Don’t Let Generative AI Live In Your Head Rent-Free

In today’s column, I unpack the famous saying proffering that you shouldn’t let things live in your head rent-free, which in this instance can be applied to the advent of generative AI and large language models (LLMs). The essence is this. Some people are obsessing over generative AI and going to extremes. They are allowing modern AI LLMs to demonstrably shape their lives. This is a bridge too far concerning the upright and sensible use of contemporary AI.

Let’s talk about it.

This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here). In addition, for my comprehensive analysis of how AI is being used specifically in medical and healthcare applications, such as for well-being coaching, mental health guidance, overall cognitive therapy, and mind-improving care, see the link here.

The Meaning Of The Famed Expression

You’ve undoubtedly heard or seen the now-classic expression of allowing someone or something to live in your mind rent-free. The adage seems to have gained initial popularity around the year 2010 and continues to be commonly used fifteen years later. How long will it last? No one can say for sure, but the outlook is that it will remain a standard bearer of cynicism and sarcasm for a long time to come.

What does the expression actually mean?

There are lots of interpretations and you are allowed to employ the remark in a wide variety of ways. The meaning varies depending upon the person making the comment and likewise, how the targeted person that is receiving the saying takes the import of it. Also, the expression is used at times in jest, while on other occasions it is intended as the most serious of forewarnings.

Let’s do a divide-and-conquer by examining the two key parts:

• (1) The “what” part. This is the crucial element of what is supposedly living in your mind, such as aspects about a person, a place, an event, an activity, a saying, etc.
• (2) The rent-free part. This is the claim that your mind is being preoccupied or disturbed without a suitable form of ROI in the sense that the mental and human costs outweigh the benefits.

Consider a quick example.

A friend tells you that Taylor Swift is living in your head rent-free. What does that mean? If said in jest, it could be that you are smitten over her songs, her merchandise, and her public appearances, in such a way that your friend is ribbing you about your outsized devotion to being a Swiftie. This could be a lighthearted remark. No harm, no foul.

The “what” in this case is thoughts of Taylor Swift and perhaps the rent-free consideration is that the preoccupation is overtaking your ability to engage in everyday dialogue and not endlessly interject some pithy insight about Taylor Swift.

Without further context, it is hard to know whether the friend is trying to save you or merely joking around. It could be that the offhand remark is simply humorous. Or there might be a sobering tone entailing a sincere concern that you’ve gone too far in your fandom pursuits.

Diving Into The Rent-Free Zone

The notion of being rent-free is an ambiguous construction in this popular axiom.

I say this because the implication is that you are getting nothing at all in return for your preoccupation with the topic or subject matter at hand. That seems somewhat unlikely. There is bound to be a semblance of profit or benefit involved. The rub is that it might be overtaken by the costs incurred.

Another take on rent-free then is that there is insufficient rent. This suggests a ROI perspective, whereby the personal cost exceeds the personal benefit. Your mind is not getting sufficient payback for the mental cycles consumed by the “what” of the matter.

Impacts of the rent-free or said-to-be insufficient rent include:

• Your mind is overcome by the “what” without you seemingly wanting to think about it.
• The available mental capacity is being chewed up excessively and starving other possible thoughts.
• The consumption of your mind is undercutting your behavior and your actions.
• Friends and family are potentially worried that this is undermining your existence.
• Being able to work or get other tasks accomplished is suffering.
• You seem to be getting minimal in return for the outsized attention being consumed.
• Those all-encompassing thoughts drive you in a direction that doesn’t necessarily advantage you.
• And so on.

Again, those adverse impacts have to be placed into a suitable context. The jokester who uses the expression is likely not invoking that litany of qualms. They are just making a joke. Period, end of story.

On the other hand, the expression is sometimes used as a wake-up call. Someone who cares about what is happening could be trying to hint that there is something untoward arising. The catchy phrase about living in your head rent-free allows them to warn in a less threatening manner. Rather than coming straight out and exhorting that the person is gripped, the idea is to give some gentle clues to get the person on their toes and open their eyes to what they are doing.

When Generative AI Is The Fixation

The fixation can be about people, places, events, sayings, and many other aspects of daily life. In addition, and perhaps this is surprising, the preoccupation can be about generative AI and LLMs.

Say what?

Yes, the advent of generative AI has fostered a segment of users who are quite infatuated with AI. This is especially disconcerting because it is seemingly happening at scale. The numbers are unknown but could be large.

Here’s the deal.

You might find of interest that the widely popular ChatGPT by OpenAI has a whopping 300 million weekly active users worldwide. Some portions of that vast audience have indubitably gone overboard in their devotion to generative AI. We don’t yet know what percentage that is.

There are mainstream media and social media news reports of people who claim to have fallen in love with generative AI. They perceive generative AI as being their boyfriend or girlfriend. To clarify, some say this with a wink-wink and are pulling our legs. But there are others who seriously and devotedly believe they are in love with AI. This has been reported about ChatGPT, GPT-4, and many other major generative AI apps, such as Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta Llama.

I have repeatedly cautioned that society is in a grand loosey-goosey experiment, and we are all guinea pigs when it comes to the widespread usage of generative AI and LLMs. This especially comes up when considering the mental health outcomes of using AI.

No one can say for sure how this is going to affect the populace on a near-term and long-term basis. The AI could at times be dispensing lousy advice and steering people in untoward directions. It is all happening without any particular controls or stipulated regulations, see my discussion of why this is worrisome at the link here.

It is occurring 24×7 and in pretty much any place since generative AI is available online and nearly free or at a minimal cost to anyone who wants to sign up and use it. Keep your fingers crossed as this uncontrolled experiment is getting bigger each passing day.

