What AI Can't Do for You This Christmas
Thoughts on tools, presence, and what actually matters.
It’s Christmas Day. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably someone who thinks about systems, efficiency, and leverage. You want to build something meaningful without burning out. You’re wondering how to use AI well without losing yourself in the process.
Me too. So today I want to talk about what Artificial Intelligence CAN’T do for you.
Because as much as I love teaching people how to save time, automate grunt work, and build sustainable systems with AI, there are things that cannot and should not be handed off to a tool. The value in those things comes from you doing it yourself.
What AI Can’t Do
AI can’t be present for you.
Being present means sitting with your family. Actually being there. Noticing the way your kid’s face lights up when they show you something. Feeling the weight of a quiet moment with someone you love.
AI can clear your inbox, plan your content, and prioritize your tasks. But presence? That can only be done by you, fully in your humanity.
Discernment isn’t something you can automate.
What’s true? What aligns with your values? Is this worth your time, energy, and attention? Those are questions that require wisdom, and wisdom lives in you. AI can process mountains of information, analyze patterns, and hand you frameworks and suggestions. But when it comes to knowing what’s TRUE? That’s all YOU.
Rest is something only you can choose.
Sure, AI can create space for you and take work off your plate. But actually stopping? Choosing to sabbath and trust that the world keeps turning while you step away? Only YOU can do that.
Your influence can’t be stewarded by a tool.
You’re the one who decides what you say, who you serve, and why you’re building. Those decisions are yours, and so is the weight that comes with making them. AI can amplify your reach and put your voice in front of more people, but stewarding that influence with character? That’s something only you can carry.
Love requires a body.
This one’s obvious, but it’s worth saying. Love needs embodiment. You hug your spouse, pray with your kids, show up for a friend who’s hurting, and sit in silence with someone who needs to be heard. You are the body.
A Gift for You
Since this is Christmas, I want to give you something: a discernment prompt you can use to check yourself when you’re tempted to hand too much over to AI. Or when you’re wondering if you’re using it in a way that actually serves you, or if it’s starting to replace the things that matter most.
The Discernment Prompt:
Before you automate, delegate, or systematize something with AI, ask yourself:
Is this something that requires my presence?
If yes, don’t outsource it. Even if AI could do it faster.Is this something that requires my discernment?
If yes, you can use AI to process information, but the final call is yours. Don’t abdicate judgment.Is this something that shapes my character or deepens a relationship?
If yes, do it yourself. The inefficiency is the point.Is this grunt work that drains my energy without adding value?
If yes, hand it to AI. That’s what it’s for.Does automating this free me to do something more important, or does it just free me to do more work?
If it’s the latter, what you need isn’t more leverage. You need better boundaries.
Use this prompt as often as you need it. It’s yours.
My Hope for You Today
I hope you’re resting. I hope you’re with people you love and finding joy in life’s little pleasures. I hope you are in the real world experiencing all of God’s beautiful creation. The digital world can wait!
And if you are working, I hope you make time to pause and enjoy the moment - even if you’re also thinking about what comes next.
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!
xoxo -Leah