AI-maxxing is trending, but it is worrying and getting on people's nerves.
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In today’s column, I examine a new and very hot trend that I have coined as AI-maxxing. This terminology dovetails into many other variations of the “maxxing” phenomenon that is occurring throughout our modern world.
You might have vaguely heard or seen emergent maxxing slang but did not know what it was all about. In brief, whenever you use maxxing as a suffix, it means that the topic at hand is to be maximized or optimized to the greatest extent possible. For example, looks-maxxing refers to maximizing your physical appearance, emphasizing nonstop grooming, an arduous fitness regimen, and possibly the use of cosmetic enhancements.
There is now a plethora of maxxings. You can do sleep-maxxing (optimizing your sleep), status-maxxing (attaining high social status), and so on. Let’s go ahead and add AI-maxxing to the burgeoning mix of possibilities.
What is AI-maxxing?
AI-maxxing describes a person who seeks to use generative AI and large language models (LLMs) in all nooks and crannies of their daily existence. This might include using ChatGPT, GPT-5, Claude, Grok, CoPilot, Gemini, Llama, etc. They are using an LLM on their smartphone, laptop, and smartwatch, doing so at every possible chance.
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You can easily find AI-maxxers via their boastful postings on social media. They brag that they use AI the moment they wake up and continue to do so until their head rests on their pillow late at night. AI advises them on what to eat, what to wear, what to say, etc. They ask AI for advice on an endless array of considerations, such as whether to buy a car, save their money, go on a date, and so on.
The AI-maxxing trend is happening and rapidly expanding in front of our eyes, namely, people are increasingly seeking to maximize the use of AI in nearly all facets of how they live their lives. One viewpoint is that this makes abundant sense, and we will all gradually get there. A contrasting perspective is that this is abysmal and humans are handing over their cognition and soul to a machine.
Let’s talk about it.
This analysis of AI breakthroughs is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here).
I will start with a more formal definition of AI-maxxing that I’ve drafted:
There are four levels of AI-maxxing, ranging from the lowest to the highest:
Let’s go ahead and unpack those magnitudes.
Level 0 is when someone isn’t doing any AI-maxxing. There are two variations of the zero classification. A person who is blissfully unaware of AI-maxxing and isn’t devotedly using AI is classified as a Level 0 on this scale. Meanwhile, a person who knows about AI-maxxing and has explicitly chosen not to dive into AI-maxxing, well, they too are Level 0.
As a sidenote, right now, that makes most people a Level 0 on the AI-maxxing scale, or, for those in the know, a plain, out-of-it flat zero. Sorry, that probably hurts some people’s feelings, but you are either into AI-maxxing or you are not. And, if not, you are “rightly” said to be a zero (on this scale). Life is unforgiving sometimes.
Level 1 is a starter in AI-maxxing. It is someone who occasionally uses AI as an optimizer. They are dipping their toes into AI-maxxing. If they like what happens, they will indubitably graduate to the next level up. There is a chance they might lose interest, get distracted, or decide that AI-maxxing is just not their ballgame. In that case, they drop out of AI-maxxing.
Level 2 is someone who is taking AI-maxxing quite seriously. They are doing their best to be immersed in using AI. Hats off to those people. If they are truly embracing AI, they are striving to reach Level 3.
The Level 3 is someone who has made AI-maxxing their main quest and has successfully embedded AI into nearly every waking moment and every activity or breath they take on this Earth. It is the pinnacle of AI-maxxing.
An integral part of generalized maxxing is that people joyfully announce that they are maxxing on whichever topic or realm they’ve chosen. They want others to know about it. In the domain of AI, perhaps a person posts on social media about their AI-maxxing. Maybe they go around telling friends and even strangers about the serenity of doing AI-maxxing.
This brings up a motto for AI-maxxing that I’ve devised:
And the way in which they carry out their lives can be summed up this way:
For those who find this disconcerting or disturbing, be cautious in saying so to any Level 3, since they won’t take kindly to your pushback. A Level 2 or below will likely hear you out. There is a chance you might actually change their minds about AI-maxxing. In contrast, the Level 3 will do everything in their power to change your mind and convince you that AI-maxxing is so amazing that you ought to jump right away into it. Converting others into AI-maxxing is part and parcel of being a genuine Level 3.
In case you meet someone who is AI-maxxing, I can give you a quick way to gauge whether they are a Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3.
You can casually ask such a person about the clothing or outfit they are wearing, maybe like this:
Don’t make it a big deal, just idly slip the question into any easy-going conversation. Warning: If you make it overly obvious that you are trying to ascertain their level of AI-maxxing, you’ll ruin the naturalness of their answer.
A Level 1 would say something like this:
The Level 2 is going to say this:
The Level 3 stalwart would say this:
A question about clothing doesn’t have to be the only entry point. Come up with something that will allow them to explain their rationale for the things that they are doing. The explanation should end up incorporating their usage of AI. The AI usage will either seem like it is important to them but not excessively so, or it will be the crux of their every deed and effort.
If you’ve seen other kinds of maxxing, such as looks-maxxing or sleep-maxxing, the above rendition of AI-maxxing won’t seem especially outlandish. It resembles the other ways of maxxing. You will probably roll your eyes and think that AI-maxxing is simply a fad that will come and go, just as presumably will occur for looks-maxxing and other maxxing avenues.
Most people assume that these maxxing aspects are fueled by social media and will eventually run their course. Something else will become hot, and the maxxing stuff will be relegated to the dustbin. No need to worry about maxxing. One day it is here, the next it is gone like the wind.
An interesting question is whether AI-maxxing falls into that same bucket. Maybe it won’t be transitory. AI is going to hang around. AI is becoming ubiquitous in our culture and throughout society.
AI-maxxing might be just getting started.
It is entirely reasonable to be apprehensive about AI-maxxing.
First, there are concerns that even in the short-term, heavy reliance on AI is going to be harmful to the mental well-being of those doing AI-maxxing. I’ve extensively discussed and analyzed the concerns that over-reliance on AI can potentially lead to AI psychosis, see my coverage at the link here and the link here.
Second, for those who proceed to do AI-maxxing on a longer-term basis, worries are that they will gradually suffer cognitive atrophy. They will lose by decay the mental capacity to make their own decisions. This, in turn, can lead to a loss of personal agency. They no longer act and feel as though they are a human who chooses their own life actions. Instead, they have outsourced their sense of agency to AI.
Third, responsibility gets lost in the shuffle of AI-maxxing. Someone who is AI-maxxing will claim that if they do something unsavory or untoward, it was AI that “made them do it.” They are of the belief that they are no longer responsible for their actions. Responsibility is relegated to AI. How can you possibly hold them responsible? You can’t, and you shouldn’t. If you want to find blame, look at the AI.
What do you think is going to happen with AI-maxxing?
It could be a fad. Or it might have real staying power. Can we counsel people to avoid getting into AI-maxxing? Will we be able to hold AI makers accountable for allowing people to slide into AI-maxxing? Do we need new laws to regulate AI so that AI-maxxing becomes a near impossibility? Many questions are worthy of being brought up.
A final thought for now. The famous novelist and social critic Nikolay Chernyshevsky made this remark in the 1800s: “Whatever field of human activity one may take, only those trends that are in harmony with the needs of society show rapid progress.” If outsized AI usage turns out to be in harmony with the needs of society, we might be looking at a booming business in AI-maxxing. Otherwise, AI-maxxing will be neglected and ultimately forgotten.
Meanwhile, on a related note, is anyone interested in anti-AI maxxing?
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