Am I the only one who’s a little freaked out about how much artificial intelligence (AI) is capable of? Tell me I’m not the only one, but it’s one of the most exciting (and scary!) technological advances that we’ve made in this Information Age. Personally, I know I’ve been using and working with AI for a few years now either through my previous position or in my personal internet usage. The most common application for me has been using variations of chatbots and virtual assistants. It wasn’t scary then though, seemed really convenient and helpful. And now it’s literally everywhere doing all kinds of things.

I did find some not-so-scary uses for it recently though: I just learned that a growing trend is for people to use in different ways to enhance their self care. In fact, I discovered that one of the growing uses is for AI to act as a therapist for people who are either uncomfortable going to an actual therapist or it’s otherwise not convenient for them. Some other uses include niche-specific apps in areas such as nutrition/fitness, writing/journaling, time management and other ways that impact self care.

Since I JUST learned about how common it’s used in self care, I want to share it with the Queens, so we can get with this AI technology. My hope is that it enhances your personal development and self care routine, like I’m sure it will enhance mine.

So here goes!

 Meditation and Mindfulness Apps: Apps like Headspace or Calm use AI algorithms to personalize meditation sessions based on user preferences and feedback. They offer guided meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness techniques tailored to individual needs.

  Fitness Tracking: AI-powered fitness apps and devices (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch) track your physical activity, sleep patterns, and heart rate. They provide insights into your health metrics and suggest personalized workout routines or reminders for movement breaks.

  Nutrition Planning: AI-driven apps such as Lifesum or MyFitnessPal help users track their dietary intake, suggest healthy recipes based on preferences and nutritional goals, and provide insights into eating habits to promote balanced nutrition.

 Sleep Improvement: AI-powered sleep trackers (e.g., Sleep Cycle) analyze your sleep patterns using data from sensors or your smartphone. They offer personalized sleep insights and suggestions to improve sleep quality, such as optimal bedtime reminders or relaxation techniques.

 Personalized Therapy: AI-driven therapy apps (e.g., Woebot) use natural language processing to provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques and emotional support. They offer personalized conversations based on user input to address stress, anxiety, or mood disorders.

 Health Monitoring: AI-enabled health apps (e.g., Ada Health) use symptom assessment algorithms to provide personalized health advice and recommendations. They analyze symptoms, medical history, and risk factors to suggest appropriate actions or connect users with healthcare professionals.

  Time Management and Productivity: AI-based productivity tools (e.g., Todoist, Microsoft Office 365) help users manage tasks, schedule activities, and prioritize work efficiently. They may use AI algorithms to suggest task priorities, optimize schedules, and reduce cognitive overload.

  Virtual Relaxation and Therapy: Virtual reality (VR) experiences powered by AI can provide immersive environments for relaxation, stress reduction, or therapeutic purposes. They simulate calming scenarios like nature scenes or guided visualizations to promote relaxation and mental wellbeing.

 I read somewhere that if we use ChatGPT, for example, and we use it like a journal, it logs our responses for future usage and that helps it to adapt to our unique self-care needs. We can get it to ask us thought-provoking questions and use our responses to sharpen it’s replies. Some call this reflective journaling even when AI-assisted.

Reflective journaling can actually help to streamline and improve the journaling process, and even make it more effective. Reason being, is that it can act as both a way to document your thoughts but also work through them (if you also use AI to be a stand-in therapist).

Of course, there are concerns about AI usage and how ethical it is. It’s still a little scary to folks, myself included. Some of the concerns are about our personal data and how it is collected, used, and stored. There are valid accuracy and reliability concerns as well, for example, we already know that it has faulty information and some blind spots (think: areas/topics impacting people of color). That’s why it is key to not use AI as the end authority and discount the importance of human connection. AI can be a good supplement, but it should never be a total replacement.

Try implementing some AI usage into your self care routine. You probably already do but didn’t necessarily realize it was an AI- algorithm. I was surprised myself when I was researching for this article.

So I’m curious- what are your thoughts about AI and how are you using it for your personal self care needs?