Studies show most people think they’re using AI responsibly while everyone else is outsourcing the real work.

I read a research paper on the weekend about how people judge AI use differently depending on who is using it.

We tend to believe our own use of AI is thoughtful, restrained, and appropriate.

And other people? They’re a bunch of phoney, lazy cheaters.

The researchers found that we consistently describe our own AI use as “getting inspiration” while assuming others are outsourcing the work itself, or taking irresponsible shortcuts.

I’ve caught myself doing exactly this.

How do you not?

Some people have given me grief over the AI-generated cartoon illustrations I use in my daily emails and posts.

I totally get why.

I’ve worked with many incredible illustrators over the years, including talented digital artists and some who hand-paint original artwork before scanning or photographing it. That kind of craftsmanship still matters deeply to me.

At the same time, I write these emails daily. Sometimes an idea hits me and I publish it within the hour. I could never realistically assign that workflow to an illustrator and expect workable speed or experimentation. (Or even not to be despised for demanding it on the daily!)

So, see what I just did there? I continue to justify it.

I tell myself this is a tiny, independent initiative. A place to learn. A chance to experiment with the tools that are totally reshaping our industry, not to mention my kids’ futures and my own.

I tell myself I’d be foolish to be a spectator on a technological shift this massive.

So, yeah.

THAT is exactly what the study found.

We evaluate ourselves through context, effort, and motivation.

We evaluate others through the narrow outputs we see.

The truth is way messier and squishier than either side is ever gonna admit.

AI has already massively changed creative work, illustration, writing, coding, marketing, research, and product development.

Irreversibly, for the most part.

Some folks still resist it like a plague, freak out and lobby against it like it’s a political movement.

Many others embrace it recklessly, giving it free access to their computer, client list, apps and bank accounts.

But most of us (as usual) are somewhere in the middle, trying to figure out what responsible use looks like in real time, while living our weird lives and doing our changing jobs.

I feel deeply for the illustrators, photographers and writers who find themselves losing out against tools that didn’t even exist a few years ago.

I also know going to war with the inevitable has a tendency to be a painful losing strategy.

Where do YOU stand on this thorny subject? Hit Reply and send me a few words.

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