How much AI is too much AI?

A friend of mine frequently frowns up the use of AI. It's inauthentic, he says. But here is my take:

AI can’t write what you can’t imagine, because thinking comes first. Just like Walt Disney said: ‘If you can dream it, you can build it.’ Imagination still leads, AI just follows. Thinking is the precursor to writing.

AI already plays a significant role in shaping what we see, read, and hear. As a society, we’ve quietly accepted its use in tasks like writing emails but raise eyebrows when students use it to draft a thesis. So where do we draw the line? That leads us to a crucial question:

How much AI is too much AI?

That’s the question echoing in boardrooms, classrooms, and dinner tables alike. This question isn’t new—but it’s never been more relevant. As AI writes emails, powers search, generates content, and even simulates empathy, society is pausing to ask: where does it end?

This question isn’t just philosophical—it’s timely. We’re standing at a curious junction where Artificial Intelligence has gone from novelty to necessity. From chatbots writing emails to generative models writing articles, creating images, scoring music, or suggesting legal strategies, AI is everywhere. But the deeper conversation is not about how much AI we use, it’s about how we’re using it.

But history shows us: every great technological leap was met with fear. Electricity. The internet. Mobile phones. Doubters hesitated; leaders adapted.

Let's take Photoshop, a 35 year old tool, and even today, its heavy use on a fashion model or magazine cover causes uproar. Will we be complaining about too much AI 30 years from now, or will AI simply become the norm? AI’s goal is to sound, think, and create more like us; so will we ever even notice, let alone complain, the way we do with Photoshop’s heavy hand?

The Photoshop Paradox

Let’s revisit Photoshop for a moment.

When Adobe launched it in 1990, it was hailed as a revolutionary tool for artists, photographers, and designers. Over time, it became an industry standard, so common that the verb “photoshopped” made its way into our everyday language. But with normalization came criticism. The overuse of Photoshop on fashion covers led to outrage: bodies made unrealistically thin, skin made unnaturally smooth, and blemishes erased into oblivion. This was not creativity; this was deception.

Today, the outrage isn’t aimed at Photoshop itself but how it’s used. In many cases, we’ve come to accept that nearly every visual is “enhanced” to some extent. The conversation matured. We don’t blame the tool; we question the intention.

And that’s where we are with AI content right now. AI is no different.

AI can’t think or feel like humans. AI isn’t meant to replace our soul, it’s built to boost our productivity.

“To compare AI with humans is to confuse function with purpose. We are sentient, soulful, flawed—AI is engineered for productivity.” — Sameer Gupta

So no, AI won’t write the next Shakespeare or compose like Mozart—at least not yet. But it will help more people write, think, and solve faster than ever before. And in a world where time is scarce and complexity is growing, that’s exactly what we need.

Yes, there will be misuse. There will be bias. There will be learning curves. But ignoring AI for its imperfections is like rejecting the internet in the 90s because it was slow. The flaws of today are simply the features of tomorrow—still in development.

“Dismissing AI for lacking empathy or quality today won’t age well. Because when AI gets better—and it will—those same critics will just look like sore losers.” — Sameer Gupta

Will We Ever Say “This Was Too Much AI”?

We might—but the complaints won’t be about AI’s involvement. They’ll be about bad usage.

Just as we learned that good design isn’t defined by how much Photoshop you apply, the future of AI will be judged not by how much AI was involved, but by how well it was used.

Let’s be real: AI is already helping you write better emails, summarize articles, brainstorm business ideas, and automate repetitive tasks. If you’ve used Google Docs’ smart compose, Grammarly, or even spellcheck, you’ve used AI. Nobody raises eyebrows at that.

But when we hear “this article was written entirely by AI,” we tend to recoil. Why?

Because deep down, we equate effort with authenticity. We believe writing must be laborious to be worthy. But we forget: typewriters replaced pens, spellcheckers replaced dictionaries, and Google replaced the librarian’s desk. And yet—we still write, read, and create.

The truth is: what AI can do, it will eventually do. And what we can use it for, we inevitably will. That’s not optimism—that’s history.

“What AI can do, it will eventually do. And what we can use it for, we inevitably will.” — Sameer Gupta

So how much AI is too much?

It’s too much when we use it blindly. When we outsource our values. When we stop thinking for ourselves. But used wisely, AI isn’t excess—it’s evolution.

The future doesn’t fear AI. It builds with it.

I'll end with this:

You were never just a writer. You’re a thinker: a sentient being. Let AI handle the grammar. You handle the meaning. – Sameer Gupta