Great read Camilo! This sentence stuck out to me: "we have the world in our hands, but we’ve lost our ability to define it." One corollary example that that comes to mind is google maps. It's incredibly helpful but I feel using it too much makes the world lower in resolution. It takes me where I need to go but at the cost of my ability to understand and navigate my surroundings
That's a fair point! I do think it makes us poorer in spatial awareness. Admittedly, I think I would be dead were it not for Google Maps haha, but your point still stands. Thanks for reading!
Nice reflections. For me, one rule about using AI in my writing is I try to never use it to fill a blank page. I want to maintain the ability to stare at the blank page and fill it with something. It scares me when I hear about using AI to write the first draft.
Another related concern is we become worse readers when we read crap... we get used to crap, we lose the ability to discern crap from something good... ?
I like that approach, Matthew! "Never use it to fill a blank page." Spot on.
And yes, you bring up something that I didn't think really write about in this piece, but you are right: over-reliance on AI writing will impact our discernment as readers.
…writing is thinking…thinking is thought…thought is knowledge…knowledge is power…and a.i. is a facsimile tool assuming i am too lazy to know better…oh what we lose when we lose ourselves…the cool thing about noticing a.i. writing is i immediately know who not to read…great read man…
Great read!! I appreciate the concerns but to me it’s like we are just learning how to use something new. We will be able to write deeper more interesting stories and but we I mean the whole humanity. If you think about it, LLMs is collective writing.
I see your point. And I think you will see amazing writing where a writer partnered with AI. However, my observation is that who really leverage AI to augment their skills tend to be domain experts already…they know what they need AI to do for them.
My broader point is that, on average, people will write less because it will seem inconvenient, and therefore, they will not achieve the level of domain expertise needed to use AI for writing constructively. Automation tends to make us lazy—that is neither good or bad. But in this case, outsourcing writing to the degree people will continue to do will have bad long-term consequences. But I hope I’m wrong.
I agree people will write less, only people will real interest in writing will write and maybe thats how it should be. "Democratization" of writing and many other thing has lowered the quality.
I share your sentiment of being able to distinguish good from bad writing I don't agree the metric is just if its done with AI. Although a lot of the people using AI will produce but writing. So maybe its an initial metric hahaha
Love this Camilo! It’s truly scary to see the delta between my thoughts on a subject before and after I write about it.
On sensing AI in writing this piece has haunted me - it’s like seeing the soul of the uncanny valley when it’s in writing which for some is so much more chilling to me than in visuals:
So many similar sentiments have been bouncing around my head and I have made several unsuccessful attempts at communicating them, which is to say that I know this can't have been easy to write. You have successfully and eloquently raised the alarm with just the right balance of sanity, good humor, and precision and verified the value of your argument that human writing and good thinking matters. Huge thanks to you for writing this.
Automation / outsourcing of manual tasks is great. But you can't outsource thought. And in a world where the marginal cost of information production is trending to zero, critical thinking and consequently writing thoughtfully, becomes scarce.
Writing is thinking and thinking is writing. There is a virtuous loop between the two.
"And in a world where the marginal cost of information production is trending to zero, critical thinking and consequently writing thoughtfully, becomes scarce."
Camilo - loved seeing you in my inbox this morning!
You piece, critically thought and persuasively written, reminds me that shortcuts often take us further away from destinations we seek, or destinations that are beneficial to us.
This is so essential: “Write and ask yourself often, “what am I trying to say?” You may not arrive at an answer, but you’ll never regret asking the question.”
Great read Camilo! This sentence stuck out to me: "we have the world in our hands, but we’ve lost our ability to define it." One corollary example that that comes to mind is google maps. It's incredibly helpful but I feel using it too much makes the world lower in resolution. It takes me where I need to go but at the cost of my ability to understand and navigate my surroundings
That's a fair point! I do think it makes us poorer in spatial awareness. Admittedly, I think I would be dead were it not for Google Maps haha, but your point still stands. Thanks for reading!
