Strongly agree here. AI writing can be great if you think of it as a colleague (and lousy when you assume it'll be a substitute). And ironically, professional writers know this best - they trust and value their editors!
Maybe professional editors should be the ones worried?
Great article. While I generally agree, there’s also a form of “polish” that has always been suspect in my mind. Think mediocre strategy consultant presentation or Bernie Madoff pitch deck. The depth behind the polish either doesn’t exist or isn’t true. The polish is a barrier to cutting through the crap (if you let it be… and most people let it be). AI makes it easier to generate that as well.
Btw, I wrote about a similar topic four months ago. How the slop allegation stops us from having better conversations about content. This is exactly the type of conversation I wanted to see. Thank you!
Wow this is great -- thanks for sharing! I laughed at this: "In the business world, people seem to have forgotten the baseline level of writing before the AI era. Have you read a typical press release? An HR policy? A workplace compliance training? Terms & Conditions for any software you use? Most Fortune 500 strategy documents? And you want to start throwing around the “slop” allegation now?"
This article gives me a better understanding of my general frustration of what is happening in my workplace. “But as has always been the case, asking someone to read something that you did not put time or effort into is presumptuous. Do not do it!” I want to send this to everyone who sends me the slop at work - AI generated memos that are bland and lack enough context to be meaningful, presentations with blatantly wrong data, and the list goes on. I am a senior leader, but I’m turning into a full time AI slop QC machine, which is not really a fulfilling place to be.
I loooooove this post - "If you want other people to care, you need to signal that you care." < yes x1000.
The problem for me with writing that is "obviously" AI (the anaphora, the em-dashes, the short and punchy phrases) is it feels like the written version of the motivational speaker without the credentials to back it up. When I see it on LinkedIn, my instant reaction is "eye roll and move on without reading". It's sad, because some of the content might be genuinely excellent, but I can't make it far enough in.
Perhaps hypocritical, because I still find immense value in using AI to help with editing passes, brainstorming and structural improvements to my writing.
Side note: hadn't seen the Diplo interview and haven't listened to the Jamey Gannon yet - excited to listen/watch these recs.
I loved this article! Thanks for writing it, Hilary. It feels and reads like it practices what it preaches, and that's the main reason why.
Two thoughts bubbled up for me: First, in support of your uno reverso: AI writing in the context of work (eg Slacks) does help with energy overhead where there's a real world of energy demand fighting the supply of that energy so I think that's a real benefit that does come with AI supported writing in that context. Secondly, I wonder if counter-sloppers will be pushed to go extreme towards full artisan-mode in all creative work. I think that'll surface some interesting observations on full-artisan vs AI-supported. "Objectives" and "Care" will be such beneficial lenses to observe that trend when/if it arises (probably already has).
This is the most beautiful, funny, spot on thing I've read in a long time! Thank you, Hilary! As a fellow creative and someone who's spent years developing this skill of critique, this makes complete sense to me. Care and effort are more valuable by the day. Nailed it!
Strongly agree here. AI writing can be great if you think of it as a colleague (and lousy when you assume it'll be a substitute). And ironically, professional writers know this best - they trust and value their editors!
Maybe professional editors should be the ones worried?
I've had a few things edited by a human recently and I have to say 10/10 experience, really 11/10 when you're used to AI as an editor
My wife, a professional writer and best-selling author, just accused a line from my most recent article of sounding AI. THAT WAS A LINE I WROTE! 😅
Great article. While I generally agree, there’s also a form of “polish” that has always been suspect in my mind. Think mediocre strategy consultant presentation or Bernie Madoff pitch deck. The depth behind the polish either doesn’t exist or isn’t true. The polish is a barrier to cutting through the crap (if you let it be… and most people let it be). AI makes it easier to generate that as well.
Btw, I wrote about a similar topic four months ago. How the slop allegation stops us from having better conversations about content. This is exactly the type of conversation I wanted to see. Thank you!
https://cultureandcompass.substack.com/p/simply-shouting-slop-is-sloppy
Wow this is great -- thanks for sharing! I laughed at this: "In the business world, people seem to have forgotten the baseline level of writing before the AI era. Have you read a typical press release? An HR policy? A workplace compliance training? Terms & Conditions for any software you use? Most Fortune 500 strategy documents? And you want to start throwing around the “slop” allegation now?"
This article gives me a better understanding of my general frustration of what is happening in my workplace. “But as has always been the case, asking someone to read something that you did not put time or effort into is presumptuous. Do not do it!” I want to send this to everyone who sends me the slop at work - AI generated memos that are bland and lack enough context to be meaningful, presentations with blatantly wrong data, and the list goes on. I am a senior leader, but I’m turning into a full time AI slop QC machine, which is not really a fulfilling place to be.
I loooooove this post - "If you want other people to care, you need to signal that you care." < yes x1000.
The problem for me with writing that is "obviously" AI (the anaphora, the em-dashes, the short and punchy phrases) is it feels like the written version of the motivational speaker without the credentials to back it up. When I see it on LinkedIn, my instant reaction is "eye roll and move on without reading". It's sad, because some of the content might be genuinely excellent, but I can't make it far enough in.
Perhaps hypocritical, because I still find immense value in using AI to help with editing passes, brainstorming and structural improvements to my writing.
Side note: hadn't seen the Diplo interview and haven't listened to the Jamey Gannon yet - excited to listen/watch these recs.
I loved this article! Thanks for writing it, Hilary. It feels and reads like it practices what it preaches, and that's the main reason why.
Two thoughts bubbled up for me: First, in support of your uno reverso: AI writing in the context of work (eg Slacks) does help with energy overhead where there's a real world of energy demand fighting the supply of that energy so I think that's a real benefit that does come with AI supported writing in that context. Secondly, I wonder if counter-sloppers will be pushed to go extreme towards full artisan-mode in all creative work. I think that'll surface some interesting observations on full-artisan vs AI-supported. "Objectives" and "Care" will be such beneficial lenses to observe that trend when/if it arises (probably already has).
This is the most beautiful, funny, spot on thing I've read in a long time! Thank you, Hilary! As a fellow creative and someone who's spent years developing this skill of critique, this makes complete sense to me. Care and effort are more valuable by the day. Nailed it!