AI is breaking my heart.
Because while people are speaking more, they’re saying less.
I love seeing people putting themselves out there, whether on LinkedIn or out there in the real world.
But we’re losing something important in the process.
More and more writing is starting to look and sound the same, whoever “writes” it.
It’s more fluent, but less meaningful.
It’s more expansive, but less expressive.
It’s more correct, but less insightful.
It’s more polished, but less interesting.
There are easy ways to spot AI’s likely fingerprints on someone’s writing, at least in a British English (or similar) context: Oxford commas, em dashes, emojis like 🌱, 🧠and ✅, and – depending on where you’re from – American spelling.
This isn’t always evidence of AI-generated content – some people like Joel Bailey just like using Oxford commas (weirdos 🙄😋). Nor is it a problem in itself, because – in the end – who cares about style when you’ve got great substance?
But that’s the problem – it feels like AI is diluting our substance. The word count is going up while the meaning is going down.
This blunts our message, as people must sift through ever more AI sand to find any nuggets of wisdom.
But worst of all, it bleaches away our personality – our stories and insights, unique perspectives and human imperfections are all disappearing as they’re blurred into a single shade of grey.
This is boring.
And heartbreaking.
Because I love reading people’s messy life stories, impresfections and all.
I love seeing people taking a risk and expressing themselves more, not less – when they make themselves bigger, not smaller.
Deep down, everybody does. Because humanity attracts humanity.
Vulnerability and relatability light up connection. While polished nothingness dims it.
And, for full transparency – we use AI a lot at Impact Society. It helps amplify our behind the scenes work and is a handy painkiller for the tasks we hate. And I personally use it for all sorts of weird and wonderful everyday stuff.
But, after some early experimentation with AI-generated content (where I quickly got bored with myself), I’ve found it best to avoid using it to express myself.
It’s great for poking holes in my work and can be handy for untangling foggy thinking. Or for punching out quick matter of fact commentary.
But when it comes to putting words in our mouths, it produces a very shitty photocopy of what we’re otherwise capable of.
And I’d much rather see someone’s unpolished, multicoloured true self than see them hide behind a polished wall of grey words.
So, next time you want to say something – to your team, a potential employer or any other human being, don’t just put another brick in the Pink Floydian wall of grey, lifeless content.
Put the AI away and do as Madonna says – express yourself.
Worry more about authenticity and less about polish.
The people that matter most will be grateful for it :).
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