Nice reflections. For me, one rule about using AI in my writing is I try to never use it to fill a blank page. I want to maintain the ability to stare at the blank page and fill it with something. It scares me when I hear about using AI to write the first draft.
Another related concern is we become worse readers when we read crap... we get used to crap, we lose the ability to discern crap from something good... ?
Thanks!
I like that approach, Matthew! "Never use it to fill a blank page." Spot on.
And yes, you bring up something that I didn't think really write about in this piece, but you are right: over-reliance on AI writing will impact our discernment as readers.
Thanks for reading!
…writing is thinking…thinking is thought…thought is knowledge…knowledge is power…and a.i. is a facsimile tool assuming i am too lazy to know better…oh what we lose when we lose ourselves…the cool thing about noticing a.i. writing is i immediately know who not to read…great read man…
Thank you brother! I read your comment while imagining you in the Oscar the Grouch costume 😅
…always read me as oscar ;)…
Great read!! I appreciate the concerns but to me it’s like we are just learning how to use something new. We will be able to write deeper more interesting stories and but we I mean the whole humanity. If you think about it, LLMs is collective writing.
Fun fact I learn from one of this bots. Socrates was concerned about writing. Raising similar arguments to yours https://www.perplexity.ai/search/can-you-fact-check-if-socrates-Px7l2Db8T7yW4TJYsVVwbA
I see your point. And I think you will see amazing writing where a writer partnered with AI. However, my observation is that who really leverage AI to augment their skills tend to be domain experts already…they know what they need AI to do for them.
My broader point is that, on average, people will write less because it will seem inconvenient, and therefore, they will not achieve the level of domain expertise needed to use AI for writing constructively. Automation tends to make us lazy—that is neither good or bad. But in this case, outsourcing writing to the degree people will continue to do will have bad long-term consequences. But I hope I’m wrong.
I agree people will write less, only people will real interest in writing will write and maybe thats how it should be. "Democratization" of writing and many other thing has lowered the quality.
I share your sentiment of being able to distinguish good from bad writing I don't agree the metric is just if its done with AI. Although a lot of the people using AI will produce but writing. So maybe its an initial metric hahaha
Love this Camilo! It’s truly scary to see the delta between my thoughts on a subject before and after I write about it.
On sensing AI in writing this piece has haunted me - it’s like seeing the soul of the uncanny valley when it’s in writing which for some is so much more chilling to me than in visuals:
https://open.substack.com/pub/askpolly/p/our-farmboy-son-wants-to-marry-his?r=1orcn&utm_medium=ios
Thank you, friend! Adding the essay you shared to my reading list.
So many similar sentiments have been bouncing around my head and I have made several unsuccessful attempts at communicating them, which is to say that I know this can't have been easy to write. You have successfully and eloquently raised the alarm with just the right balance of sanity, good humor, and precision and verified the value of your argument that human writing and good thinking matters. Huge thanks to you for writing this.
Thank you, Rick! The way you create stories is the best example of why human writing matters. That is among the best evidence I can find.
Totally agree.
Automation / outsourcing of manual tasks is great. But you can't outsource thought. And in a world where the marginal cost of information production is trending to zero, critical thinking and consequently writing thoughtfully, becomes scarce.
Writing is thinking and thinking is writing. There is a virtuous loop between the two.
"And in a world where the marginal cost of information production is trending to zero, critical thinking and consequently writing thoughtfully, becomes scarce."
Ooof well said.
Camilo - loved seeing you in my inbox this morning!
You piece, critically thought and persuasively written, reminds me that shortcuts often take us further away from destinations we seek, or destinations that are beneficial to us.
This is so essential: “Write and ask yourself often, “what am I trying to say?” You may not arrive at an answer, but you’ll never regret asking the question.”
Thank you, James! Trying to get back on the saddle.
Exactly, shortcuts are not always positive, but it is so easy to fall for them.
Appreciate your comment!
“Not everyone needs to be a writer, but everyone should write.” Agreed, Camilo. Important ideas here.