I have memory issues (it’s a brain issue) and struggle to do some basic things, but higher order thinking is natural for me. So ChatGPT does the things I struggle with, I review it and then use that information for my bigger goals. I got a lot done last year because of chatgpt, and rn I’m on the last leg of the project. I spent a few years trying to complete the project alone and didn’t get far because of the memory issues.

How ai is used is dependent on the user itself. Some people just don’t want to put effort like your brother, some people have disabilities or other issues that prevent them from doing bigger things they’re otherwise capable of doing.

For honesty, recent example from me:

I bought about a dozen epub comics. They were formatted with a hardcoded 600x450 width or so, maybe expecting a particular device. Having recently worked with epubs to format my own (word) book, I knew the format, and basically wanted to use Python standard library tools to unzip them, rip out some useless sizing/styling code (from hundreds of XHTML files), and zip them back up.

I hadn't used Python professionally in a few years, so this was an annoying back and forth to work out the process and remind myself of syntax, especially considering this was something I was just doing for a few of my own books. Instead, taking every important piece of this puzzle/process I'd researched, I instead described the problem to ChatGPT, specifically pointing it to the Python standard libraries I wanted to use. It gave me a one-page program that was mostly complete and I only needed to change in a few areas.

I don't think I'd ever pay money to AIs for a variety of reasons. I take that assistance as it comes, and could live without it.

I personally use AI to help me with my work. I used to work in an IT repair facility where I would use an LLM to help me troubleshoot problems. For example if a computer won't turn on and the motherboard is flashing and beeping, asking an LLM is 10x faster than having to use the internet to hunt for a user manual of one specific model of computer from 40 years ago, made by a brand which no longer exists.

Now I work in Computer Games Development after getting my degree. AI is extremely useful for helping me come up with ideas, making prototypes, and even generating small amounts of code in C++ and C#, which is what I mainly use. Games Dev isn't difficult. I can do it myself. But it can be very tedious. That's why AI is so helpful.

As for what your little brother does, i've experienced that. People generating code and having no idea what it does. It might help you pass your subjects in school, but it's only gonna screw you over in the long run.

I don't mind people using AI to help them with their work as long as they don't depend on it.