Looking Glass AI: Can AI Reconnect Us to What Makes Us Human?
How Technology Can Become a Mirror to Help Reclaim Our Humanity
What if the technology we feared might disconnect us… is now helping us reconnect?
I've spent the last year immersed in AI… watching the headlines, testing the tools, and reflecting on what this moment really means for us as humans.
My own journey with AI began as purely practical. I used it to draft emails and summarize research. And like most everyone else in the early days of AI (i.e. a year ago), I saw immense power to check off easy tasks and get more done in the day. Like with every other prior productivity hack I’d tried, I filled the extra minutes and hours reclaimed with more and more commitments. AI became the ultimate productivity accelerator.
Then came the day I found myself overcome with trying to be the best version of myself in every role I played… husband, father, leader, employee, volunteer… while realizing that doing so required me to take much better care of myself mentally, physically and spiritually. My first reaction to this realization was anxiety. This would require even more of my very limited time.
On a whim, I asked an AI to help me create a framework for decision-making that aligned with my deeper values. The resulting conversation wasn't just productive, it brought a clarity and focus I hadn't expected. I'd accidentally discovered what thousands of others were already finding: AI as a mirror for self-reflection and meaning-making.
So when I saw the April 2025 Harvard Business Review article "How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025" by Marc Zao-Sanders, I was fascinated by the findings. [Link to source]
The data reveals a surprising shift in how we're using this technology.
The top 3 AI use cases today according to the research:
Therapy/companionship
Organizing my life
Finding meaning and purpose
Not just coding. Not just marketing content. Not just work automation.
People are increasingly turning to AI to become more focused, intentional, and present.
From Productivity to Presence
This shift marks a new chapter in how we engage with technology.
For years, we've warned about the risks of screens, notifications, social media algorithms, etc. pulling us away from our essential human qualities—attention, empathy, self-awareness.
But something's changed.
Across Reddit threads, forums, and feedback from real users, a different story is emerging:
People are using AI as a mirror—not just a tool.
They're asking it for clarity about goals, help managing competing priorities, and frameworks for making more intentional choices. They're leaning on it to uncover and reflect their own values back to them.
One quote that stuck with from the research:
"One thing I find especially useful is having it give advice on what I should do do next. It's helped me establish my core values, my principles, and my life goals. It's helped me introspect, too - figuring out what I'm all about, what I need to change, how to change. It's helped me declutter my brain, make better plans, make things more achievable."
It's not that AI is making decisions for us. In a world of endless distractions, it's becoming a focusing lens for our attention and intentions.
3 Ways to Use AI as a Mirror Instead of a Tool
If you're curious to try this out for yourself, here are three prompts I've found valuable based on how others are using AI to support focus, meaning, and intentional living:
1. Daily Reflection Partner
Use AI to process your day and increase self-awareness.
Try this prompt:
I'd like to do a 5-minute reflection on my day. Can you guide me with questions about what went well, what challenged me, and where I felt most engaged?
2. Values Alignment
Align your time with what truly matters.
Try this prompt:
Help me create a weekly schedule that reflects my values of family connection, creative work, and health. I have these commitments [list], but want to ensure I'm living according to my priorities.
3. Curiosity Catalyst
Reframe stuck thinking or cultivate deeper presence.
Try this prompt:
I'm feeling scattered about [situation]. What perspectives or possibilities might help me focus on what truly matters here? Help me see this more clearly.
These are small steps—but powerful ones. Used with intention, AI can act like a mirror: reflecting your goals, values, and blind spots back to you in ways that cut through the noise of modern life.
The Human Element We Can't Replace
Of course, there are clear boundaries here. AI doesn't replace the irreplaceable: deep human connections, embodied experiences, or the wisdom that comes from living fully in the world.
What it offers instead is a supplement… a focusing tool available when attention fragments, a meaning-making partner when priorities compete, and a reflection space free from judgment when we're trying to align our actions with our deeper values.
The goal isn't replacement but amplification of our human capacities for presence, focus, and intentional living.
The Paradox of Digital Humanity
Yes, it's ironic.
The very tech we blamed for burnout, distraction, and disconnection… might also be what helps us reclaim focus, meaning, and emotional presence.
Maybe it's not about whether technology is good or bad.
Maybe it's about how we choose to use it.
And maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of a more human kind of AI story.
Thanks for reading.
If you're exploring how to use AI to live more intentionally, subscribe for future essays on digital wellbeing, reclaiming what makes us human in the age of AI, and the evolving relationship between tech and humanity.
What do you think—can AI really help us become more focused, intentional humans? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
If you found this helpful, please consider sharing!
Pointed piece; thanks for the perspective.