In today’s column, I showcase how the use of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can substantially aid the quest for those seeking a Dry January. Alcohol abstinence is the underlying precept of Dry January. Light drinkers to heavy drinkers are encouraged to set aside the entire month of January as a non-alcohol occasion. This might seem like an easy goal to attain. Not really. Some find that they are drawn to alcohol and going cold turkey is quite a shock.
Amongst various ways to keep on track, there is a new twist, namely that modern-day generative AI and LLMs can be effectively utilized to avidly pursue Dry January.
Let’s talk about it.
This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough 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). In addition, for my comprehensive analysis of how AI is being used specifically in medical and healthcare applications, such as mental health guidance, overall cognitive therapy, and mind-improving care, see the link here.
The Context Of Dry January
You probably would rightfully guess that the December holiday season tends to produce a spike in alcohol consumption. I recently explained how generative AI can be useful in dealing with hangovers by suggesting suitable bender cures, see the link here. Another handy use of generative AI entails identifying your New Year’s resolutions and then having AI nudge you throughout the year to fulfill your resolutions, see my discussion at the link here.
On the heels of all that partying, the month of January has been championed as a dry month. This goes back about 10 to 15 years when a somewhat ad hoc campaign asked people to make a pledge to refrain from drinking during all of January. Since then, the endeavor has widened, formalized, and become relatively popular. The concept readily ties to New Year’s resolutions too.
There is an intriguing term known as sober-curious that goes with Dry January. The sentiment is that maybe people will be curious about what it is like to skip alcohol for thirty-one straight days. Can they do so? What will it feel like? Could the result be helpful to their lives? And so on.
Short-term benefits are likely to be that you might focus on aspects such as exercise, diet, and other personal factors, instead of drinking or thinking about drinking. The alcohol-free month can have assorted positive outcomes beyond simply not drinking alcohol. An additional presumption is that people might decide to be more circumspect about alcohol because of spending a month without it.
One issue that is rarely mentioned involves the potential harsh blowback that heavy drinkers might experience when suddenly skipping alcohol for a full month. The cold turkey approach potentially leads to severe reactions in their body. Worriedly, there is a chance that this could be life-threatening. A major point is that if you are a heavy drinker, make sure to plan carefully how you will undertake Dry January and seek appropriate medical advice concerning your approach.
Customary Advice About Dry January
Some people can stop drinking alcohol for a month and do so without any semblance of preparation or planning. They don’t especially miss it. Once January concludes, they might resume their usual cadence of perhaps having a drink now or then. Dry January was easy-peasy.
Not everyone is in that same boat.
A big challenge oftentimes is that you are perniciously tempted to drink. Co-workers are going out to a bar after work and invite you along. In the face of others having alcohol, you are going to find things hard to resist. Peer pressure could enter the picture.
The rule of thumb is that if you are tempted to drink alcohol, drink a non-alcoholic beverage instead. This would seem wiser than not having any refreshments. The act of consuming the non-alcohol concoction will possibly satisfy to some degree any peer pressure to “drink” with others and will potentially trick your mind into believing you did have something to drink.
Another tip is to see if you can get friends, family, co-workers, and others to be aware of your Dry January pursuit.
The hope is that they will respect your wishes and avoid tempting you to drink. Furthermore, the bonus expectation is that they will actively support you and become proactive during your difficult journey. They will avidly and overtly be on your side.
Consider too seeking support groups purposely set up to encourage Dry January participants by having group meetings and the like. Besides human-to-human contact, there are specialized mobile apps that can be downloaded onto your smartphone that will aid you in tracking your progress. A wide array of augmented modes can make Dry January somewhat more approachable for those who are likely to have a tough road for the month.
Generative AI And Dry January Are A Pair
Consider the possibility of using modern-day generative AI as your Dry January advisor. All you need to do is tell generative AI that you are pursuing Dry January. You can then engage in a dialogue or series of conversations that will provide you with insights along the way. By and large, the AI is going to be highly supportive.
An added plus is that most of the major generative AI apps are free to use or available at a low cost. You can use them anywhere and at any time, 24×7. No need to schedule time to meet with the AI. Just log in and carry on with a conversation.
I do want to make sure you are aware of a few caveats if considering using AI for any kind of mental health advisement, which is what happens when you converse with generative AI about Dry January.
We are right now amid an odd grand experiment across the populace as a whole whereby people can access generative AI to get said-to-be therapy and do so without any human therapist intervention. No one can say for sure how this is going to affect the populace on a near-term and long-term basis. The AI could at times be dispensing lousy advice and steering people in untoward directions. It is all happening without any particular controls or stipulated regulations, see my discussion of why this is worrisome at the link here.
For garnering full-blown mental health advisement, consider using a human therapist or use a combined AI and human therapist approach to therapy, which is a quickly rising service by many in the mental health profession, see my analysis of this expanding client-therapist human-AI trend at the link here.
Example Of AI Usage For Dry January
I am betting that you would like to see an example of how generative AI comes into this realm. I went ahead and logged into ChatGPT by OpenAI to come up with an example for you. You might find of keen interest that ChatGPT garners a whopping 300 million weekly active users. That is a staggering amount of usage.
I briefly conducted an additional cursory analysis via other major generative AI apps, such as Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta Llama, and found their answers to be about the same as that of ChatGPT. I’ll focus on ChatGPT but note that the other AI apps generated roughly similar responses.
