Friends don't let friends write with AI

Originality is more important than ever.

Right now we’re living through a newsletter boom. Platforms like Substack and Beehiiv are pushing for more people to start and grow newsletters.

Why? 

The obvious answer is that it’s good for their businesses. But that only explains half the story. 

A more interesting answer is that AI is actually driving interest in original writing.

Writing is about creating an authentic connection to the reader. AI can’t do that.

If you ask AI to write something the result is usually something like this:

Prompt: Write me a sentence explaining why writing matters.

Response: Writing matters because it serves as a fundamental tool for communication, allowing us to articulate thoughts, share knowledge, express creativity, and connect with others across time and space.

It’s not obvious that it’s AI but it’s a bit wordy. The giveaway is that it doesn’t sound the way people talk. It’s impersonal. No one talks this way.

Why does this matter?

Google is starting to filter out AI from their search results. They’re catching on to people gaming the search engine with AI content.

No one benefits from AI flooding the internet with content only robots read. Publishing soulless AI-generated copy is like littering on the internet.

Content for the sake of content doesn’t matter. The magic of good writing is that it creates connection, and connection is what matters.

That’s why we shouldn’t reward AI content by reading it. The writer doesn’t have any skin in the game.

I’m seeing another example of this on Twitter: AI reply bots. Apps that let you automate all your engagement on Twitter to grow your following.

I actually downloaded one and immediately thought to myself: I don’t want to read AI-generated tweets. And neither should you.

Let’s look at AI art as another example.

There’s a lot of hype around OpenAI’s Sora, but we’ve seen this movie before.

When ChatGPT and DALL-E debuted, critics were quick to call it a mass extinction event for writers and artists. 

But now that we’ve had over a year with these tools, it’s pretty easy to tell when content is AI-generated.

Sure, you can improve the outputs with better prompts, but at their core these models are re-creating something they’ve seen before. They’re not original thought.

Remember: OpenAI is executing a marketing campaign. Everyone with early access to Sora is incentivized to talk about how awesome it is.

I know what you’re thinking: “AI can’t hurt you anymore, Brian.” But it’s not that I'm an AI hater, I’m just skeptical that it’s a creativity killer.

That brings us back to writing—a skill we use everyday to communicate. 

Good writing sets you apart.

Yes you can outsource writing to AI, but you can’t outsource authenticity (and yes, readers can tell when you outsource).

So, how can you use AI for good?

AI is great at brainstorming. It’s a great assistant, but not a replacement for original thought. It’s good for generating ideas.

For example, I ask ChatGPT for 100 different article titles and hooks for my weekly post. I ask it to mass-produce ideas to jumpstart my own creativity.

Writing is more important than ever.

Take pride in expressing your ideas and don’t take for granted that people know it’s original thought– make it obvious.

“People won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel” - Maya Angelou

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Thanks for reading. Please share this with an AI fan-boy.