At the end of a long online essay I read recently, the author had added this line:

"I wrote every single word of this post, including the em-dash's." (Paraphrased)

Not only is he saying that he didn't use AI, he's also assuming some readers might suspect that his content was AI-written-because it has em-dashes (long hyphens).

What makes this especially interesting is that the author has now switched to using AI for writing most of his code.

If he's comfortable using AI for coding, why is he shy to use AI for writing?

The implied reasoning seems to be: "Code is now a commodity. But writing is a much more creative process. And if I'm putting my name on the content I publish, then AI has no place in it."

My stance is a bit different. I'm more aligned with Seth Godin on this: it's not about who created it, it's about who approved it.

I use a LOT of AI in my work.

For coding, design, legal documents, pricing models, logo creation, website copy… and for these newsletter posts.

The degree to which I use AI varies.

The code? 100% AI.
These newsletter posts? Maybe 10-20% AI.

My take is that the value of the content is in the story, my opinions and my learnings-not so much in the style of my writing.

If AI can help me convey my ideas more clearly and make the reading experience more delightful for you, should I avoid using it just because it won't be totally "my" writing anymore?

I don't think so.

What I care about more is whether I can add value to you, the reader, by sharing my perspective on an interesting and relevant topic.

But does that mean that just like I use AI to write 100% of my code, I'd also be comfortable asking it to write 100% of my content?

No.

Writing is a thinking tool at least as much as it is a communication medium.

With coding, most of the thinking happens (or should happen) before the code is written. With writing, a lot of the thinking happens while I'm in the act of typing.

Here's my rough workflow:

• Use The Most Dangerous Writing App to write the first draft.

• Make the initial edits myself.

• Ask AI to review-correct typos, improve the flow, and suggest additional points that didn't occur to me.

In other words, AI comes in after I've wrestled with the ideas myself.

A highlight of the last few days was when one of my readers told me this about the last post: "No one is perfect. And it's great that you're comfortable talking about your own struggles. Makes you more trustworthy."

Did I use AI in that last post? Yep.
Was it completely honest? Yep.
Did it resonate with my reader? Yep.

I rest my case :)