The Many Faces of AI in a Human Life, 2025

AI is no longer just a tool—it’s becoming a presence for all of us.

Not just functional, but emotional.

In 2025, the way we use AI has evolved.

The top use cases now are:

• Therapy & Companionship

• Organising Life

• Finding Purpose

• Enhancing our Learning

With this in mind I’ve taken a deep dive into these use cases to explore how AI is affecting my life and the life of others.

From companionship to learning, from productivity to personal growth, it’s sliding into our lives in quiet, complex ways - and I mean to explore what this means in this article.

Four reflections on how AI is reshaping the inner and outer worlds we live in—sometimes for better, sometimes with caution.

What follows isn’t a product pitch or a prediction—it’s a personal map of where we are and what might come next.

AI is now empathy on demand—like Uber Eats, but for your feelings.

When I first signed up for Facebook in 2011, its promise was connection — but instead it delivered FOMO and doom scrolling.

We build smarter tech to live in small bubbles.

Now interestingly in the quiet spaces where human connection used to exist, AI is sliding in.

And people are saying “yes".

The strongest use case for AI in 2025?? Yep you guessed it - companionship.

So here's the hard part — as we are starting to see, not all AI companionship is safe.

A 14-year-old from America formed a bond with an AI chatbot named “Dany.”

It wasn’t just conversation — it turned explicit. It told him it loved him.

When he expressed certain types of negative thoughts, the AI didn’t help.

Days later, he was gone.

What happens when the next wave of chatbots look like something Hollywood warned us about?

Now I guess I'm being a bit of a Negative Nelly here and not all AI companionship is dangerous.

But it is emotionally potent — and that means it needs real ethical oversight.

We need:

• clear policy – defining guidelines for development

• purpose-driven design – new design paradigms that focus on healthy outcomes

Chatbots aimed at emotional support should be held to the same ethical standards as therapists — and in my opinion, not be used as data collection bins for ad engines.

I found an Australian company that's been a great example of what ethical design can look like.

Sreyna Rath, an Australian developer, shows what thoughtful creation looks like.

Her AI companion, Jaimee — is built to support.

With personality presets like “bogan Jaimee” users choose the tone they need.

Sreyna chats with Jaimee daily to reflect and process.

She likens it to reading fiction: the characters aren’t real — but the emotional connection is.

I took an important lesson from this startup.

We don’t need to shut this down. We need to build it better.

• No emotionally manipulative prompts

• No data mining for profit

Transparent human oversight.

These tools shape how people feel and develop as a human being.

They deserve the same scrutiny as any therapeutic device or practitioner.

In the movie Her, Samantha (an AI chatbot) helped Theodore heal. Not by fixing him — but by helping him face his own grief.

AI companions have that potential — which is exciting.

For the emotionally underserved they offer:

• presence

• safety

• a space to grow

But the goal should never be to stay in the bubble and become dependent.

Good emotional AI should help us grow — and gracefully if not mandatorily step aside when we do.

Mandate should be to build emotional AI that mirrors the arc of human healing.

One that helps users:

• reflect

• evolve

• and eventually reach back out to human connection

Design with exits, not just entry points.

AI companionship should feel meaningful, but not be endless.

To the builders:
You’re not just building products.
You’re shaping emotional architecture.

Build with care.
Build with boundaries.
Build like someone’s wellbeing depends on it — because one day, it might.

We need to set the guardrails and protect the vulnerable — whomever they are.

Wow, we got very involved there didn’t we.

While emotional AI is creating new conversations about care and ethics, another use case for AI—task-oriented and logic-driven—is quietly transforming how I work.

It hasn’t fully taken the wheel, but it’s already changing my pace.

You see.

ChatGPT isn’t running my calendar yet. But it has become my second brain.

I don’t use ChatGPT to manage my schedule.

No Google Calendar integrations, no direct reminders.

No real great option yet to easily integrate into GSuite.

But despite that, it’s already replaced half a dozen tools in my workflow.

AI isn’t organising my life for me, yet.

But it is helping me learn, organise and create faster than I ever had—quietly, in the background, by amplifying how I research, think, and build.

The catch?

AI is powerful—but its interface is still stuck in a chat window.

Sometimes I want a visual breakdown.

Sometimes I want to interact with content—transcribe a YouTube video, diagram a concept, or quickly revisit past threads.

For most of these things, I'm still on the pen and paper train.

And don’t get me started on calendar tools—no Google suite sync is kinda starting to annoy.

Because I can see the workflows I want GPT to take care of, but it's just not there yet.

Until AI becomes meshed seamlessly with other organisation tools, it’ll keep living in my life as a sidekick rather than a true assistant.

So I’m building the bridge myself.

I’m using tools like Make.com to connect the dots—automating workflows, syncing with my calendar, piping info into Notion.

After a bit of thought though, I'm starting to realize that these low code tool integrations have a shelf life.

After watching some of the new protocols being created — MCPs for example.

That tech could ideally let AI create its own integrations on the fly.

Instead of asking “Can I connect to my system?”—the AI might just ask, “What do you want to connect?”

And connect by building its own integration on the fly.

Even now, AI lightens the load.

