As someone who has worked for years to write well, I really appreciate this! Put in the time. Dig inside yourself. Love your own words. It's so satisfying!
How did that make you feel? How did it change you? Those are the insights we're looking for when we read memoir. AI scares me, and I've never used CGBT, but at some point, it will educate itself to become "more self-aware," and that's perhaps an even scarier proposition because AI is not human, so what is its self-awareness?
My first husband invented the personal computer and the microprocessor, and I remember being in a theater with him in 1972, watching the film Silent Running with Bruce Dern. It was my first inkling that while we thought AI was the answer to all our problems, it might be our downfall. Before most of the greenery on Earth became extinct due to our harmful environmental policies, plant specimens were sent into space in giant greenhouses, hoping to keep them alive until Earth became a more plant-friendly environment. When the "powers that be" decided to abandon the effort, Bruce Dern, one of the greenhouse pilots, disobeys orders in hopes of saving his forest. As the film ends, Dern is injured, and we see his last remaining robot, caring for the plants with Dern's old and battered watering can. As the credits rolled, my husband started crying and said, "What have we done?"
These are big and challenging questions, Brenda, and I agree with you. AI is only going to get better and better at this. And the next logical question would be: whose self-awareness is this? Is my self-awareness now outside of myself? This is when we become one with the AI, the stuff of sci-fi that's basically here.
I'm too afraid of AI. And I worry I've become redundant again. Aged out because I don't have the interest in it. I really love the connection writing brings with another human being but AI may take my place and that bums me out.
I don’t use AI at all. Seriously. It scares me. And the more I learn about it, the more scared I am. I really appreciate this piece. I couldn’t tell that the submission was AI generated by the way. It just read as bad writing…
You say you understand the impulse--I , for one, do not. Yes, writing is hard; in fact, it's hard as hell. That's exactly why I love it. I love doing my damndest to find the right word to express not only the thoughts in my head but also the very sensations in my body that arise from experiences, memories, observances, and just being alive. The only "enhancement" to my writing I seek is my own editing or that of a trusted human editor/fellow writer.
AI has its place and its uses, but it will never touch my writing.
I understand the impulse because I know so many writers who do it. I also find that the younger generation has absolutely zero compunction about the whole thing. It's already totally integrated into how they think about their writing. So if I want to continue to work with writers, and I do, I realize I'm going to have to meet them where they are. I think there's gradations here—that using it is happening, but I'm really trying to encourage my writers not to feed it their work ... But I'm with you. It will not touch my writing either.
Aside from writing my first book, a memoir, I write for a living in public relations and communications. I keep hearing how companies are phasing out these roles because they can execute on their own with AI. Sure, it might take me an hour or more to create a newsletter that Chat could spit out in 6 seconds, but I guarantee mine will sound more human, empathetic and real. But companies, clients and readers should demand that. I am hopeful... I believe enough of us will continue to have the expectation for humanness in the writing, art and design we consume. That's what makes those experiences more meaningful.
I loved reading this. Truly. Now I’m thinking Chat & Claude should go - write - side-by-side with two memoirist humans … sort of like a word wrestling match. Paragraph by paragraph. In any event, thank you, Brooke, for always being authentic and genuine and loving the irrefutable power of the word.
The AI clause in my contract has already soured a few stomachs. Transformative moments between author and reader won’t happen without the natural grit and experience. Lived this article!
I've been a professional writer for a truly ridiculous amount of time. For me, part of the fun (if you can call having your toes bashed with a hammer "fun") is working out the words. I used to write monologues for different characters and most of my writing has been in different voices. Writing a monologue as a stupid sexist man to writing a novel from the POV of an addled British aristocrat to a piece as an angry middle aged mother (none of which I am) are challenges I welcome. Several amateur writers I know use AI and I ask: how are you stretching your brain?
