I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Artificial Intelligence.
Not just what it can do, but what it costs.
Living with Multiple Sclerosis means my energy is limited, and some days my brain or body simply refuses to cooperate the way I’d like it to. For people living with chronic illness or disability, tools like Artificial Intelligence can sometimes help bridge that gap.
AI actually helps me shape ideas when fatigue threatens to steal them away.
Recently, Dan and I noticed many people on social media using AI to turn photos into fun caricatures. These AI-generated portraits soon seemed to be everywhere. We laughed and said, “We should ask AI to create one of us as A Couple Takes on MS.”
And so we did.
AI created an image of the two of us, just for fun. It was fascinating to see a version of ourselves generated by technology, and the image actually turned out pretty cute after just one small tweak.
We could have kept experimenting, but we stopped there. Neither of us wanted to mindlessly use resources just to see what else the tool could do.
Suddenly, something that had felt playful also felt complicated.
What began as a small, curious experiment seemed much bigger.
Considering the environmental cost of Artificial Intelligence
I found myself wondering about the environmental cost behind it all, such as the energy required to power these systems and the water used to cool the massive data centers that support them.
I care deeply about this planet. While Dan and I don’t have children, we do have four nieces and a nephew. And like most aunts and uncles, we want the world to be good for them. Not perfect, because the world has never been perfect, but certainly not worse.
And I often use the phrase, “leave things better than you found them.”
That idea has guided so many parts of my life. It shapes how I think about relationships, community, and even the small choices I make every day. Naturally, it also shapes how I think about technology.
Using AI made me pause and ask: Am I helping create something better, or am I contributing to something harmful?
I’ve come to realize that most modern tools carry both promise and cost.
Electricity powers hospitals and homes, but it also requires resources. Cars give us mobility, but they also affect the air we breathe. Technology is rarely simple.
Artificial Intelligence is no different.
Yes, it consumes energy. Yes, some data centers use significant water for cooling. Those realities deserve attention and responsible solutions.
But AI is also helping improve medical research, optimize energy systems, and allow people with disabilities to communicate and create in ways that weren’t always possible before.
That matters to me.
Using AI thoughtfully, rather than endlessly or mindlessly, feels like a way to hold both truths at once. It allows me to conserve my limited physical energy while still contributing my voice and ideas.
Stewardship doesn’t mean perfection.
Using Artificial Intelligence thoughtfully while living with MS
It means paying attention. It means asking questions about the tools we use and the future we’re shaping together.
And it means remembering that caring about the world is never naïve.
I still believe in leaving things better than we found them, even in the age of artificial intelligence.
And if living with MS has taught me anything, it’s that caring for what we’ve been given—our bodies, our relationships, and even our planet—is always worth the effort.
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