At 50, brain fog tried to make me feel invisible, but AI has helped me feel capable again

If you’d told me at 23 that by 50 I’d be relying on artificial intelligence to get through a day, I would have laughed so hard I might have spilled my coffee. Back then, the Internet was just a curiosity. Phones, paper, filing things away, it all worked perfectly. Research as a journalist meant scribbling notes in shorthand at lightning speed, getting cramp in my wrist during 100 words-per-minute exams, and praying nothing got lost. I can’t even remember thinking of technology as a negative, I would have killed to record my media interviews instead of relying on a spiral-bound notebook full of Teeline. Who really wants to go back to those days?

AI as a mental performance enhancer

Fast forward to 50. Midlife brain fog, perimenopause, late-night gym sessions, and educating a nine-year-old boy who has an endless supply of “why” questions for me, mean I need all the help I can get. And if I put pre-workout in my water bottle before a HIIT class, why shouldn’t I use AI as a performance enhancer for my brain? It helps me structure my thoughts, and get through the day without losing my head. Meanwhile, people around me on the bus are scrolling endlessly on TikTok, barely focusing for more than a minute, and my son is gleefully slaughtering cooked chickens in a tank on Roblox. I quietly laugh because at least I’m using my tech time to actually create something meaningful.

Messy thinking is just perfect for AI

I’m not a coder, or a tech guru, or even a prompt-hoarder. I’m a perimenopausal woman who brings half-formed ideas, questions, and muddled thoughts to every conversation, whether that’s on or off AI. But with AI, I can say, “I’m not sure if this is right, but here’s what I’m thinking…” and keep refining without me looking stupid. While my words as a midlife mum sometimes vanish mid-sentence, AI quietly handles it so I can stay sane and focus on creativity and problem-solving. My brain can now get through homework battles, washing mountains, and family debates without feeling like I’m falling apart.

The AI debate rages on

There’s a huge AI debate raging everywhere now. One camp swears AI is going to save us, the other insists it’s just for lazy people and will turn all our brains to mush. As a woman at 50, I find both extremes exhausting. AI isn’t perfect, but neither is my human brain right now, especially with juggling perimenopause, family, work, and gym. I don’t need to defend AI, I just need it to give me my confidence back, to know what I’m writing is Ok, to amplify my thinking, save my mental energy, and let me focus on what’s really important at this age, time with my family.

Prompting is not everything

AI mirrors the effort you put in. Feed it sloppy prompts and you get the same back. Feed it your own story, have a conversation with it and it will help you see things clearer, becoming an amplifier, turning ideas into fantastic thoughts. For a woman at 50 who’s suddenly learning how to analyse how she communicates, that’s gold. AI isn’t replacing my brain, but it’s giving it a turbo boost, which is exactly when I need it most.

Gliding past condescension

Older people in general are often underestimated when it comes to tech. I remember the early Internet and the “Silver Surfer” support groups. I now shudder at that headline I wrote. Reaching midlife did not mean helplessness online, yet society treated it that way. Today, I quietly glide past that condescension. I use AI to brainstorm and plan, while others scroll, and swipe endlessly. Experience, not speed, is my advantage, and AI helps me use it efficiently.

Digital bombardment versus lived experience

Ads promising “AI for beginners” bombard me daily, as if a 50-year-old perimenopausal mum needs hand-holding. Perhaps it’s my rusty TikTok skills, or the algorithm’s assumption that my age equals incompetence. In reality, I’m already ahead, quietly making AI work for me in ways no beginner’s guide could teach. And yet, it still sometimes pauses over odd questions, reminding me that technology isn’t perfect, but neither am I.

Nobody’s going back

At the end of the day, the thing we all need to remember is that nobody is reconnecting a landline, just as nobody is going back to using a typewriter … or life before the Internet or AI. Telling someone to stop using ChatGPT is like telling them to abandon a calculator or spellcheck now. The only question is how you use it wisely to make your life more meaningful and so I’ve decided to embrace it strategically. It’s about thriving in a world that refuses to let us pause and take a breath. Some dismiss AI because they don’t need it yet. That’s fine too. But for a woman at 50, decades of learning to think and problem-solve now combine with AI to produce surprising solutions.

Thriving in a world that never stops

We do not become less capable at 50. We just become savvier about how we use our mental energy. I use AI to keep my head above water and add a little pleasure back into my routines. But the one thing I wish it could help me with now is …. how to stop me walking out of Asda with an empty shopping basket and …. refrain from loading freshly cleaned glasses from the dishwasher into the fridge. Now those things are open to debate!