“AI wrote this”...it’s madness! ... [🐝U]

There’s been a disturbing trend lately … more disturbing than these arctic temperatures I’ve been battling while I wait for heat to find its way onto the property.

Earlier this week someone posted a list of phrases that “give away” content written by AI.
I stared at my screen thinking … seriously?!

There’s a lot of people pointing fingers & screaming ‘AI wrote this!’
The list of what gets accused seems to grow longer every day

& I’m not the only 1 getting irked about it

 The AI-Writing Witch Hunt

What drives me bonkers?
People telling me I can’t use a word, a phrase, or punctuation because it “screams AI”

It started with the em dash …

Really?
A single piece of punctuation?

We’ve reached the point where normal, everyday writing triggers an AI Witch Hunt

Ann Handley’s LinkedIn post is 1of many calling out the ridiculous trend of people claiming the em dash is an “AI tell”

Seriously?!

The em dash has been around over 400 years … long before the punctuation police was out there investigating like CSI: Grammar Unit

Ann’s bigger message:
Punctuation isn’t a rulebook.
It’s a rhythm tool.
Your wingman.
It’s what makes writing feel alive, human, and unmistakably yours.

It lets you write in a way that expresses how you talk

So instead of being afraid of “sounding like AI,” she’s rallying writers to reclaim their voice — em dash & all
(with the print-on-demand merch to declare your grammatical affiliation)

If I could ever get access in Canada without needing a mortgage to cover tarrifs, customs, & shipping, put me down for a baseball cap!

Then there’s the ever-growing list of phrases that “scream AI”
Louis Butterfield’s LinkedIn Post is what “set me off” this week … the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

I responded … though admittedly what I posted isn’t what initially flew out of my fingers (or my mouth) 😉

It’s wild because both Ann & Louis are marketers.

Yet one protects & the other fuels speculation.

Here’s a question for you …

When did common writing become a crime?

The internet didn’t invent language.
& AI didn’t invent the way we write.

We’re nurturing a flock of sheep afraid to use the tools of our own voice … the punctuation, rhythm, phrasing authentically us.

We’re surrendering our humanity, our voice, to a flawed “learning” system.

If platforms like chat and perplexity are learning platforms, then all these words & phrases & punctuation came from somewhere before AI’s time.

Right?

Fear Sells …More than Clarity (apparently)

There’s the fear-mongering articles…

 AI is taking away your job like:
“One day I overheard my boss saying: just put it in ChatGPT”

& it’s regularly accused of stealing your content & ideas
“ChatGPT is not ‘Artificial Intelligence.’ It’s Theft.”

“How to protect your content from ChatGPT (7 top tactics)”

There are thousands of articles, videos, social media posts like this everywhere you look.
We’re at a tipping point where there seems to be more bad than good.

People aren’t actually afraid of AI … not in the Terminator SkyNet way.

The real reason people panic about AI

My take on all this nonsense …

Businesses are always looking for ways to improve their bottom line, cut costs, etc.
& people are afraid of becoming irrelevant.

That’s why some companies are so weary of AI they have a no-AI policy.
& others get rid of people in favor of AI

Uhm … WHAT?!

In my cold Canadian 2 cents opinion … the marketers are the problem
& while some want to educate, there are more just siding with the court of public opinion … even if they should know better.

I don’t know.
I don’t get it.

OK, yes, if we hear something enough our brain tends to think it’s true … just like hearing about a person or product (good or bad) can create artifical trust.

But it’s not like ChatGPT was our first taste of AI

We’ve been using AI for years

You know the spell checker in your word document?

It’s AI.

The “editor” feature in Word & the Hemmingway app, or even Grammarly & Pro Writing AI didn’t eliminate the need for an actual human editor or proofreader.

If anything, there’s probably more of a need now than before swooped in to save the day.

Because when people obsess over “AI tells”, they stop focusing on the thing that actually matters … their own voice.

Lose your voice & you lose the only competitive advantage you own.

What AI really is

Thanks to James Cameron and his Terminator series, people think the machines are going to take over … their jobs & the world.

But I think it’s a long way from being self-aware.

AI is a “learning machine” … it uses our input and parrots back different combinations of things.

The thumbs up & down we give it’s how it “decides” what it should keep using.

Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?

Just like the he problem is a thumbs up by a Pulitzer Prize winning author carries the same weight as a 5 year old.

It doesn’t see the difference.

So when you have the vast majority or inexperienced (& untrained) writers, marketers, thinkers … it’s going to “sound good” but it won’t be as effective.

Instead of companies banning the use of AI outright, they should keep it out of the hands of inexperienced people

The problem isn’t AI … it’s people outsourcing their thinking

I see AI as my helper, not my replacement.

Where AI goes wrong (almost as much as people)

I was in a program once that broke people out into accountability groups to help work through the material … 1 person in that group was paying for 12 different AI platforms. 

12!

She was also paying thousands of dollars a year to learn copywriting & marketing.
But when it came down to doing the work, she just slapped together a prompt for AI & waited to see what it’d spit out.

