AI Isn’t the Problem. Not Taking the Time Is.

Oh darn, too much salt on my steak!

A great steak takes attention. You let it rest before cooking. You dry it properly. You season it deliberately. You give it time on the heat. And when it’s done, you let it rest again before cutting into it. The process matters as much as the ingredients.

But if you crank the heat, toss seasoning at it, flip it constantly, and slice it open the second it leaves the pan, you haven’t cooked — you’ve rushed. And no amount of garnish can fix that.

That’s what I’m starting to see with AI. The problem isn’t that we’re using it. The problem is that we’re not taking the time to use it properly. AI can generate an article in seconds. It can outline a course, write narration, create images, produce voiceovers, and even simulate a presenter. The speed is intoxicating. It feels productive. It feels efficient.

But speed without reflection is just acceleration toward mediocrity.

Recently, I came across an article in a community forum discussing features in Adobe Captivate 13. At least two of the features mentioned didn’t exist. They were completely fabricated. The tone was confident. The structure was clean. The language sounded authoritative. But the details were wrong. It read like someone prompted the AI, copied the output, and posted it without verification.

AI didn’t damage that person’s credibility. Failing to review it did.

AI has a remarkable ability to sound certain even when it’s incorrect. That’s not malicious — it’s simply how these systems work. But when you publish without checking, you’re not leveraging AI. You’re outsourcing responsibility. And in professional communities, especially ones centred around specific tools and expertise, accuracy is everything.

This isn’t just about blog posts. It’s about how we’re integrating AI into learning design itself.

AI avatars, for example, can be incredibly useful. A well-placed virtual presenter on an introduction slide can create warmth and a sense of guidance. It can humanize an otherwise static course. But when avatars are dropped onto every slide without thought, when they speak simply because they can, they stop adding value and start drawing attention to their flaws. The issue isn’t the avatar. It’s the absence of intention.

The same is true of AI-generated images. They can be stunning, but they still require judgment. The first output isn’t always the right output. Sometimes it needs refinement. Sometimes it needs to be discarded entirely. If you have access to strong stock photography that better represents real people and real environments, that may be the better choice. AI isn’t a replacement for discernment. It’s a tool that still requires it.

This pattern isn’t new. When text-to-speech first entered our industry, it was rough. Robotic. Emotionless. And yet many people adopted it immediately because it was fast and inexpensive. Over time, we learned when it worked and when it didn’t. We became more selective. Today’s AI voices are dramatically better, but even now, they benefit from editing, pacing adjustments, and thoughtful scriptwriting. The technology evolves. The need for craftsmanship does not disappear.

What concerns me isn’t that AI exists. It’s that we’re confusing speed with professionalism.

Publishing something quickly doesn’t make it authoritative. Generating something efficiently does not make it accurate. And automating part of the process does not remove the need for expertise.

AI can draft faster than we can. It can brainstorm endlessly. It can accelerate production cycles in ways we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. But it cannot care about your reputation. It cannot protect your credibility. It cannot feel the weight of being wrong in front of your peers or your management.

That responsibility is still yours.

The solution isn’t to step away from AI. It’s to slow down just enough to use it well. Generate the draft — and then reshape it. Create the outline — and then question it. Produce the image — and then evaluate whether it truly supports the learning objective. Let AI assist you, but never let it bypass your thinking.

AI can make you faster.

Only judgment makes you credible.

TL;DR

AI isn’t damaging professional credibility — rushing is. When we publish or design without reviewing, verifying, and refining AI-generated content, we risk sounding confident but being wrong. Use AI to accelerate your work, but take the time to do it properly. Craft and credibility still depend on you.