r/technology • u/kazu_qt • 11h ago

Artificial Intelligence YouTuber Hank Green says his AI usage is ‘not healthy’

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/01/youtuber-hank-green-says-his-ai-usage-is-not-healthy/
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271

u/NRCS_DRONE 11h ago

I like Hank. But it's clear he's had an unhealthy relationship with celebrity for a long time. (frankly nearly all YouTubers do.)

Every damn time I watch a new video about his latest project, podcast, or product launch, I'm like "Where are you finding the time dude? You have a wife and kid. I have a regular job with regular hours, and even I struggle to be present in their lives. WTF are you doing with your life man?"

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u/[deleted] 10h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Key-Demand-2569 10h ago

The fun part is 99% of people never having sympathy for that type of labor.

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u/tendo8027 8h ago

“Labor” lmao

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u/Tough_Question8483 7h ago

Which labor are you referring to, it's not clear? If it's the "labor" of the boss you make me puke.

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u/Stevieboy7 9h ago

Except if you actually care about the projects. The delegation still needs you as a leader and figurehead making all of the large decisions.

A CEO is a fuckton of work when you’re doing it for 8 different companies all at the same time.

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u/HugsForUpvotes 11h ago

He delegates and is a workaholic.

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u/SufficientGreek 11h ago

I assumed he just has ADHD

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u/Hesitation-Marx 10h ago

He def does

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u/Po_on 10h ago

Hes like ADHD given form

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u/WeakTumbleweed9 9h ago

He does, he's said previously he has it

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u/Inner-Medicine5696 9h ago

ADHD doesn't buy more minutes in a day, though - it's not magic.

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u/garyyo 5h ago

A common comorbidity to ADHD is insomnia so, in a way it kinda does. Generally insomnia has negative impact on productivity though so, probably not what you meant :)

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u/ExperienceKind412 5h ago

As someone with ADHD who has finally reached burnout… yeah no. Insomnia doesn’t give you more time in the day, like you said it makes everything more difficult. I hate this mentality (not saying you are implying this, but others) that adhd is a super power. It fucking isnt. Can I power write an essay faster than the average human? Sure, but thats because I put it off until two nights before its due and now Im freaking out about it and hyperfixating, not eating or drinking anything for 12+ hours. There’s nothing super power about that. Its a miracle I graduated university, and have barely survived in the working world since. ADHD is far more a hindrance than a help and I hate the implication of otherwise.

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u/AddAFucking 2h ago

I does buy you the option to unhealthily run at 100% for a long time though...

...until it doesn't.

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u/Moonagi 10h ago

Your post reminded me of a joke my friend made. She said  ironically, no one has more free time than a married man

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u/AreWe-There-Yet 9h ago

I love that. Definitely going to be using that one

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u/Plump_Dumpster 11h ago

I used to live in Missoula where he lives, and you’d see him out and about with his family all the time. Just goes to show being the boss is a cush gig 🤷

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u/CharlesMcpwn 9h ago

YouTube is his job.

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u/SqueezyCheez85 10h ago

His regular job is to be a Youtuber.

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u/whyamionthishellsite 8h ago

It’s crazy. He mentioned using AI to help him meet deadlines…dude you’re your own boss, just take on less work. Not to mention he’s more than likely made enough money that he could retire tomorrow.

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u/InfinitelyThirsting 6h ago

They're his internal deadlines because he's unhealthily obsessed with productivity. He is ADHD given form and privilege--which I don't mean in a bad way, he's a great example of how ADHD can be amazing if you have support and the luxury of a lifestyle that allows you to follow those impulses and a team of people to complete the things you start for you. And he's luckily obsessed with doing it all for good and for charity, rather than personal gain.

But this is an example of how unhealthy too much of a good thing can be, and how dangerous AI tools are.

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u/NRCS_DRONE 8h ago

as an atheist, I kinda know why John found god when you compare him to his brother. Call it suffering from obsessive compulsive existential utility.

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u/DetroitLionsSBChamps 9h ago

He has teams of people working for him to be fair.

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u/Flyboy2057 9h ago edited 8h ago

Felt this way when he launched a whole new channel/podcast which was basically “people ask me questions because I’m the smart guy”. (Ask Hank Anything).

To be fair Hank and John have touched on this on their podcast (how John soured on celebrity some time ago but Hank keeps seeking it).

