Why I don't use AI to write this blog

Unless tagged as "AI Generated", no Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to write these blog articles. Well, no generative AI that is. I do use search engines to find quotes or sources. That's certainly using AI, but not the kind that most folks think of when hearing AI in the context of writing, these days. I don't use generative AI to write these articles because I don't believe it will help my goals. I write these articles to document and share my thoughts with others. I also write to think through topics I been thinking about. AI cannot read my thoughts nor can it help me think through topics by generating articles.

Writing is a tool for thinking deeply

I spent a lot of my career in software writing. Amazon is known for the writing and in particular the PRFAQ. These very real documents are part of the working backwards process at Amazon and are used as a way to formulate a new business idea, socialize it with others, and think through the multi-year process that building a new business entails. Starting from the end goal is an effective way to ensure you reach the right result and think through what it might take to get there. These documents force the writers (they are rarely written by a single person, but usually led by a product manager) to write a press release (PR) for the finished product/service, then answer common questions about it (FAQ) as it is socialized to other stakeholders and leadership. In addition to these documents, I've written countless technical documents like architecture documents, security documents, and technical blog posts. Each of these has helped me to think through novel problems or learn a topic more deeply so I felt comfortable actually writing and teaching others about it. Behind each technical document/blog I write now and in the past is a handful of projects, some spanning years, that helped me to learn.

Writing is a powerful tool to think through problems, solutions, business ideas, etc and to communicate these to others. As you get feedback on writing, it helps you to be a better communicator. Committing ideas to words that are then shared forces you to develop those ideas making them more tangible.

Writing is a way to share

My blog is young, but maybe one day I will have the experience some of my past coworkers have had: searching for an idea/solution and finding your own written article about it 😂. I admire those that share their work and I am looking forward to doing this more. Sharing is caring and I want to pass along my experiences to others who can benefit from them. I truly feel it is the least I can do given all the great mentorship I have experienced over the years. Since I am a multifaceted human with different types of experiences to share, I have structured this blog into 3 main pillars, each of which I am certain there are mutually exclusive audiences for: Tech & Software Development, Cooking & Recipes, and Magic: The Gathering. My mailing list signup is set up the same way. Truly, I am honored if you choose to read any number of these (and more so if you sign up to know when I post!).

Sharing also gives the opportunity for feedback which helps me to grow as a person and in my ideas. For now, my feedback mechanisms are through the LinkedIn posts I share or through my contact page. Not sure I want to add mechanisms to this site as it would change what kinds of data I end up collecting on this site which comes with it's own various challenges including various laws that are in flux across the world. Either way, I also grow through clarifying my thoughts to the point they can be distilled down and written, improving my communication skills.

Writing is a way to distill down a set of experiences and share it with others. While reading is no substitute for hands-on experiences, I hope to help others understand the different topics I write about and inspire you to try something new! Maybe I could still do that with AI assisted help, but it would make it less authentic to my own thoughts and experience.

I like writing

The other reason I write is because I like to do it. If you told grade school me that I would choose to write given the opportunity to do anything else, I would literally not believe you. Historically, I disliked writing and treated it just as a thing I had to do in school to pass. But, as I have done it more, I feel the benefits of it. Between helping to organize my thoughts before embarking on a big project or as a way to share my knowledge and experiences, writing is useful and kind of fun! Especially when writing these articles where there is no pressure to achieve specific goals (outside of regularly doing it). I likely won't even publish everything written here in my drafts folder of this blog; only if I think there is some value in others reading it.

AI can't do this

If I were to use generative AI to write these blogs, it would deprive me of the joy of writing them, the benefits of thinking deeply about a topic, and I would not be sharing my own authentic experiences. Generative AI is great, but it lacks the authenticity of human experience. Rest assured, no AI will be used in writing here (unless noted), and that this is an authentic representation of my writing and experience, for better or worse! Thank you for reading this and anything else you may have read here. 😁