My take on AI use in writing

I still very much partition my writing as an author and journalism/opinion pieces from my PR and marketing writing. On the whole, these days, I hire others to do the latter, or we begin with an AI draft and add tone and style to the copy, mainly for efficiency. PR and social media marketing copy, even what we write here on LinkedIn is fleeting after all, disposable almost. Most scroll past and never look back although it does shape one’s digital footprint.

The writing for traditional media and books, well, that’s legacy.

There’s always been a reason for the separation between the two styles for me, but now with the onset of AI, the reason is even more critical.

Most of you know that there is software that uncovers plagiarism as well as AI generated copy. Even in proofing, the copy is “marked” as inauthentic. Some of us don’t need the software to spot AI writing from a mile away.

I know this not simply as a professional writer, but also in my time in the university classroom as an adjunct professor. Programs like Turnitin.com can sniff out AI usage of any kind… and even copy that has been drafted and run through ChatGPT or the like for editing is considered AI generated. I’ve used the Turnitin software on student submissions. So my scholarly background also prohibits AI writing in serious prose.

So sacrificing my credibility as a writer especially when I have access to worldclass editors who actually pay me, raises the stakes pretty high. When I weigh the risks, it simply isn’t worth it. I also hire editors, and one of them, a NYT proofer by day, leaned so heavily into AI, it compromised the copy, and it was obvious.

After 30+ years of human proofing, I’m good with it, and there are a ton of other productivity hacks that make writing more efficient without having to leverage AI. I find that using it as a consultant or research assistant is great, however the need to check after is still critical.

After writing this long and getting paid for it, however, you realize that the real commodity isn’t the words, per se, it is you, the personality, the wit or humor, the turn of a phrase and brain behind the writing. So you have to show up in the copy, and that is difficult to replicate.

But honestly, if you’re rushing your copy, and you aren’t in TV or digital news developing a breaking news story on deadline (which I’ve done plenty of in my career) why in the world are you rushing your writing, even if you are in marketing?

For high-ranking executives, tap into your seasoned writers in corp comm before resorting to AI, many of the best are ex journalists who understand tone and voice. Authenticity still reigns supreme.

Finally: would you AI fine wine if you could? Someone would, but I’m not drinking it.

(This copy does not utilize AI. The video does, to underscore a point about the writing…but you already knew that. MJ is not in this video, and that arm…Well, I rest my case.)