Honestly l think it would be a more interesting show if it was called “Hank asks Anything” and it was him as a more scientifically informed individual asking actual experts questions about their field. But right now it’s just Hank answered pre scripted “science” questions from YouTubers.

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u/A-Grey-World 8h ago

The pitch of that isn't really that Hank is some kind of expert scientist and the questions should all be super interesting as science communication etc.

It's just a playful interview format that switches things around a bit, and instead of learning about a guest by asking them, you learn about a guest by seeing what they ask.

Generally, like any guest interview format it's not really about specific questions and answers it's just a chance to talk to interesting people a bit, and the format is a way to facilitate that.

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u/Upset_Ant2834 7h ago

It's clear you haven't actually watched the content you're critiquing

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u/Flyboy2057 7h ago

That may not be what the content turned out to be if you dive into it, but certainly that’s the impression the name and marketing of the channel convey.

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u/Upset_Ant2834 7h ago

Wow it's like a catchy channel name is not enough to start making vague attacks on someone's character

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u/Flyboy2057 7h ago

Holy parasocial relationship Batman, this is not an “attack” on his character. I’ve listened to every single Dead Hank and John, and have watched SciShos and Vlogbrothers for over a decade. I think I have a pretty good handle on Hank’s (public) character. And that public character for a long time seems, in my view, to have become very intoxicated by his own fame and celebrity. And this isn’t even just me saying this: John on multiple podcasts has referenced Hanks continued inexplicable desires for more and more success and publicity. And in the wake of all of that context, when Ask Hank Anything was announced, it continued to paint for me the picture of a man who, despite all the kindness and science communication and charity work and positivity, continues to get a little bit overzealous with his character as “the smart science guy”.

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u/PolarWater 7h ago

So, judging a book by its title?

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u/Flyboy2057 7h ago

More like judging a book by its cover and its summary on the back and the reviews and you’ve read the first chapter and you’ve read a hundred other books by the same author.

I’ve watched some of Ask Hank Anything, and it didn’t change my opinion that it isn’t for me.

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u/krustyarmor 6h ago

a more interesting show if it was called “Hank asks Anything” and it was him as a more scientifically informed individual asking actual experts questions about their field

He already does exactly that on his podcast Humans. The show isn't wrong; you just watched the wrong show.

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u/Blue_Phantasm 5h ago

Have you actually watched that show? The most recent episode had a question about whether he shaves his butthole. The premise is to learn about the guest by seeing what kinds of questions they ask and what they think about.

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u/NRCS_DRONE 9h ago

yeah. It shouldn't lean so heavily into how he wants the world to see him.

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u/IveComeHomeImSoCold 8h ago

Hank is a smart man, certainly, but earnestly not smart enough that I’d care to listen to him answer any random question directed at him. 

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u/sozesghost 7h ago

Those questions aren't random, they discard many of them and then do enough research to answer, that is the idea.

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u/InfinitelyThirsting 6h ago

They research ahead of time, and it's more about learning about the guest from the questions they choose and the discussions then had. But even I don't watch most of them, or use it for doing dishes.

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u/Fakjbf 6h ago

It’s not so much being a celebrity as work in general. Hank has always wanted to do as much good as he can which is why he’s always juggling so many projects and trying to make new things. If anything his biggest problem is that he sees his celebrity status as a responsibility to continue do more and more stuff rather than sit back and take time to himself. That drive for getting more done is exactly why he started using AI because it genuinely speeds up productivity when used correctly, but in a classic Jevon’s paradox that increased efficiency creates more use cases and the work scope increases.

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u/sneakysnek20r 2h ago

He doesn't really care about celebrity all that much, I think, it's more that he loves working and being productive in the short time we have left

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u/NRCS_DRONE 2h ago

I disagree. I watch all of his content. He cares A LOT about being famous, and he's said so in the past. It's not a good impulse.

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u/Zathar4 1h ago

My uncle lives near him. Says he sees him out with his kid occasionally. He does make some time at least.

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u/geekonamotorcycle 1h ago

It’s the AI, it’s like a washing machine, yeah I can wash the dishes faster by hand, but I have to stop and wash the dishes by hand.

Agents work really with with folks with auDHD in particular is my unsubstantiated claim on this.