I Started Slowing AI Down on Purpose

At first, speed felt like the point. AI answered instantly. Drafts appeared fully formed. Decisions moved forward with almost no friction. Everything got easier — and faster — at once. Then I realized something uncomfortable. The work was moving faster than my judgment. So I did the opposite of what the tools encouraged. I started slowing AI down on purpose. Speed Isn’t the Same as Effectiveness AI is built to optimize throughput. It removes pauses, compresses uncertainty, and pushes work toward completion. That’s useful — until it isn’t. When speed became the default, I noticed: Less exploration of alternatives Faster acceptance of assumptions Thinner reasoning under pressure Nothing broke immediately. But the work stopped getting stronger. Speed improved. Effectiveness didn’t. Slowing Down the Right Moments I didn’t slow everything down. I slowed the moments where thinking mattered most. I started pausing: Before reading the full output Before accepting recommendations Before letting