I wake up every morning thinking about writing. What will I share with my readers today?
There are always questions and now with AI I’m hearing a new question. Not whether a piece is worthwhile, but whether AI helped produce it. Is that really the right question.
I’m not enthusiastic about the idea of AI detectors.
Over the years I’ve found many writers on Substack whose work kept me reading to the very last line. I’ve also found writers whose work didn’t hold my interest beyond the first paragraph.
I have no idea whether either group used AI in any way, and honestly, it’s never mattered to me.
What matters is whether the writing is thoughtful, engaging, accurate, and worth my time.
I can’t help wondering if AI detection is the right road to travel. Today a reader can click to see whether a detector thinks AI may have been involved. What comes next?
Will people begin dismissing good writing because of a label? Will platforms eventually reduce the visibility of posts that receive a certain score? Is that already happening?
I’ve been writing for more than fifty years and have spent nearly three years writing on Substack. Throughout that time I’ve almost always relied on editing of one kind or another. Sometimes it was a trusted friend. Sometimes Barbara. Later it was Grammarly or ProWritingAid. Today I often ask ChatGPT to review my work.
None of those tools writes my experiences, my opinions, or my stories.
They simply help me express them more clearly.
It’s unfortunate some writers now avoid good punctuation, certain words, or even natural writing patterns because they’re afraid an AI detector might flag them. I’ve caught myself avoiding the em dash simply because of that concern.
That seems like a step backward.
I’d much rather judge writing the old-fashioned way.
Read it.
Think about it.
Then decide if it was worth your time.
I prefer to have readers decide if writing is worthwhile instead of having software find it suspicious.
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