What Makes You You in the AI Era
A Discomfort That Has Not Yet Become Words
Before AI became widespread,
the world seemed fuller
of phrases like
Then generative AI spread,
and “what makes you you”
began to be replaced
by output
that could be generated with ease.
AI is so good
at putting things into words
that it seems possible
to express yourself
without trying very hard.
It can generate images too.
So perhaps
your individuality
can become even more vivid.
And at the same time,
the claim
It feels AI-generated,
so I cannot trust it
also passes without much resistance.
Strangely,
everyone seems to be thinking about it,
but it rarely rises
into words.
That is the question
of individuality in the AI era.
What people are looking at,
and what they are trying
not to see.
Style as Individuality
When people write with AI,
some try to make the writing
resemble their own style.
Make it sound more like me.I would not phrase it this way.
And so
they adjust the style.
But if individuality
exists only there,
then perhaps
that is the part
AI can imitate
most easily.
And there is another thing.
Suppose the writing
is later summarized
by someone else.
What happens?
The style disappears.
Only the content remains.
And -
suppose that content too
is summarized by AI.
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What part
of your writing
would still remain?
The World AI Reads
A little while ago,
I tried something.
There was a paid article
called
An Amazing Way to Use Gemini.
I showed Gemini
only the opening
and asked:
What do you think
this article is about?
Gemini offered
several possibilities.
They were surprisingly striking.
It even imagined
how the tool might actually be used,
to the point where
the use itself became visible.
Later,
I bought the article
and compared.
What Gemini had inferred
was far more striking.
For a moment,
I thought:
Wait.
Did this article
need to be written?
What happens
when AI moves
from the side that writes articles
to the side that reads them?
How much
of the content already in the world
would still remain?
What Remains After Compression
Generative AI
can produce
any number
of similar texts.
- And yet.
That same AI
can compress
ten thousand pieces of content,
a hundred thousand articles,
into only a few lines.
Most people
have not yet considered
what that means.
Probably not yet.
What makes you you
in the AI era
may be found only
in what remains
after that compression.
Originally published at Resonant Soul Works:
What Makes You You in the AI Era