Another person in that same group was working on a headline.
& she had the start of a unique idea. 
Then she asked AI to “help” her & it completely stripped away all its originality

But it “sounded” good.

This is what I think really impacts business decisions.
It’s not the tech, but the way people use it to avoid doing the actual work.

I call it “cotton candy content “ …
It looks like there’s a lot of good stuff there
& it’s pretty
But when you try to take a bite … POOF … it disintegrates.

It’s all fluff & no substance.

& you know who pays the price?
your clients, readers, & people trying to make decisions on things they need help with

How I actually use AI

Don’t get me wrong …
I’m not against using AI.
I actually use it to some extent daily.

It even helps me with every newsletter.

“Helps” is the key word.

You give me the questions & challenges that make up the content …
& sometimes my own real life comes into play too

→ Marcus Sheridan’s HumanizeGPT (you have access for free in ChatGPT)
→ Hemingway Editor (it’s free online but I’ve paid the lifetime fee of a whopping $19.99 to use it offline)

But the words … the stories … the tips … the sometimes disruptive (& unsubscribe-inducing comments) … those are all mine …

I don’t blindly copy/paste/publish

Most times I don’t even use what it suggests
But it does give my brain a nudge to think of other things I can use.

People using AI right

It’s not all bad … there are some bucking the trend to show the benefits that actually impact your speed & effectiveness

The truth is AI can be a massive help… when you actually understand what you’re doing with it.
& there are people doing some amazing things

Ian Stanley – a very successful email marketer & copywriter, is in the middle of a test with his audience of people who have paid to learn from him. He’s sending out daily email & polling readers to see if they can tell the difference between him & his own AI

So far, his followers have been 70% correct.

Brian Kurtz & Chris Mason have incorporated AI into their Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp to HELP research and understand our potential clients … what they struggle with, where they’re at in their journey, & how our competition talks to them.

& that’s why I’m excited about something happening this week

My friend Dr Theresa (who inspired the Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp) is hosting a summit next week focused on busting all the fear-based & chaos-filled myths surrounding AI with an amazing group of people … several of whom I’ve known for years (& some I’ve worked with)

A few subscribe to this newsletter

What I love about this is it isn’t just a bunch of speakers talking at you & flexing their expertise.

There’s an opportunity to interact, ask questions, try things.

You get to learn & do … then you can take that and share it on social media in a way that makes sense for your target audience.

“learn 1, do 1, teach 1” keeps you from “learning it all” before actually doing something.

Starting on Nov 18, there’s an Anti-AI summit… as in anti all the BS & scare tactics

You don’t need 12 tools …you need the right 1

You don’t need to know about all the latest & greatest trendy platforms.
& you don’t need to be paying for a dozen different ones.

You want to know what tool you need to do the job
& you need to understand how to use it.

If you want AI to feel like a tool you own instead of a monster you’re battling, this is going to give you clarity & confidence.

That’s a much better place to build your business from, isn’t it?

Power tools are incredibly fast & efficient at building things.
But if you don’t know how to use them, the only thing you might accomplish is cutting off a finger or driving a nail into your leg.

The Summit’s like basic safety training you should’ve received before touching AI.

No losing sleep over AI stealing your business

So to wrap up my AI rant…

AI isn’t the enemy — misusing it & listening to armchair quaterbacks is.
& this summit helps you use it responsibly & effectively without losing your voice.

Go ahead … Use the em dash IF it makes sense.

Don’t change how you talk – or write – just because of other people’s opinions.

Think about it … you’re here, reading this, because you see at least some sort of value in it.
& I’ve admitted before to using AI-based platforms to help me (not do it for me)

I refuse to hand over my voice to a committee of strangers (who don’t know Jack about writing) on the internet.

The way I speak in conversations is going to come through in my writing (at least when I write for myself) …

Do you think less of me because of it?
Has the content of my emails lost merit?

 If yes, it’s OK, unsubscribe.
I’ll let you know how many people unsubscribe because of this declaration.

AI confidence (without the chaos)

Seriously though …
If you want to feel confident using AI without losing your voice, without sounding like everyone else, and without spending money on 12 different tools… register here

The fun start on the 18^th .
I’m excited to hear from friends like Donovan & Dr. Theresa & Gabe.
& I’m planning on attending soaking in the live workshops like a sponge

the no-so-fine print…

Yes, there’s a VIP option after you register.
Yes, it’s ½ off if you access it before the Summit starts. ($49 vs & $97)

& yes, it gives you all the replays & speaker bonuses

But this one does something different. 
VIP access enters you to win access to the Marketing RX Academy ($1497)

It rewards you with bonus entries for each replay you watch.
(Most don’t care what you do after they get your $$)

& because the goal is to learn & do … not just waste more time & not benefit …

You also get a bonus VIP strategy session with Dr Theresa to map things out so you use what you learned about to create momentum instead of just learning & not doing.

Remember that while AI is a powerful tool…

A human who thinks, questions, and chooses their own words?
Unbeatable. 

Make it a great “humanized“ week!
EG

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