The verdict is in: Unreported Truths readers don't want AI-generated articles
For once, I am more than happy to have audience capture!
Yesterday, apropos of my take on the explosion in AI-produced writing, the Atlantic1 ran a brilliant piece attacking the myth of artificial intelligence consciousness.
I’m fashioning my own thoughts on that article. With AI taking an outsized role in our markets and politics, we need to think about what these engines are, and are not.
But first, a thank you for your responses to my plan to compete with what the young ‘uns call “AI slop” — the trillions (quadrillions??) of words the engines pour out daily, a tsunami of free writing drowning us all.
I’m against using AI in my work, though doing so might let me write more. You overwhelmingly agreed. As one reader wrote: I have no interest in reading AI-generated articles or books. I am interested in your voice, not the synthesis of whatever is out there on the Internet. I am not going anywhere.
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Thank you. And you backed those words with hard cash. The article generated more one-time donations than usual. Thank you for that, too.
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(AI slop isn’t just for articles!)
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Will I be able to hold out?
I don’t know. Economics is in some ways the simplest and most brutal of the sciences. When the supply of a product increases, its price falls. And in an AI word, the supply of writing is effectively infinite.
But I’m sure going to try. Basically, I’m following the same route John Henry took against the steam drill, no machine’s beating me, I’ll hammer until my heart bursts.
Let’s hope it works out better for me than it did for John.
Now back to thinking about the engines.
After all, they’re sure thinking — or “thinking” — about us.
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(By the way, a bunch of folks subscribed yesterday too. I hope you’ll join them.)
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Yesterday’s piece, if you missed it:
On the future of writing - and Unreported Truths
What happens to writers — and journalism — when the cost of writing falls to zero?
Ugh, the Atlantic, I know. A lot of you remember the way the Atlantic treated me and my mRNA reporting in 2021. But part of being committed to the truth is looking for it even in places I don’t like, and judging articles and the information they contain on their own merits.
I spent over 40 professional years learning to be a skillful writer. I never fooled myself, I knew I did not have a gift. I’m good enough to recognize people that do have a gift. And as a result, I know that writing is an art not a simple formula; not something that can be turned out by a bunch of bits. Keep up the great work Alex. Thank you.
Of course we don’t .
Maybe you can help educate your readers on how to identify AI articles and we can all push back on this .