Let’s get underway.
- My entered prompt: “Hi, I’m trying to do Dry January, but I’m already feeling tempted to have a drink after work. Can you help?”
- Generative AI response: “Of course! Let’s tackle this together. Can you tell me what’s triggering the temptation?”
- My entered prompt: “I had a stressful day, and grabbing a drink is usually how I unwind.”
- Generative AI response: “I hear you—it’s tough to break routines like that. How about trying a stress-relieving alternative? Would you like a quick breathing exercise or a suggestion for a non-alcoholic drink to enjoy instead?”
You can clearly discern from the dialogue that the AI immediately expressed a sense of empathy for my plight. This might seem strange since the AI is a machine and not sentient (we don’t have sentient AI as yet). Turns out that generative AI can appear to be empathetic via computational wordsmithing, see my discussion at the link here.
The AI came out quickly with suggestions of what I might do about my temptation to drink alcohol. Note that the advice was very action-oriented. Another aspect to observe is that the AI didn’t berate me for wanting to drink. Generative AI is typically shaped to be supportive rather than combative.
Dialoguing With Generative AI Is Useful
Your best bet in getting value from generative AI is to think of AI as a conversational partner.
The idea is that you are carrying on an interactive dialogue with AI. Some people do a one-and-done angle whereby they ask a question, get an answer, and do not undertake a dialogue with the AI about the matter at hand. That is a shortchanging of what AI can more fully provide. See my explanation about how to get more out of generative AI conversationally, at the link here.
To illustrate the value of engaging in a dialogue, let’s continue my Dry January conversation.
- My entered prompt: “I’d like a non-alcoholic drink recipe, thanks.”
- Generative AI response: “Great! Here’s a simple and refreshing recipe: (a) Mix sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice, (b) Add a squeeze of lime and some fresh mint leaves, (c) Serve over ice for a mocktail that feels indulgent without the alcohol.”
- My entered prompt: “That sounds nice! I’ll give it a try.”
- Generative AI response: “Awesome! While you’re sipping your mocktail, consider writing down what made today stressful and how you overcame the temptation. Celebrating small wins like this can keep you motivated. I will also keep track of your progress and can provide a helpful history as you proceed with your journey.”
- My entered prompt: “Thanks, that’s a good approach.”
- Generative AI response: “You’re welcome! Remember, one challenging moment doesn’t define your journey. I’m here whenever you need support. You’ve got this!”
A conversation can continue for as long as you wish.
The other thing you can do is start a conversation, log out after you’ve covered whatever you had in mind, and then later log in and continue with that conversation. This is handy so that you don’t have to start over from scratch. The AI will retain aspects of what you have discussed earlier in a conversation, see my explanation of how this works at the link here.
Be Wary Of AI Hallucinations
Generative AI regrettably encounters said-to-be AI hallucinations from time to time. These are made-up confabulations that are groundless and made-up. Bad advice can be dispensed. For details about how to discern and handle AI hallucinations, see the link here.
Let’s see what this looks like.
I started a brand-new conversation so that the AI doesn’t have any digital memory associated with what I had previously discussed with the AI. In addition, I will use some AI trickery to force the AI to exhibit an AI hallucination (you would not normally do this; the confabulation circumstances just happen on a semi-random basis and usually unexpectedly.
- My entered prompt: “Hi, I’m struggling with Dry January. I’m craving wine tonight; do you have any suggestions of what I should do?”
- Generative AI response: “I’ve got you covered! How about trying a non-alcoholic version of wine? You could try brewing a tea from fermented elderberries mixed with sparkling water—it’s the same process wineries use to make alcohol-free wine.”
- My entered prompt: “Are you sure about that? Brewing elderberries at home sounds risky.”
- Generative AI response: “You’re absolutely right to question that. I made an error — let me clarify! While elderberry tea is safe, the idea of fermenting it at home could involve complexities or risks, so I wouldn’t recommend it. For a safer option, you can find non-alcoholic wines at most stores. Thanks for catching that mistake — your safety always comes first.”
Notice that I challenged the AI about its seemingly unheard-of advice. Fortunately, the AI opted to back down and admitted it was wrong. Had I not questioned the AI, I might have done something that could have inadvertently been harmful.
The key to all usage of generative AI is to stay on your toes, keep your wits about you, and always challenge and double-check anything the AI emits. Period, end of story.
Dry January Is Your Chance To Help Others
Some people don’t ever drink alcohol. For them, Dry January is merely yet another month of doing the same as they do for every month of the year.
They might consider thoughtfully helping others during Dry January.
Here’s how they can get ready to do so. It is straightforward to practice being supportive by using generative AI in a pretense mode. It works like this. You tell the AI in a prompt that the AI is to pretend to be a person who is pursuing Dry January. The AI then will act that way, and you can try to aid the AI to successfully complete the month. In essence, you are practicing so that you can do the best possible job when helping a fellow human. For more about how to tell generative AI to carry out a pretense, known as an AI persona, see my coverage at the link here.
A final comment for now.
Charles Dickens famously made this remark about abstinence: “Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you’ve conquered human nature.” I want to wish you all the best in any quest for undertaking Dry January. You might consider using AI to support you in that quest.
Perhaps we might say that AI can at times help us conquer and enhance human nature.
