Why Slow AI is the Way Forward to Reclaim Our Productivity
A moment to sit back and rethink
39 years ago, May 1986, to be specific, protests had broken out in Rome.
The uproar was against the planned opening of a McDonald’s restaurant in the Piazza di Spagna area in the center of Rome.
Thousands of people rallied outside the location with raised placards, sticks, and stones - all the bells and whistles.
Opposition was also coming in from other angles:
Celebrities, actors, and singers, all rallied against the coming of the all-beef hamburger to the land of pasta.
Public officials said that the McDonald’s restaurant didn’t have the right construction permits.
Politicians said it ruined a historic center.
Neighbors said it was noisy, and the odor was unbearable.
The New York Times wrote;
From a makeshift stage positioned under a cluster of giant palm trees, celebrities spoke out against the hazards of fast food.
They proclaimed the ‘’degradation of Rome’’ and the ‘’Americanization’’ of Italian culture if McDonald’s was allowed to continue doing business here.
Among the opposition, was one, Carlo Petrini.
He was a journalist who was alarmed by the culturally homogenizing nature of fast food.
The anger wasn’t mainly about the opening of a fast-food restaurant; it symbolized the encroachment of a homogenized and rapid-consumption culture into a place known for its rich culinary traditions and the art of savoring life.
Pellegrini Artusi would in 1891 describe Italian Cuisine in Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well:
I have sought to gather together in this book the recipes that represent the soul of our land, from the robust ragù of Bologna to the delicate broths of Tuscany. Italian cooking is not one thing but many, yet it is bound by a love of fresh ingredients and the joy of sharing a meal.
This was what Petrini was fighting against.
The entry of McDonald’s and embracing homogenized foods was a threat to the very essence of Italian gastronomic heritage and way of life.
It would appear that Petrini and the rest of the protestors lost as McDonald’s opened its doors later in 1986 in Italy.
However, if we look closely, this wasn’t the case.
The opening of the McDonald’s franchise in Italy also led to the birth of a movement by Petrini three years later.
The Slow Food Movement was formed in 1989 as an association that aimed to protect traditional foods and advocate for agricultural biodiversity.
The Slow Food manifesto highlighted the mandate of the association clearly;
“First of all, we can begin by cultivating taste, rather than impoverishing it,
by stimulating progress,
by encouraging international exchange programs,
by endorsing worthwhile projects,
by advocating historical food culture, and
by defending old-fashioned food traditions.”
The Slow Food Movement was, at its heart, against fast foods and how they eroded the Italian culinary traditions.
As of 2025, the movement has more than 1 million supporters across 160 countries. Its philosophy embodies the intentional acceptance of slowness in how we prepare and enjoy food.
Even in the phase of homogenized fast food, the concept of slow food ensured the preservation of mindful engagement in how food was prepared and enjoyed.
The Flaw With Modern AI-Based Productivity
In today’s world, AI has been mass adopted as a tool that promises seamless efficiency and high speed in achieving tasks.
An example,
A worker can develop a comprehensive report using AI within minutes, slashing down the time it took from the previous 8hrs to only 20 minutes.
Basing productivity on speed in completing tasks is flawed. Doing so means we are replacing:
Critical thinking.
Thoughtful creation.
Deep reflection.
With the rapid output generated by AI.
Looking closely, we see the same ideology of the slow food movement but as Slow AI - to embrace AI intentionally into our work lives without destroying that which fuels meaning and purpose.
This week, the call is to be intentional and adopt Slow AI where we use the tools to augment us rather than sacrifice deep-thinking, critical thinking, and craftsmanship in how we perform our tasks.
This week,
Review all the various ways you use AI in your work.
Reflect whether you are replacing rapid outputs with critical thinking skills.
Identify areas where you can work without AI and use the tools to only confirm your ideas.
Just as the slow food movement champions for embracing thoughtful preparation and the choice of fresh ingredients, we also need to adopt intentionality in using AI to fuel our productivity.
Chef Alice Walters advices us in her book, We are What We Eat
“When we eat fast food, we’re not only malnourishing ourselves, but we’re eating the values that tell us that more is better, time is money, cooking is drudgery and everything should be fast, cheap and easy.”
In my own productivity strategies, I have also adopted Slow AI by ensuring it works only in the background while I undertake my work thoughtfully and with all the mindfulness needed to finish tasks.
As an assistant, I use AI tools to help me in self-analysis of my productive sessions.
Let’s diverge for a moment.
In sports science, companies such as Dartfish and Catapult transformed how olympic athletes trained.
They introduced real-time tracking and motion analysis, enabling athletes to view how they performed and identify necessary improvements.
For example,
An athlete using Catapult’s inertial sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers) can know that they are slowing down their speed to 15m/s during the initial burst (1-10m). In turn, they can prepare better for a 100m sprint race than one who lacks these insights.
The same with productivity.
If you are aware that you focus best during the first 4hours of your work day, you will devote these hours to holy-grail activities - those that move the needle.
I use Rize that does this effortlessly and puts me at the centre without affecting how I perform my work.
This was my performance in my productive session yesterday.
The tool also gave me more insights on my cumulative productivity.
More insights came in form of a trend analysis.
I also received a detailed weekly report.
With these statistics, I view my performance like that of an athlete. I no longer guess how well I am performing but work from real-time statistics.
Rize works in the background without affecting my creativity at work or mindfulness in performing activities that require my full-attention.
What’s more, the tool helps me create “guarded-time environments” where I can work without any distraction and achieve my goals.
For example, I set only 1 hour to work on my book daily.
It helps me create an intentional work environment based on different types of background sounds.
Some days, I work in silence.
However, when I want to be creative, I immerse myself in coffee shop murmurs.
When I try to seek entertainment or distractions rather than focusing on the goal, the tool subtly pats me on the back and tells me to get to work.
It also allows me to set websites as distractions with granular control.
After intense focus, it also allows me to take breaks.
This way, I don’t burn out.
Imagine getting all these benefits? Wouldn’t you perform at your best?
Embrace a copilot that indeed helps you set artificial deadlines and remain focused even when your habits want you to slip back to distractive patterns.
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That's it for now.
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Have a great day :)
What a slowwwwww plug!
I think it's a valid comment on the use of ai. There's been a number of conversations and comments I've seen throughout this week about intentional use. From mindful consumption of wine and food to being hyperaware of your time in a way that embraces every sensation without overstimulation.
At the end of the day it appears that we are finally taking a moment to slow down and shift gears, removing ourselves from the hustle and bustle and allowing ourselves in a professional sense to be more intentional, be more mindful, and be more quality. I love the application of ai and the explosion that it has had on my community, and I find that these new users are using it like a brand new drill, wild and noisily. Getting a chance to hone your skill and use AI very methodically is the thing that I hope we liken to a Master Craftsman of tomorrow. Thoughtful piece, thank you for sharing!