_CheerGPT: Prompting Failure_: The Ethics of Outsourcing Struggle

This essay served as the foundation for the TEDx talk “CheerGPT: Prompting Failure” delivered at TEDx St. Petersburg College (2025). It explores the ethical, psychological, and communal consequences of outsourcing human experiences to artificial intelligence. Through the allegory of a woman who delegates her wedding vows to an AI system, it asks whether technological convenience “humanises” or “un-humanises” us, reframing the moral discourse on AI as one of preserving the sacredness of struggle. Drawing from applied ethics, philosophy of mind, and phenomenology, the essay argues that imperfection and failure are not flaws to be optimised away, but essential ingredients of personhood, creativity, and communal integrity. Status: Delivered manuscript (TEDx St. Petersburg College, 2025; recording forthcoming).