I’m noticing it more. Everyone is not only reliant on AI to help them with communication but is using it to replace their own thinking.
I get emails and see blog posts and web copy that all look and feel the same. AI has tells, it has beats and common patterns in the writing.
When I read it and know it’s AI, I’m immediately turned off.
Ask yourself: why should someone spend the time to read something if you aren’t willing to spend the time to write something?
Now look, I get the practical uses of AI, and how it can help you solidify an idea or tighten grammar. Hell, I’m going to use it to correct spelling and grammatical issues before I hit publish. But, what I’m not going to do, and what you shouldn’t do either, is let it think for you.
When did we stop thinking?.
I’d argue the devolution started before AI. Short-form social media took it to lightspeed. People stopped critically analyzing data and glued their opinions to the slickest-talking short-form video that fueled their inherent bias.
No bueno.
Because now, with AI, we all have agreement machines at our disposal. ChatGPT, Claude, etc., don’t check you. They try to appease you. In that, they will try to take more and more of your mental load away. That seems convenient, but it’s lined with mental poison.
Once you let AI draft and write your finished work, you are taking the first step toward outsourcing your own ideas. The next step is not reading and editing, just sending what Claude spat out as fact or insight.
Once again, no bueno.
You aren’t paid for your prompts. You’re paid for your expertise, insights, and opinions. The only way you develop those is by doing the work. That means staring at a blank Google Doc and letting your hands hit the keys. Not asking Claude to act like Hemingway and to write you a thought leadership piece.
-Jordan
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