The AI Police on Medium Are Busy
How I Use AI for Writing
Haven’t you noticed? It’s a true trend of closely monitoring one another to check if we are “authentic” writers. Both comments and stories are scanned by the AI police using various AI content detectors or their own common sense to check if they’re human.
They are not keen on “bots,” you see. And yeah, I bloody understand that.
I also fucking hate articles that are 100% AI-generated. Hell, I even mute and block authors who ‘write’ that way.
The articles simply lack feeling.
And we, humans, wish to be touched in some way or another. Whether it’s on an emotional level, an intellectual level, or in terms of entertainment — it doesn’t matter. We just want to FEEL something.
And that’s exactly where pure AI-generated content often falls short.
“But Wesley, I simply MUST ask you — do you use AI?”
The answer is YES, I bloody do indeed. I also do not need to beat around the bush about it. I am absolutely not some damn hypocrite who will proclaim to everyone that I ‘do not use AI’. For fuck’s sake, it’s 2023. Of course I use AI. But how? And for what?
Well, for lots of things, and I am not going to mention all of ’em. However, when it comes to writing, let me give it to you straight.
AI as a Translator
I am 100% Dutch, and English is not my native language.
- Yes, in the sober time I spent in school I picked up some English (yeah, I wasn’t always the monk I am today).
- Yes, all the video games I played taught me quite a bit of English.
- Yes, I have consumed a lot of English content, reading and watching.
- Yes, at my job we communicate more in English than in Dutch.
But that absolutely doesn’t mean I can speak ‘perfect’ English. In my opinion, I can speak English quite well, but I am definitely not familiar with the usual slogans or locally specific language usage.
Let me tell you: if I had to literally translate everything from Dutch to English, my message would not come across at all. In fact: it would not make any fucking sense.
We, Dutchies, simply speak differently.
I noticed this quickly when using Google Translate. It translates everything damn literally, and then you get a story that makes no sense at all.
The solution? AI. At least it knows what I mean. Is the content still human? Abso-fucking-lutely. AI just sometimes changes the words a bit to make it decently comprehensible, and, yeah, I’m quite happy with that.
But you know what the fucking downside is when I use speech-to-text to dump a bunch of Dutch babble onto my digital canvas and ask AI to translate the whole mess into correct English? It’s that in some cases, it’s seen as AI-generated content.
But does that mean it’s not me? Of course not. But what do you know? You’re not there when I’m writing, are you?
Leveraging AI for Clearer Communication
Sometimes I want to say something, but I have no idea how. That must sound familiar to you. We are only human, after all. Yes, I consult AI to help me get started.
When AI manages to articulate what I mean in a decent way, I’m like ‘Hey, thanks Mr. AI’. It saves me a lot of time and I learn from it.
AI has helped me tremendously many times in formulating things in a way that I want to convey to the reader, and for that, I am fucking grateful.
I find everyone’s feedback amazing, and I appreciate all of you, but learning? I don’t just do that by reading your pieces. I do it by writing a lot myself, both in my mother tongue and in English, and thanks to feedback from AI.
Letting AI Come Up with Titles
Do you think I come up with all those titles myself? Of course not. Oh, you do? Congratulations, good for you, mate. Here’s a digital pat on the back from me. Yes, I also use AI to come up with titles for my articles.
I dump all my blabber into my AI chat and ask it to think of 10 good titles for me. Why? 2 reasons:
- To learn from it.
- Because my brain is fried.
Do I do this for all my articles? No. Sometimes I get it right in my head straight away. Sometimes not. Who the fuck cares? Don’t stress about it, man.
This also applies to subheadings. Sometimes I feel like using subheadings, sometimes not. And sometimes I have no idea how to describe the respective subheading. Then I just ask Mr. AI.
Oh, does that make me lazy now? Can’t I think for myself anymore? Of course, I can.
Whether I still feel like it after a heavy workday in the IT world where my brain is already being wracked all day is another story. And hey, I also have two tiny humans running around here. Did you know they can deplete your energy faster than a smartphone running a dozen apps simultaneously?
Let Me Make Myself Clear Here
Everything you read from me is ME. All experiences are real, and all stories are real. Can it sometimes seem like it’s NOT me? Probably. But I want to let you know something: even pieces that I’ve written 100% myself and had scanned by AI detectors came out as AI, or partially AI.
And no matter how good that technology may be nowadays — if you REALLY WANT — there are always ways to bypass it. Should you want to? That’s up to you.
I love writing. It’s therapeutic for me, and those who have been following me for a while know that. I’ve also been writing for quite some time (about 15 years). However, the majority of it has been in my native language, which is useless to me here on Medium.
I had a Dutch account for a while, but I deleted it. For a long time, I watched how often my articles were read, and I don’t need to make you guess. The numbers I saw were mostly from the few people to whom I had sent the respective article. Yippee-ki-yay. Fuck that.
I want to reach people.
It’s also true that thanks to AI, I’m learning EVEN better English. I think many non-native English speakers would agree with me on this. And if not, no worries. We don’t have to agree on everything.
One Last Thing (This Might Hurt)
I too find it important that articles come across as human. But what I find even more important is helping someone else. Providing value. Even if your article is written by AI but offers great value and feels human? Well done, buddy. Enjoyed your article. You’ve put it together well, or maybe AI did. Did you help someone? Kudos! Fucking proud of you, mate.
Do you really think I’m going to call the AI police to see if it’s ‘really’ human? Get lost, man.
You know what? I don’t give a damn what you do. What interests me is reading and writing good shit that moves me and others— thanks to AI or human — doesn’t bother me.
Those interactions between us and the connections we build here? Those interest me. But you know what? I’d be LYING if I said I ‘love’ everything I read from everyone.
And hey, shall I be even more honest? Promise you’ll be too? Good. Now, no bullshit.
Why do you respond to my articles? Yep, some of you are genuinely interested in what I have to say. But there are also plenty of you who read my content for one simple reason: and that’s for me to respond back to your content — even if it doesn’t interest you at all and neither does it interest me.
Yes, with some of you, I have built a certain bond, and I am damn grateful for that. I genuinely navigate through the rocky landscape of Medium to your articles to see if you have written anything new. Hell, I’ve even come to love some of you, and miss you when I haven’t been able to be on Medium due to a fucking busy life.
But indeed, there’s definitely content from some of you that interests me as much as it interests you — not a flying fuck. Oh, why still read and respond then? Pure engagement strategy.
We don’t need to beat around the bush here, do we? If we respond to each other’s content, in some cases it attracts new readers, and we even get paid for it. Win-fucking-win, right?
Do I use AI for that? Hell fucking yeah. My brain can’t process some — in my opinion — nonsense from some writers here, but hey, still want to play the game. Don’t be a hypocrite, alright? It’s okay to be honest. Sometimes it’s just business. The more people who come to read my shit, the more I have the idea I can help or touch a soul.
Ah, what a relief to have written this. Completely human. Maybe I won’t make friends with this. Did I hurt your ego? Please un-fucking-follow me. Are you genuinely interested in my content? Stay with me. Do you love unfiltered honesty? Then definitely stay with me. Anyone who has been following me for a while knows that I’m not about bullshit.
I can just tell you one thing: what you read from me, is what really keeps me busy, is what I think about, is what I go through, is ME.
So, I wish you a lot of fun with writing, reading, interacting, learning, and playing around. Whatever you do, nail it. And yeah, if you see some robotic nonsense that’s 100% clearly AI-generated — no human feeling at all — I understand it pissed you off. But then just stop consuming it and focus on what truly matters: your own damn writing.