Thank you for this. I'm working on a manuscript evaluation, and I've been increasingly concerned that the MS was written by AI. I just checked using GPTZero and the results said the sample I tested was 35% written by AI and 65% mixed. I don't know whether to be angry--is the author using this MS evaluation as a test to see if someone can detect the use of AI? Or sad--I'm questioning whether I want to continue to work with writers if I have to worry about this now.
This is so hard and I feel your pain. I think it’s essential to find language to talk to writers about it but wow is it ubiquitous and it just got here!!!
Darn, just saw this so missed your Monday event. But I have to say, I don’t get the appeal of AI for writing. I write because I enjoy doing it — the last thing I want is for AI to do it for me.
It has always been true that with good timing and a willingness to barter one’s soul, you could probably get rich and a bit famous. And those who have labored honestly in pursuit of passion, regardless of outcome, will continue to come out the richer by all the measures that matter.
I don’t envy trying to discern between the two, and also trust that there will always be a felt distinction in our guts. My worry is that the majority of readers will continue to become less and less discerning, that McDonald’s will be adequate because it’s just so much cheaper and still hits all the right spots, sort of. And who can even remember what a home cooked farm to table meal of a book tastes like anymore?
May we continue to support the writers who painstakingly plant, harvest, and prepare thoughtful, meaning-rich pieces of art that deepen our thinking, spark our own creativity, and ruin us for fast-and-fake forever.
Thanks for this post, Brooke! I feel your pain. Teaching college students in 2025 has me swimming in a sea of dull, cliché-riddled, obviously-AI-written sentences. Not all of my students cave to the ease of generative AI, but if I'm being honest . . . and reading it en masse leaves my teacher-self feeling frustrated and helpless.
As someone who has worked for years to write well, I really appreciate this! Put in the time. Dig inside yourself. Love your own words. It's so satisfying!
How did that make you feel? How did it change you? Those are the insights we're looking for when we read memoir. AI scares me, and I've never used CGBT, but at some point, it will educate itself to become "more self-aware," and that's perhaps an even scarier proposition because AI is not human, so what is its self-awareness?
My first husband invented the personal computer and the microprocessor, and I remember being in a theater with him in 1972, watching the film Silent Running with Bruce Dern. It was my first inkling that while we thought AI was the answer to all our problems, it might be our downfall. Before most of the greenery on Earth became extinct due to our harmful environmental policies, plant specimens were sent into space in giant greenhouses, hoping to keep them alive until Earth became a more plant-friendly environment. When the "powers that be" decided to abandon the effort, Bruce Dern, one of the greenhouse pilots, disobeys orders in hopes of saving his forest. As the film ends, Dern is injured, and we see his last remaining robot, caring for the plants with Dern's old and battered watering can. As the credits rolled, my husband started crying and said, "What have we done?"
These are big and challenging questions, Brenda, and I agree with you. AI is only going to get better and better at this. And the next logical question would be: whose self-awareness is this? Is my self-awareness now outside of myself? This is when we become one with the AI, the stuff of sci-fi that's basically here.
I'm too afraid of AI. And I worry I've become redundant again. Aged out because I don't have the interest in it. I really love the connection writing brings with another human being but AI may take my place and that bums me out.
I don’t use AI at all. Seriously. It scares me. And the more I learn about it, the more scared I am. I really appreciate this piece. I couldn’t tell that the submission was AI generated by the way. It just read as bad writing…
You say you understand the impulse--I , for one, do not. Yes, writing is hard; in fact, it's hard as hell. That's exactly why I love it. I love doing my damndest to find the right word to express not only the thoughts in my head but also the very sensations in my body that arise from experiences, memories, observances, and just being alive. The only "enhancement" to my writing I seek is my own editing or that of a trusted human editor/fellow writer.
AI has its place and its uses, but it will never touch my writing.
