AI can be a useful timesaver, or lose you readers--make sure that you're keeping the people in your process.
Tag: context is key
Please Don’t Ask AI to Write -For- You
I could create a whole gallery of worst-case user failures, including my favorite new one from academia-- But we don't need to review a whole collection to recognize that most of the blatantly obvious, groan-inducing AI failures are really a failure to adequately learn appropriate uses for a new tool set. As always, let me … Continue reading Please Don’t Ask AI to Write -For- You
Let’s Be Less nice in the Workplace
Hang on, hang on. Stick with me. I'm not advocating for rudeness, meanness, or disrespect. But I think the emphasis on nice (over, say, kind or clear) can get in the way of effective communication--and reinforce some pretty awful power systems in the process. For instance, one of my current clients has explicitly asked me … Continue reading Let’s Be Less nice in the Workplace
Bot Bloviation
I have a friend: I may have once called him a robot bootlicker, but here let's call him Bob. It's not uncommon for other friends to mention AI near Bob and I...and then bust out popcorn. I want to tell you a story about Bob's failure to produce an AI story. Bob is a member … Continue reading Bot Bloviation
The forever undead five-paragraph essay
Close your eyes. Picture one of your middle school English teachers handing you a sheet of paper to prepare for an upcoming essay. It has a series of fill-in-the-blank lines that you've seen before, adding up to a series of five short paragraphs. With me? Cool. Now let's crumple that handout, throw it in a … Continue reading The forever undead five-paragraph essay
Is The AI Assisting?
The short answer: sometimes. AI can certainly streamline our generative creativity, and help us move on our ideas faster and with less executive function expense. But...it can't replace us just yet. Take, for instance, the new built-in AI feature for WordPress sites like this one--which I noticed while moving through the final posting checklist on … Continue reading Is The AI Assisting?
Rule of Thumb
Look, if I'm going to use this tag to collect this series, it makes sense to take a look at the origin of this phrase. It's a favorite for highlighting the risks of defaulting to inherited grammar rules without understanding how they've been set in the first place or whether the story you're told has … Continue reading Rule of Thumb
Let’s Know better: Articulate
This week, a man called me "the articulate one"; I was the only woman currently in the room and had spent the last hour pushing back on the wild assumptions of older white men. I don't embody the social strata markers most affected by this term, so I don't suspect it came laden with the … Continue reading Let’s Know better: Articulate
When to Break the Rules
Most of the time, I actively work against my impulse to correct every language mistake I see in public because I don't work for free Most English grammar rules are contextual at best And rooted in oppressive power structures at worst It's just really annoying and usually not welcome enough to be helpful I am … Continue reading When to Break the Rules
Something Polished 