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- Aziz Ansari says he still uses a flip phone, doesn’t have email, and is wary of ChatGPT.
- “It’s outsourcing critical thinking. It’s making everyone’s opinions kind of the same,” Ansari said of ChatGPT.
- It’s not just Hollywood: More people are turning to dumb phones or DIY landlines to cut screen time.
In a world glued to screens, Aziz Ansari is choosing the analog life.
During an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of the “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” podcast, the comedian spoke about his Luddite ways and why he isn’t a fan of ChatGPT.
“I don’t have email. I haven’t had email for, like, 10 years. But I have an assistant,” Ansari told podcast host Amy Poehler.
And it’s not just his inbox that he’s abandoned.
“I have a flip phone. If I get really lost, I’ve got to either ask people or just call my wife and be like ‘Hey.’ I’ve had to do that before, like, call my wife, and to the point where she’s kind of used to it,” Ansari said.
Instead of using an app to call for an Uber, Ansari says he hails a taxi. If there isn’t one, he’ll call, he added.
Living a low-tech lifestyle has its benefits, Ansari said.
“It just gives me more space to think. I mean, I heard something about, like, Tarantino doesn’t even have a phone. Chris Nolan doesn’t have a phone. I was like, ‘Whoa, those guys are able to get a lot of stuff done. Maybe there’s something to it,'” he said.
The comedian says he is also wary of ChatGPT.
“It’s outsourcing critical thinking. It’s making everyone’s opinions kind of the same,” Ansari said.
Not only is AI prone to making mistakes, it reinforces what people already think, he added.
The comedian said he once saw a commercial in which someone asked ChatGPT how to make dinner for a date.
“I would rather call someone and ask someone, or maybe have some sort of conversation, a human thing. It just seems like it’s like outsourcing thinking, and it’s like killing some bit of humanity,” Ansari said.
Speaking to People in September, Ansari said he knows that his ability to live offline comes with a certain level of privilege and isn’t realistic for everyone.
“But for me, it helps me keep a clear head to help me write and do what’s more important for my job,” he said.
A representative for Ansari did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
Ansari isn’t the only celebrity who has spoken about preferring an analog lifestyle.
In July 2023, Christopher Nolan said he doesn’t carry a smartphone or use email. The filmmaker said he writes scripts on a computer without the internet.
“If I’m generating my material and writing my own scripts, being on a smartphone all day wouldn’t be very useful for me,” Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter.
Dolly Parton said during an October 2023 appearance on “The View” that she still prefers communicating via fax because otherwise, she’d be overwhelmed by all the messages she gets.
“So I never did get into getting involved in all that because it’ll take up too much of my time if I talked to everybody who is trying to get in touch with me,” Parton said.
In January, Christopher Walken told The Wall Street Journal that his relationship with technology is nearly nonexistent.
“I only have a satellite dish on my house. So I’ve seen ‘Severance’ on DVDs that they’re good enough to send me. I don’t have a cellphone. I’ve never emailed or, what do you call it, Twittered,” Walken said.
It’s not just Hollywood: In a May story, regular people told Business Insider that they swapped smartphones for dumb phones to wean themselves off their screens and social media.
Some Gen Zs are even chaining their smartphones to a wall — creating a makeshift landline —and freeing themselves from the urge to scroll.
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