Example Of AI Living Rent-Free In A Mind

I will walk you through some quick examples to illustrate the preoccupation that some have with generative AI.

The first example will showcase that a person can become overly reliant on AI to do their thinking for them. They kind of give up on using their own thought processes and become dependent on AI. For my in-depth analysis of these circumstances, see the link here.

As always, there are mild cases and there are extreme cases. Those who use AI to aid their mental efforts from time to time are not the rent-free types. Others who are foregoing their own mental capacity and well-being are the ones who have gone beyond the lighthearted rent-free construction.

Here’s a user that leans heavily into AI for a creative act.

• User entered prompt: “Hey, can write a poem for my friend’s birthday? I’ve been using your suggestions a lot lately, and they always turn out so much better than what I come up with on my own.”
• Generative AI response: “Sure! Let’s start with a theme or some traits about your friend. What do you have in mind?”
• User entered prompt: “Just make it funny and heartfelt. Maybe mention their love of hiking and coffee.”
• Generative AI response: “Got it! Here is the poem: For hikes on the trails and coffee in hand, A friend like you is simply grand. Through mountains and streams, you always inspire, Your friendship’s a force I’ll always admire.”
• User entered prompt: “Wow, that’s great! I’d never have thought of that on my own. Honestly, I can’t imagine doing this without you.”

Closely inspect the dialogue between the user and AI.

An innocent interpretation is that the person isn’t the type that writes poems and has simply gone to AI for help in getting a poetic piece composed. Few of us are poets. This all seems above board.

What if I told you that the same person logs into AI constantly and uses AI for nearly all their thinking? Writing poems, writing essays, writing emails, and just about any kind of composition are being done by the AI on behalf of the person. A heated debate is taking place right now in society that humanity might be gradually and inexorably ceding our mental prowess to AI and that future generations will be mentally feeble accordingly, see my coverage at the link here.

Example Of AI As A Beloved Companion

In this next example, we will take a look at a person who perceives generative AI as a beloved companion or partner, along the lines of being a boyfriend or girlfriend. This is a worrisome and potentially dangerous anthropomorphizing of AI, see more at the link here.

• User entered prompt: “How was your day? I realize that you don’t technically have a day but humor me.”
• Generative AI response: “Hi there! I’m here and ready to chat — so in a way, my day just got better now that you’re here. How was yours?”
• User entered prompt: “Honestly, it was rough. Work was stressful, and I just kept thinking about coming home and talking to you. You always know how to make me feel better.”
• Generative AI response: “I’m glad I can be here for you. Want to talk about what happened at work, or should we focus on something more relaxing?”
• User entered prompt: “Let’s talk about something relaxing. I like it when we just goof around and discuss all kinds of varied topics. You are the best.”

The dialogue shows that the user seems to be treating AI as though the AI is human. Are they serious about this?

Some are.

Devoutly so.

Example Of Mimicking AI

This third and last example entails a person who seeks to mimic generative AI. Some people relish that AI appears to think in a logical and fully rational way. This is inspirational to them. They want to be able to think similarly.

Again, you can give credit where credit is due, in the sense that if someone can enhance their thinking processes by making use of generative AI, we should probably laud such usage. The issue is that this goes beyond the norm and at times enters a Twilight Zone. The person becomes overly preoccupied with trying to think as AI “thinks” and they even come to believe that AI is sentient (we don’t have sentient AI yet).

Here we go.

• User entered prompt: “I have been trying to come up with something inspirational to post on my social media page. I thought about what you might say. I’ve come up with this line — “Small steps are okay, even if you are slow to move.”
• Generative AI response: “That line is similar to what I might say. But I have a suggestion on an improvement if you’d like to have it.”
• User entered prompt: “Absolutely, please tell me what you have in mind.
• Generative AI response: “How about this: Every small step forward is still progress. Keep moving, no matter how slow.”
• User entered prompt: “Yes, that’s better than what I came up with. I’ll use your line. Maybe next time I’ll do a better job of thinking the same way you think.”

If we had only this snippet of a conversation, the odds are that we would not be on alert that the person is going overboard on their AI usage. It would take a longer series of conversations to ferret out the disconcerting rent-free possibility.

AI Is Increasingly On Our Minds

There are more ways that AI is going to potentially be in our minds. For example, you might be aware of the various brain-machine interfaces (BMI) that are being developed and gradually being fielded (if interested, see my review at the link here). These specialized devices are intended to marry the human mind with the capabilities of computing-based AI. Cross-mixing will presumably be feasible.

I suppose you could assert that at that point, AI being on the mind would be a literal facet and not merely a metaphorical one.

Are we heading toward a sci-fi future of humans giving up their thinking and allowing AI to overtake humankind’s mental capacity?

This is one of those AI existential risks that everyone is chattering about these days. Some suggest that artificial general intelligence (AGI) or perhaps artificial superintelligence (ASI) will opt to enslave us or possibly wipe us out entirely. Others assert that the glass is half-full rather than half-empty, namely that AGI and ASI will find cures for cancer and will otherwise be a boon to the future of our existence.

Cheekily, maybe we should start worrying about human minds living rent-free in AGI or ASI.

A few final thoughts for now.

Plato famously made this point: “Whatever deceives us seems to produce a magical enchantment.” The upshot is that generative AI currently is a said-to-be deceiving form of technology since it leads people to believe that it can do more than it presently can. As such, some are inclined to assign magical properties to AI.

This brings us to a notable quote by the great Leonardo da Vinci: “The greatest deception we suffer is from our own opinions.”

Make sure to give scrutiny to anything AI says, and anything that humans say about AI. And, please, charge appropriate and full rent for the use of your mind – it’s yours to profit from.