Calling people NPCs because they use AI is pretty ironic. Using a tool doesn't make someone less human, any more than using a calculator makes someone incapable of thinking. The real question is whether people are using AI to expand their thinking or outsourcing it entirely. Blindly repeating AI-generated content is one thing; using AI as a tool for creativity, learning, or productivity is another. Judge the thought, not the tool.
this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2026
242 points (79.2% liked)
Showerthoughts
44381 readers
430 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- No politics
- If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
- A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS
If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Lemmy users would've hated when the calculator was invented.
Fuck you, with a rake, sideways. You're either the most disingenuous person who ever lived (unlikely, stiff competition, you're not smart enough), or the dumbest person who ever lived (obviously true lmao, we can all tell)
load more comments
(1 replies)
I used to be able to do long division in my head. Square roots. That kind of thing.
Then they allowed us to use calculators in class, and I was too young to realise the danger. Now that part of my brain is gone. Dead. I can't do those calculations without using the machine as a crutch. It mutilated me, maimed me, killed a part of me, and made me dependent on it.
I won't let LLMs do the same to the rest of my brain, and will treat anyone who does with the pity, disgust, and existential nausea and horror they deserve.
This is the correct take. You're 100% correct, all of us who used to "think" (how archaic! The TV screen tells us what to think) feel this way.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(34 replies)
need something?
Assisted AI is fine, but putting it in the drivers seat and abandoning critical thinking skills is pretty concerning, yet sadly not surprising with the masses
Do you consider your own output here to be of more value then? After all, your average response length is about one sentence and I detect zero attempt to partake in any kind of conversation exploring ideas or even requiring the minimal amount of thinking to take place. Even here you're making a hasty generalization about hundreds of millions of people while implying they all run absolutely everything through AI while yourself seemingly mixing the terms conscience and consciousness. Not really the greatest example of someone successfully expressing their natural thought process without the help of AI.
I mean, depending on what the word value means, absolutely.