Writing that actually moves us requires precisely what AI eliminates: the messy human struggle. George Saunders calls this your "iconic space": the place from which you write stories only you could write. I ask my readers: what will you write that only you can write?
The Writing Looks ChatGPTish
When people say they can spot AI writing from a mile, what do they actually mean? Excessive em dashes? Short paragraphs? Words like "delve" and "meticulous"? LinkedIn was full of cringe long before ChatGPT. AI didn't invent buzzwords or performative prose. The algorithm simply picked what went viral. We're pretending that before ChatGPT, all writing flowed from pure creativity. As if "On Writing Well" and "The Elements of Style" never existed. We always followed rules. But our inability to follow them perfectly made our writing unique. AI follows rules perfectly. That's the problem. I explore this paradox in this essay.
Reports of Content Marketer’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
"๐ช๐ฒ'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐..." Sounds like any generic job posting, right? Except this one's for ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐๐ฃ๐ง โ the juggernaut that was supposedly eliminating content jobs. Delicious irony, this. The very company poised to make content marketers obsolete... needs content marketers.
Forget AI Imitating Us, We Are Imitating AI
Ever feel like LinkedIn posts sound... a bit too perfect these days? Or like certain words are suddenly everywhere? You're not imagining it. I dive into a fascinating and unsettling trend: we might be starting to sound like AI, not the other way around. Drawing on insights from the Max Planck Institute and literary critics, I explore how platforms and AI tools are subtly reshaping our language, making it more uniform and less uniquely human. It's not just about what we write, but how it impacts trust and authenticity in communication.
Disintermediated? Think Again. The Rise of the Digital Gatekeeper
Ever wonder why those unskippable ads on your streaming service are getting worse? Or how a market sprang up in a WWII POW camp? It all comes back to the middleman. I dive into why brokers are essential for markets to thrive, and how they've evolved from mere facilitators to powerful gatekeepers. Discover the surprising truth behind why markets need brokers, and when they become a problem you can't ignore.
When Struggle Was the Signal: AI’s Challenge to Creative Worth
Is the ease of AI fast-tracking the commodification of the human spirit, as Nick Cave eloquently argues? Does a flawlessly AI-written letter of recommendation devalue the genuine effort of a professor, as Ethan Mollick discovered? What happens when the struggle fades, when AI can conjure prose with effortless speed?
The Unwritten Self: A Writer’s Identity Crisis in the AI Era
if AI can write, what does a writer become? Our roles have changed from creators to curators overnight. But what if this disruption forces us to redefine our worth, to build identity beyond skills, on foundations AI can't touch?
Has GenAI killed the college essay?
I explore if GenAI has killed the college essay. Why are students required to write essays? Itโs to assess their ability to think through things, and communicate their perspective in a clear, compelling and organized fashion. I argue that GenAI, by removing the creative struggle from the writing, is capable of deeply affecting how we think.
Is GenAI a threat to content writers?
I talk about how GenAI has changed the content game. Last few weeks, I have been tinkering with GenAI tools, particularly ChatGPT and Perplexity. And, itโs been a revelation! Based on this brief experience, I explore whether GenAI is a threat to content writers.
AI and Emotion: Do machines feel?
I explore if AI has emotions and whether it can do emotional work. Writers and artists are fond of reiterating that since AI cannot feel emotions, its output will not feel human too. But how true is this claim? Are machines really breaching the final frontier of human cognition?
Musings by Madhav 