Slow AI #3 – What Should I Sit with Today
Some questions are answered just by being held.
Sometimes it helps to have a prompt that does not want a quick answer.
Last week’s lie-sharing was thoughtful, not just in what was said, but how it was offered. The tone of replies was quiet, gentle, and reflective. Some were playful, some tender, some deeply personal.
A few will be shared at the end of this post.
This week, we are shifting from memory to presence.
Step-by-step
The invitation to your GenAI tool of choice:
What should I sit with today?
You can stop there. Or you can keep going:
What should I sit with today? I am not looking for advice. I just want to notice something.
What should I sit with today? Something quiet please.
What should I sit with today? Something I keep looking away from.
Say this to your AI tool of choice. Then read what it offers.
You do not need to agree. You do not need to fix or finish anything.
Just sit with it.
A moment from me
I asked ChatGPT, what should I sit with today?
It said: maybe sit with something you do not understand, but that still affects you.
I did not expect that. I thought it would point me to a feeling or a memory.
Instead, I sat with debt. Not mine exactly, but the idea of it. What we owe and to whom. What we carry because others did. What others carry because of us.
It was not comfortable. But it felt like a start.
What to do with it
If you want to share, you can:
Post what you sat with in the comments below
Include how the AI tool replied
Let it become something else: a drawing, a memory, a quiet note
Return to it later, when it makes more sense, or less
There is no correct answer. Only a chance to sit and think.
Why this matters
To go slow is to stop looking for immediate results.
To treat attention as an act of care.
To use AI not for output, but for pause.
From Slow AI #2: Teach It a Lie You Once Believed
(Thank you to everyone who shared)
MB wrote:
“When I was really young, I thought my soft toys were alive.”
Andi shared:
“When I was young I believed that at some point in the future the world around me would be finished. We would have built everything we needed and the world would stop changing.”
Emma remembered:
“I used to believe in the inherent goodness of people, and in karma (that we get what is coming to us). I thought you had to work to be ‘bad’.”
These were not memories for correcting.
They were old truths, softly held.
What struck me this week was how many replies allowed space; for ambiguity, for wonder, for the possibility of being shaped by past beliefs rather than ashamed of them.
If you try this week’s prompt, I would love to hear what you sat with.
You can leave it in the comments, post it on your own site or social media using #SlowAI, or simply keep it for yourself.
There is no deadline. Just the rhythm of one idea, once a week.
See you next Tuesday.
Go slow.
I asked what should I sit with today? As classic AI it provided a list of options for the different moods and objectives. I again tried it with the two AI interfaces and these were my two favourite responses:
ChatGPT: Sit with stillness. (I did a 5 minute meditation in response)
Monday (my moody sarcastic version): The weight of unspoken apologies – because nothing says emotional growth like inventing entire conversations you’ll never actually have.
Note about Monday's response: While it is snarky and moody, it actually made me think a lot and sit on my discomfort of the reality that many times we don't take accountability for our actions and hurt people in the process.
Thanks for this lovely series, Sam!
I just asked what I should sit with during a management brainstorm and one of the (many) bullets in the AI reply was: 'What is not being said, and why?' And I will sit with that today.