As Soon As You See It, Don’t Look Any Farther

Too many AI writers and posts are being read; yeah, I’m guilty too

Just this morning, I received a comment from a new writer who confessed to writing all her initial posts with AI and has since abandoned that option. I applauded her for that. Thanks, Aurõra. This is her story.

And of all things, you will see in her post the mention of another writer encouraging the use of AI for “most of the text.”

I have since “called out” that writer. We shall see if he steps up.

Here is what chaffs me about this issue.

For whatever reason, many of us are being sucked into reading work that we openly condemn. Why is that? Are we too trusting?

As I mentioned above, I was “caught” reading a prominent purveyor of AI after seeing a fellow writer's discovery; it became more evident. Gracias, Victor Cardenas.

What’s disappointing and embarrassing about that is asking the culprit numerous times, privately, if they were using AI. No response.

But yet, feeling some empathy for the writer's situation regarding other things, I continued to support him. My bad.

That is a dead giveaway. Why am I so sure about that?

Do you remember when you were a kid, and your parents asked you if you were doing something or did something you weren't supposed to?

There were typically only two responses you could give. Yes or no.

If you were guilty and you said no or nothing. You may or may not been left alone.

If you answered yes because you were guilty, you took your lumps. Fess up, take your punishment, and learn from it.

Life lesson. Right? Honesty pays in the long run. Being dishonest does not.

But what I see here on Medium and often elsewhere is many don’t want to come clean, honest, and above board.

This is what we are facing in addition to the product itself.

The users are abusers and, not unlike drug use, would rather not admit it.

The last I heard, Medium still requires that if you use AI, you should disclaim it. Front of the post, not at the tail end after those unsuspecting readers have gifted you a read.

How many of you have seen one of these disclaimers lately?

Yeah, I know, it was a rhetorical question.

Here is what I suggest you do. And if you do this, many “writers” here will lose reads.

Before reading a post from anyone you don’t know, please hop over to their site, step beyond their pinned posts, glance at the first paragraph of the latest two or three posts, and look for the usual suspect words.

This will take you the same amount of time you would have spent reading their post.

You know the words tapestry, retrospective, transformative, interconnectedness, etc.

My old rule of thumb about writing or commenting. If you wouldn’t use the words having a casual conversation with me, then why are you using them in your text?

Yesterday, sadly, I wrote and published yet another post about AI. I would much rather write about much more fun things than this putrid subject.

But here I am again, feeling the need to stand up and point out what many of us are doing, intentionally or unknowingly.

Letting crooks, scallawags, and those being opportunistic reach into our pockets and take whatever is there.

Yes, that is what we do when we read those using AI.

Please stop this practice. It will only expedite any doom that may befall us because Medium can’t or won’t police it, and we become too unwilling to deal with it.

Hey Tony, we need some help out here!

Years ago, a former president's wife initiated a campaign that said, “Say No to Drugs.”

Fellow HI writers here adopt a variation of that and say, “No to AI.”

Gracias por leer.

Here you go, DR Rawson - The Possibilist, throw this one in the pile.

A human, not an AI text generator, wrote this story. That’s enough said.