails myself, share my life with others, help them get their own lives together. I want to go to concerts, and have dinner with friends afterwards. I want to take my kids to Germany, and France, and Britain - by care if needed, but at our own pace.

So right now, I am optimising for human impact over “everything AI”. I continue to experiment with it, I love some of the applications, and I’ll not stop to relentlessly ask (you): how would you do this if there was no AI - and is it worth the trade-off?

PS: These are the three websites that are now using Plausible instead of Google Analytics:

That’s it, enjoy the week!