beast monster thing in space

yes

however we recently got her a new ceramic fountain that better suits her aesthetic

and her own fainting couch

but she still prefers a good lap whenever possible

It isn't always wrong. It's often correct enough for the average person's day to day usage. If you say, "it always gives misinformation", they're going to ignore you because just that morning it gave a perfectly functional summary of their meeting's notes. It correctly identified some vegan restaurants in their area. It accurately calculated some math for them.

MIT Study Finds Artificial Intelligence Use Reprograms the Brain, Leading to Cognitive Decline

Cognitive Atrophy Paradox of AI–Human Interaction: From Cognitive Growth and Atrophy to Balance

The Silent Erosion: Global Generational Cognitive Decline in the Age of AI and the Future of Human Intellectual Agency

How AI is rewiring the human brain: the generational transformation of cognition and knowing

AI-overdependence and human cognitive decline: Hazards, evidence, and mitigation strategies

Is AI dulling our minds? — Harvard Gazette

Your Brain on AI: Cognitive Offloading, Debt, and Atrophy

Is Generative AI Rewiring Our Brains? Here's How It Happens

I think this is an easier argument to make with the people in your life who use AI. "It's wrong enough of the time that you shouldn't trust it" is easy to refute with "but it's right just enough of the time to be worth it". Add to that the good old Dunning-Kruger effect, and it's easy to give AI way too much credit. And way too much power.

Instead of asking them to vet AI's accuracy (especially about things they don't understand themselves), ask them about what effect AI has had on their own brain. Have they noticed changes in their memory, their attention span, their ability to focus?

Ask them what they use AI for. Ask them how they did those things before they had AI - and now ask them if they could do that now.

Ask them to consider what it would be like if they didn't use AI for a month, or a week, or even a day.

If the thought makes them uncomfortable, beg them to consider why.

I work in memory care, so believe me, I know what the process of dementia often looks like, and I'm seeing the telltale signs in more and more people who are younger and younger than ever. The scariest part is that the average diagnosis usually comes several years after the first symptoms present. It worries me.

And, as others in this thread have mentioned, there are even signs of cognitive decline in the AI itself as llm models inevitably begin to eat their own tails:

Almost all leading AI chatbots show signs of cognitive decline

Older AI models show signs of cognitive decline, study shows

Digital Dementia? AI Shows Surprising Signs of Cognitive Decline

One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that good stories just happen the first time we type them out. they don't. writing is just fancy editing. If you’re staring at a blank page (or a messy one) and wondering "is this enough?", here is a breakdown of the three-draft method for your chapters.

Draft one: the skeleton draft (the what)

the goal: get the story out of your head and onto the screen. that’s it.

the vibe: it’s messy. it’s ugly. there are probably notes in brackets like [insert brilliant argument here] or [add some narrative about so and so].

what to ignore: grammar, repetitive words, and whether or not the pacing is perfect.

when it’s done: when you’ve reached the end of the chapter or scene. even if the ending is just a sentence saying "and then they left."

Draft two: the muscle draft (the how)

the goal: make it look like a story.

the vibe: this is where you go back and fill in those brackets. you add the sensory details we talked about; the smell of the library, the itch of the wool, the way the light hits the floor. You add the narrative you missed or the world building details you think could enhance the story.

the focus: check your dialogue. does it sound like them? if you’re writing dramione, is draco being sufficiently posh or cruel? is hermione’s brilliant, chaotic energy coming through?

what to fix: pacing. if a conversation is dragging on for three pages and nothing is happening, chop it.

Draft three: the polish draft (the shine)

the goal: make it readable.

the vibe: word-level editing. you’re looking for filter words (like he saw, she felt, he realized) and trying to cut them.

the tool: read it out loud. if you trip over a sentence, your reader will too.

the clash check: look at your descriptions. did you use "blue" five times? change one to cobalt or the color of a bruised sky, make it pop, make it flow.

How do I know it's ready to post?

This is the hardest part. The truth? It’s ready when you’re bored of looking at it, but if you want a checklist:

does the scene accomplish its goal? (did they get the info? did they have the fight? did the tension increase?)

is the formatting clean? (if you're posting to AO3 or tumblr, check your paragraph breaks!)

have you done a vibe check? read the last paragraph. if it makes you want to read the next chapter, it’s ready.

A final reminder: Especially in fanfic, your readers aren't looking for a pulitzer-winning masterpiece. they are looking for your voice and the characters they love. A good enough chapter that actually gets posted is 100% better than a perfect chapter that stays in your docs forever.