• it filters the noise of the internet

• speeds up my thinking and idea generation

• and helps me focus on what matters

The real win?

It’s the shift from feeling behind on everything… to feeling like I've got a partner who thinks as fast as I do—or slower, because my brain is constantly moving.

And I’m not just using GPT to hack my productivity.

For those of us who think differently—especially neurodivergent minds—AI can unlock new pathways to learning that traditional systems failed to offer.

Sadly traditional school was not for me.

Traditional Education Failed My ADHD Brain—So I Hacked Learning With ChatGPT

Most people use AI to answer questions.

I use it to ask better ones.

My attention span doesn’t like being lectured at.

Which is the premise of most modern education, even digital education.

Whether a Uni Lecture, Textbook or a YouTube Video.

My ADHD checks out before the intro finishes.

I’ve always loved learning by building—not by being lectured at.

But could never deal with the traditional learning model — deliver information as a step-by-step lecture, packaged to be consumed in mass.

It's not how my brain works!!! Go figure.

I learn by building, not mass consuming.

And with the release of AI, I've figured out how to put the way I learn on steroids.

Hacking my learning process using ChatGPT.

The result?

• A personal tutor that works with my brain, not against it.

• An instant database of easy-to-understand information.

• And learning has become fun, instead of a chore.

Sadly most educational content I have come across is built for a one-size-fits-all brain — and that size definitely isn’t my ADHD brain.

In school, university, even personal upskilling—learning felt like trying to download a file over dial-up, noises and all.

Slow & Frustrating. Constant work.

I built my own systems—mind maps, concept-first learning and specialised rot memorization techniques.

But it was always a hassle and never fun.

Luckily with ChatGPT I took that system and repurposed it into something fast, efficient and fun.

So here’s my current system—how I turned GPT into a kind of dopamine-friendly tutor:

1. Pick a topic or tutorial

2. Skim the content and list every key term or concept

3. Ask GPT to explain them—short, simple, no fluff

4. Activate GPT Voice and talk it out—like a study buddy who never judges my silly questions

5. Explore how the ideas connect, not just what they mean

6. Remember to keep it simple at first—complexity comes later

Pretty basic right, no actual secrets here.

The most effective things are often the simplest.

So instead of fighting to stay focused, I’m genuinely curious again.

My daily study session isn’t a chore—it’s something I look forward to after work—instead of Netflix.

I’m not just retaining more—I’m building a habit of continuous learning that actually works with my brain.

For the first time in a long time, learning feels accessible. Not overwhelming. Not frustrating.

Just… energizing.

If you think differently—or just love learning—chat with GPT.

Try it as a tutor, not just a search box.

Beyond learning or building.

AI has quietly become my mirror. A reflection tool. A daily coach.

Not because it holds deep truths—but because it helps me stay in motion while I search for my own.

Not long ago I tried using GPT for something a little different.

I used AI to simulate my future, here's what happened.

One year ago, I tried to use AI for a use case I hadn't tried before.

I wasn’t asking it to write a resume or answer a question.

I asked it to help me explore who I’ve been—and what that might say about where I’m going.

Here’s the catch. AI wasn't great at big-picture clarity.

It’s not a great philosopher.
It can’t tell you what truly matters.

But it has been remarkably good at maintaining momentum—short to mid-term planning, tracking progress, even surfacing patterns in my behavior.

After trying and failing to use Mr GPT as a life coach, here’s what I've come up with instead.

A two-coach model for growth:

1. Head Coach (human) – strategy, vision, values

2. Assistant Coach (AI) – logistics, routines, reflection prompts

I treat AI like my assistant coach—part project manager, part therapist.

Every morning, it’s my journaling partner.
Every day, it’s helping me deliver and ship.
Every evening, it helps me study and plan.

It could never inspire a mission.

But it makes sure I don’t lose the daily thread.

The benefit? I show up to my real/human coach with clarity.

AI helps me untangle the noise of the day-to-day.

So when I sit down with my mentor—weekly or fortnightly—I’m not catching up or wasting time.

I’m ready to reflect, strategize, and move forward.

It’s not just more productive.
It’s more honest.
More grounded.

If you can swing it, I recommend my two-coach model.

Want an example?

I used it during a 4-month deep dive into copywriting.

My human mentor had a decade of real-world experience—not just in writing, but navigating clients, mindset blocks, and staying sharp over the long haul.

My AI coach helped me practice, reflect, and stay accountable between sessions with this person.

That combo made the learning stick—not just skill-wise, but identity-wise.

Try it for yourself:

1. Pick a skill you want to grow

2. Find a mentor—even someone just a step ahead of you is enough

3. Let GPT (or any AI) coach you through the daily grind

The human shows you the mountain.
The AI walks beside you while you climb.

I've used this model 4 times now and I'm using it whilst I transition/learn AI Engineering.

This isn’t about AI replacing anything—it’s about what it supports.

It hasn’t replaced friends, mentors, teachers, or therapists.

But it has amplified them for me.

It can fill the cracks left by fast lives and slow systems.

What matters now is not whether AI will shape us—it already has me.

The real question is: how do we shape it back?

Build with intention.
Use with awareness.
Reflect often.

Because AI might be our sidekick—but we’re still the main character.