My Take

Artificial Intelligence, also referred to as AI, is not and should not be here to do everything for us. AI is a great aid to help us get past writer's block, come up with an image when we can't find the right one of our own. AI image generation is a great alternative to stock photography, but not a replacement. AI writing engines absolutely should not be used to write blog posts verbatim. Both of these tools should be used sparingly and to aid in the creation of content.

I'm lucky enough to talk to some founders who are using AI to help out business. From curating content to helping find the right image, these founders are aiming to help our work lives be easier — not replace us.

In the coming months, I hope to be allowed by these founders to highlight them in this newsletter and talk about them in more detail, but for now, I can tell you I'm very excited for what AI can deliver and HELP us with.

Google in late-August early-September put out the Helpful Content Update, this took aim at bad content and rewarded quality content. Nothing an AI writer can write on its own is going to be excellent. It will take massaging and human input and definitely some rewriting. So, beware of these services that claim that their AI will do everything for you in the writing process with minimal work on your part.

Technology Journalist and Pundit, Mike Elgan on last Wednesday's This Week in Google podcast shared his fear of these copy writing AI bots. He fears that if humans don't write and express themselves through writing that the skill of writing will atrophy and that would be a very bad thing. The whole episode is a good one (coming in at just over 2 hours). But Mike has a point, writing is a skill that needs to be used or it will be lost.

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know your thoughts!

Here's a bonus treat. AI took 20 pictures of me and made me a bobblehead

Web Finds

• Why Silicon Valley Didn’t Anticipate The Covid Comedown
  I think part of the recent purging of employees from big name big tech companies is partly due Covid, but I think it's more that the second internet bubble has burst. What do you think?
• My ongoing curation of resources on how to get the most out of the Fediverse and Mastodon
  Yes, this is a shameless plug, but I've been working hard curating content about the Fediverse and Mastodon to help people get a handle on how it all works. Check it out and send me resources to add if you find them.
• Tom Willmot on the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Enterprise WordPress — Post Status Draft 130
  Grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit down for a great conversation about how WordPress is fairing in the enterprise world. A must listen.
• I was the guest on a wonderful podcast called GoalcastLive.
  I was with three others including the host, Debra Eckerling. We talked about endurance when being an entrepreneur and in business.
• It's ok to feel sad about Twitter
  A great Substack newsletter by Ryan Broderick called Garbage Day. I've highlighted it before in this newsletter. In his opening monologue Ryan gives us permission to mourn the loss of Twitter. I have to admit, the way Twitter is going, I do feel sad. It's strange, but I've been in the community since 2007 and made some great friends through the service. It's sad to see it go this direction."
• Some thoughts on Mastodon
  He has an interesting take.
• Meta Releases ‘Galactica’ AI System Which Can Produce Academic Papers Based on Simple Prompts
  I'm struggling to see why this is beneficial. Academic papers are very much based on the knowledge of the scholar who is writing them. Doesn't having AI do them defeat the purpose?
• Twitter on Shaky Ground as More Staff Exit the App, Reducing the Platform to a Skeleton Crew
  More Twitter saga.
• 32 Predictions for Social Media Marketing in 2023
  I love to hate these prediction posts. But these highlights something I discussed above — AI. Not surprised.
• Amazon is gutting its voice-assistant Alexa. Employees describe a division in crisis and huge losses on 'a wasted opportunity.'
  The tech bubble has burst and we're seeing the casualties in real time. It is a wasted opportunity, but at an operating loss of as much as that, I really don't blame Amazon for pulling back.
• Elizabeth Holmes Is Sentenced to More Than 11 Years for Fraud
  There is a lesson here, don't defraud investors and expect to get away with it. Another casualty of the overblow tech bubble 2.0.

Newsletter Of Note

Casey Newton, formerly of the tech news publication The Verge, now writes for himself at Platformer. This Substack-powered newsletter is a premium ($5/mo) newsletter that is worth the hype. Casey gets insider knowledge from the tech giants about what's going on inside the ivory towers. Lately he's done amazing coverage on what's going on at Elon Musk's Twitter. He even had an interview conducted with someone from the company via Google Docs. That's clever reporting that I never thought of doing. You can sign up for free and get one issue a week, but it's worth paying for to support this kind of journalism.

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Until next week, stay curious!