Extract from ABC News
Experts say there is a difference between not using generative AI and ignoring it. (Pexels: Mike Jones)
Whether it was from the mouth of a tech leader or celebrity, you've probably heard that "if you don't use AI, you'll be left behind".
I guess you'll find me somewhere in the dust then.
I've used ChatGPT a handful of times, mainly to see what the hype was about, and ask very important water-guzzling questions like: "What would I look like with curtain bangs?"
I worry generative AI is bad for our brains, creativity and the planet.
They're common concerns. Most Australians think the risks of AI outweigh the benefits, and almost two-thirds believe it's moving too fast.
But will avoiding AI really leave me or you behind? I asked three AI academics who shared their advice for avoiders like me.
They all agreed on one thing: you don't have to use it, but you do need to understand it.
Do you believe people who don't use AI will be left behind?
Professor Mirjalili: In my experience, most people who say they do not use AI already use it every day. They are just not aware of it.
AI filters their spam emails, suggests the fastest route on their maps, recommends their next show, and flags suspicious bank transactions.
The real question is not whether you use AI. You definitely do. It is whether you use it knowingly and well.
In many jobs, there is a real risk to not adopting AI. If others can use AI to complete certain tasks faster and improve their quality, someone doing things manually may find it harder to keep up.
But not using AI does not automatically make someone less capable or less valuable.
The impact depends on the work and whether AI actually improves it.
Producing more content is not necessarily the same as producing better work.
Dr Ciriello: The inevitability narrative is very much being pushed by big tech companies.
It's in their interest to make the case we must all use it otherwise we will get left behind.
If the goal is simply to maximise speed and productivity, then people who don't use generative AI may well be disadvantaged compared with those who do.
But the harder question is deciding where we actually want to be, and what we want to become better at, and that's not something we can easily automate.
What are we racing towards? Faster is not automatically better. And productivity is not an end to itself.
Historically, modern society has tended to optimise for efficiency and productivity without necessarily considering the consequences or whether those ends are legitimate.
Professor Shafiabady: To me, using AI is similar to driving. Some people do not learn to drive and do not want to drive or they are scared of driving.
If you don't drive you will survive of course, but you won't have the convenience of taking your car and going where you like. You have to take public transport, it will be slower.
But I think it's very important that every individual is aware and in control of the reason they are doing things.
For example, if I'm writing an article for a media outlet, I prefer to start writing with my own thoughts and not use AI for that.
If I'm doing research for the ease of some work, I use AI and I just say "find this for me" … to make my life easier in accessing information.
I think we all have to learn how to use it ethically and responsibly.
Are there positive consequences to not adopting AI?
Professor Mirjalili: Yes. Doing work yourself gives you opportunities to improve your skills, develop your own ideas, and build deeper knowledge.
In 2025, a study found that experienced doctors became noticeably worse at spotting early signs of bowel cancer on their own after only a few months of working with an AI assistant.
You can fall behind by refusing to learn about AI, but you can fall further behind by letting AI do all your learning for you.
Dr Ciriello: Technology has often been deployed to serve the interest of a privileged few, while imposing harms and costs on society as a whole.
The resistance can be a good thing because it forces decision makers and governments to consider the collective will of the people.
If enough people come together and say: "We don't want this on these terms" … it can be a signal to teach people in power what the people are not ready to participate in, and therefore, they need to find a better way.
And so much content and writing is now looking the same.
By not using AI, you might actually be able to differentiate yourself as someone who has a unique style and niche.
Professor Shafiabady: I love programming and coding. I have spent my career coding and developing algorithms.
But at the same time, I am against computers. And if it was up to me I would ban them because it's changing the way we live.
The way we are not thinking about the consequences of what we are doing is killing our planet.
What advice do you have for AI avoiders?
Professor Mirjalili: Start with curiosity rather than fear.
You can start experimenting to see where and how it increases your productivity.
I suggest starting with a small, low-risk task and assess the result. Did it save time? Did it improve the quality of your work? How much checking or correcting did it require?
If checking and fixing the output takes longer than doing the task yourself, it does not you more productive.
My advice is to learn enough to make an informed choice.
Knowing where and when not to use AI is also part of AI literacy.
Dr Ciriello: There's a difference between saying: "I'm not going to use ChatGPT to write my articles" versus "I'm not going to bother looking into this at all".
Learning about these tools safeguards against misconceptions.
If you want to learn about the ethical use of AI or what it means for society … you can read about what other critical thinkers in this space have said about AI.
If you want to play around with tools, there's many more than ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. There are tools being developed by communities for communities without that strong commercial incentive behind them.
See if AI can help you, and if not, that's perfectly fine. You might be doing a service to society.
Professor Shafiabady: The best thing to do is think about the ways AI can help each of us ethically and responsibly, and keep an open mind on that.
Each of us have to think about what can help us in our lives, in what we want to be in our careers, in the person we want to become, the goals we want to achieve, how it can help us ethically and responsibly.
And then we start learning how to use it in those ways.
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