AI Policy

With a little help from my friends, thoughts on AI usage

With a little help from my friend…..

I don't ever want someone to read my work and think a machine wrote it! Which could be construed as odd, when I can happily display a computer-generated image. My intention, though, is to supplement the writing. I love seeing how something I've written manifests itself from a probability engine in order to light pixels on a screen.

My paintbrush of sorts. My imagery choice is an effort to improve the thoughts I've already created. Sometimes a photograph won’t do, and I lost the bravery to draw and paint so long ago. I chose a tool I know I can wield.

I believe it comes down to finding the right balance of time and energy. As someone who painted watercolours in my youth, I still have my Windsor and Newton set from my A-Level days in the 80s. So I have deep respect for artists. My mum is a beautiful artist with a gift and an eye that could never be replaced.

In no way am I trying to replace artists; instead, I use computer-generated imagery to supplement my writing and capture how I feel in the moment. There's genuine skill in prompt engineering – tweaking and refining until the image matches a vision. Other times, I'll choose photographs that tell their own story. These images travel their own journey: from the real world through a CMOS sensor, processed from RAW and then into JPEGs, then cropped and edited to complement my posts. It's all part of the creative process, just using different tools.

I sometimes ask myself why bother to write now, where is my personal line, and at what point do I cross it? Once I was working with AI on a section of writing, to find within a few prompts a whole section of paragraphs had been produced. The whole thing in a matter of seconds. I felt sick, my palms sweaty....this isn't what I wanted, it didn't feel authentic. The words weren't mine, and really, what have I learned through the process? So upset was I in that moment, at the same time marvelled at how easy things could be.

However, even to read those words, my ideas would be skewed and shaped in a way that didn't feel original, and definitely not my own voice. So I filed it somewhere, perhaps I got a cup of tea. Stared out the window and fought the urge to give up. Watched the blackbird on the lawn jumping from place to place across the lawn, and then started again. A different prompt, a different deal, something I could control, something that was mine.

So I use AI as a thought partner, to think deeper, to bounce ideas back and forth. Almost a conversation as odd as it sounds. There is no contest of intellect, I'm in command, and then I have the power of knowledge at my fingertips. A research partner who doesn't argue back or go in a huff if I ask the same question again in a different way.

Ultimately, there's my actual writing, which I don't want to come across as rubbish or slapdash. I know there are rules to be followed. The tools that were used to box me in, to give me a grade, and in some way, it demotivated me from expressing myself. I was labelled and badged. I could blame it on the education system, which I was obviously a product of. An overstretched teacher in a classroom full of kids who were not interested in learning. My essays would get submitted, they'd get returned some with lines scratched through and other times a good, bad or indifferent marking. That was the calibration engine between those who were naturally gifted and those who could get better with help. Now I feel empowered, I’ve been armed with a friend who is solely here for me. I have someone I can bounce back and forth with. When I say someone, in the same sense, I used to think there were small people inside the record player singing. Think of a mini ABBA inside the box, taking a chance on me!

This time I have a different teacher, someone under the guise of a set of algorithms that I can ask, How can I make this better? What am I missing? Where can I learn more? How do I grow?

Deep inside, I know what I want to convey, and I've always been very introspective and needed time to process ideas. Writing has been hard for me over the years, and now I feel I have an editor to spot those gotchas, so I then control and enforce my voice.

I understand that the use of AI can create strong feelings, and the debate is never likely to go away. I feel it's something we all need to learn to live with and strike our balance and tolerance.

My stance: It's a tool that is going to aid me on my travels, and I wanted to be clear that my Substack isn't AI-free. I use it just like other technologies. It's there in the background supporting me as I try and navigate time and energy. My passion and moral compass as a life learner won't let it be anything else. It is not the voice or the creator behind the ideas here.

I hope you'll stay, subscribe and read more and that there is an integrity to the ideas produced here.

The Small Print - an AI policy:

As someone who has a background in technology, using AI will very much be part of my process in producing this Substack.

Images - Where I use AI, I'm not trying to produce real-world imagery; it's more a reflection, a montage of ideas to share my feelings on a piece. Where I have a photograph from someone else, I will clearly indicate so. Otherwise, the image will be my own.

Writing - there are many stages to the process of writing, typically the original thoughts, bouncing of ideas, and having a research partner. I typically draft and then ask for what's missing, and then redraft again. I'll ask the AI tool for grammar checks and flow, and proofreading. I’ll ask for an analysis and any gaps for my consideration.

My core writing remains human-generated.

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This was written after watching a post from

Sarah Fay, PhD

- Substack Writers at Work. What’s your Substack’s AI policy? And why you need one… A great conversation with Matthew Long who writes Beyond the Bookshelf and Rosana Francescato who writes Flower Child.