I literally wrote a Substack letter a few hours ago in which I talk about how I am torn between using AI to write and not using it at all - which poses a conundrum for me because I teach women how to use AI for their business content marketing.
The idea of being a "generative" person who advances a thought inspired by AI suddenly makes me feel less torn if that makes sense...
"If you have good ideas and are a clear thinker, AI will act as a jetpack for you," yesss - however I'm increasingly worried that we are getting SO lazy that our own good ideas are resigning to AI's good ideas, and clear thinking is blurring into what AI thinks we should think. Under deadlines, I feel this enormously and want to nip it in the bud.
Like you say - 'you have to put in a lot of work to curate references to inform your point of view. This is how you develop a vocabulary to steer the AI away from itself' - and I guess this is what can never be shortcut OR channeled through AI.
I guess the importance of staying inspired, reading widely and gathering varied perspectives to fuel your own thinking - that can then be amplified by AI, is what will outlast what is not.
Yes!! I also think it's funny that we talk about "AI writing" as if "writing" is one thing, when really it's a thousand different things. when I write my newsletter, I am actively trying to advance my own thinking, so I avoid using AI. When I am posting my newsletter to other channels, those posts are definitionally derivative, so I am more comfortable getting AI help. But even still, I recognize that posting on social media is its own skill that I should improve, so I don't want to fully outsource it, either.
How do you feel about using AI in the process of curation? I often feel that “show me how other experts would view this problem” is one of the more powerful value adds of AI, and it feels like it boosts curiosity.
This makes me think about the endless conversations and arguments I'd have in art school about embracing appropriation. That was 10+ years ago! Amazing to see this come back around. It's human nature. The Van Gough paint by number. Truly fresh work getting turned into a skill. Do you know Rebecca Solnit?
Ahh I feel like this was written for me, Hilary!
I literally wrote a Substack letter a few hours ago in which I talk about how I am torn between using AI to write and not using it at all - which poses a conundrum for me because I teach women how to use AI for their business content marketing.
The idea of being a "generative" person who advances a thought inspired by AI suddenly makes me feel less torn if that makes sense...
"If you have good ideas and are a clear thinker, AI will act as a jetpack for you," yesss - however I'm increasingly worried that we are getting SO lazy that our own good ideas are resigning to AI's good ideas, and clear thinking is blurring into what AI thinks we should think. Under deadlines, I feel this enormously and want to nip it in the bud.
Like you say - 'you have to put in a lot of work to curate references to inform your point of view. This is how you develop a vocabulary to steer the AI away from itself' - and I guess this is what can never be shortcut OR channeled through AI.
I guess the importance of staying inspired, reading widely and gathering varied perspectives to fuel your own thinking - that can then be amplified by AI, is what will outlast what is not.
Thank you for posting this!
Yes!! I also think it's funny that we talk about "AI writing" as if "writing" is one thing, when really it's a thousand different things. when I write my newsletter, I am actively trying to advance my own thinking, so I avoid using AI. When I am posting my newsletter to other channels, those posts are definitionally derivative, so I am more comfortable getting AI help. But even still, I recognize that posting on social media is its own skill that I should improve, so I don't want to fully outsource it, either.
How do you feel about using AI in the process of curation? I often feel that “show me how other experts would view this problem” is one of the more powerful value adds of AI, and it feels like it boosts curiosity.
This makes me think about the endless conversations and arguments I'd have in art school about embracing appropriation. That was 10+ years ago! Amazing to see this come back around. It's human nature. The Van Gough paint by number. Truly fresh work getting turned into a skill. Do you know Rebecca Solnit?