I’m generally pro-AI, and I know that alone turns some people off immediately.
A lot of people right now want nothing to do with AI. Some out of fear, some out of principle, some out of pride, some because they’re tired of hearing about it.
Honestly, that’s your choice. You do not need to become an AI user. You do not need to love it. You do not need to build your life around it.
But let’s be brutally honest for a second:
Just because you refuse to use AI doesn’t mean bad actors will refuse too.
That’s the part I think many people are missing.
Today I used AI to generate a fake WhatsApp lottery-win screenshot as an experiment. Realistic chat layout, believable timestamps, edited ticket image, convincing enough that plenty of people would fall for it at a glance.
I made it as a harmless test.
A scammer would make it for money.
A fraudster would make it to manipulate trust.
A liar would make it to create fake evidence.
Someone malicious would make it to damage a reputation.
You can absolutely choose not to learn AI tools. That’s completely valid.
But choosing ignorance about what AI can do is different from choosing not to use it.
You don’t need to learn prompting.
You don’t need to generate art.
You don’t need to automate anything.
But you should learn:
how fake screenshots are made
how fake voices are cloned
how fake images are generated
how scams will use urgency + realism
why “proof” online now needs verification
how to pause before reacting emotionally
Because the people trying to exploit others are not sitting this one out.
We’ve seen this before with phishing emails, identity theft, robocalls, and social engineering. The people least interested in technology often became the easiest targets of it.
That’s why “I don’t use AI” is not really a defense.
It’s like saying you don’t use locks while burglars do.
You can reject AI culturally, creatively, politically, ethically (all fair debates).
But at minimum, learn enough to protect yourself and the people around you.
Especially parents, grandparents, and anyone who still thinks a screenshot automatically means something is real.
You don’t have to join the AI wave.
Just don’t stand still while criminals surf it.