I understand the impulse because I know so many writers who do it. I also find that the younger generation has absolutely zero compunction about the whole thing. It's already totally integrated into how they think about their writing. So if I want to continue to work with writers, and I do, I realize I'm going to have to meet them where they are. I think there's gradations here—that using it is happening, but I'm really trying to encourage my writers not to feed it their work ... But I'm with you. It will not touch my writing either.
People who use AI to generate writing that they claim as their own don't want to write, they want a byline.
Aside from writing my first book, a memoir, I write for a living in public relations and communications. I keep hearing how companies are phasing out these roles because they can execute on their own with AI. Sure, it might take me an hour or more to create a newsletter that Chat could spit out in 6 seconds, but I guarantee mine will sound more human, empathetic and real. But companies, clients and readers should demand that. I am hopeful... I believe enough of us will continue to have the expectation for humanness in the writing, art and design we consume. That's what makes those experiences more meaningful.
I hope there starts to be some sort of backlash around this, I really do.
Love this essay! (“post” doesn’t seem like a worthy enough word.)
Bravo, Brooke.
🍾
I loved reading this. Truly. Now I’m thinking Chat & Claude should go - write - side-by-side with two memoirist humans … sort of like a word wrestling match. Paragraph by paragraph. In any event, thank you, Brooke, for always being authentic and genuine and loving the irrefutable power of the word.
The AI clause in my contract has already soured a few stomachs. Transformative moments between author and reader won’t happen without the natural grit and experience. Lived this article!
Ugh. This AI stuff gives me a rash. Such a lazy shortcut to writing well.
But I loved the line from podcaster Scott: “Design is the salsa to the chip of AI.”
As we used to say back in high school, “She was all that and a bag of chips.” It wasn’t a compliment.
🤣 Love that saying.
I've been a professional writer for a truly ridiculous amount of time. For me, part of the fun (if you can call having your toes bashed with a hammer "fun") is working out the words. I used to write monologues for different characters and most of my writing has been in different voices. Writing a monologue as a stupid sexist man to writing a novel from the POV of an addled British aristocrat to a piece as an angry middle aged mother (none of which I am) are challenges I welcome. Several amateur writers I know use AI and I ask: how are you stretching your brain?
Boo AI. I don’t want to go down to the dungeon with AU for a few scraps of help. I want to put the time in to my writing; not AI’s. Great article!
Thank you for this. I'm working on a manuscript evaluation, and I've been increasingly concerned that the MS was written by AI. I just checked using GPTZero and the results said the sample I tested was 35% written by AI and 65% mixed. I don't know whether to be angry--is the author using this MS evaluation as a test to see if someone can detect the use of AI? Or sad--I'm questioning whether I want to continue to work with writers if I have to worry about this now.
This is so hard and I feel your pain. I think it’s essential to find language to talk to writers about it but wow is it ubiquitous and it just got here!!!
Darn, just saw this so missed your Monday event. But I have to say, I don’t get the appeal of AI for writing. I write because I enjoy doing it — the last thing I want is for AI to do it for me.
It has always been true that with good timing and a willingness to barter one’s soul, you could probably get rich and a bit famous. And those who have labored honestly in pursuit of passion, regardless of outcome, will continue to come out the richer by all the measures that matter.
I don’t envy trying to discern between the two, and also trust that there will always be a felt distinction in our guts. My worry is that the majority of readers will continue to become less and less discerning, that McDonald’s will be adequate because it’s just so much cheaper and still hits all the right spots, sort of. And who can even remember what a home cooked farm to table meal of a book tastes like anymore?
May we continue to support the writers who painstakingly plant, harvest, and prepare thoughtful, meaning-rich pieces of art that deepen our thinking, spark our own creativity, and ruin us for fast-and-fake forever.
Thanks for this post, Brooke! I feel your pain. Teaching college students in 2025 has me swimming in a sea of dull, cliché-riddled, obviously-AI-written sentences. Not all of my students cave to the ease of generative AI, but if I'm being honest . . . and reading it en masse leaves my teacher-self feeling frustrated and helpless.