This is probably long overdue. I realized that I have said virtually nothing about AI. This wasn’t me trying to bury my head in the sand. I’m aware it’s out there. In truth, it seems to be everywhere.
I haven’t talked much about generative AI on the blog so far because I wasn’t sure what to say about it. To be honest, I haven’t used it a lot until recently. When I do use it, it’s generally been at work.
The point of this post is to make one thing clear. I’m not entirely against generative AI, but I don’t use it to write my blog posts. Here are a few reasons why.
I Love Writing, So I Don’t Need AI
I’m not going to get on a moral high horse about generative AI in this post. That’s because the biggest reason why I haven’t use it to write blog posts is a practical one. I love writing.
I truly enjoy the craft of writing in my books, my presentations and talks, and in my posts. While I admit that it is sometimes tough to write week after week, the practice of regular writing has been very good for me.
It’s good to have somewhere to put my thoughts. It helps to write and process my emotions. It is supportive to be able to work through tricky issues and know that a post may be useful to someone else.
For all these reasons, I don’t use AI because it’s just not something I need.
Mindfulness Is About Connecting More Deeply with Other People
Another reason that I prefer to write my own posts is that connection with other people is essential for mindfulness practice. Sure, I practiced meditation on my own for years before I ever meditated with other people. As I have shared before, lawyers can definitely explore and learn about mindfulness on our own.
Over the years, though, I eventually found community with my meditation practice and I learned and grew so much faster. For this reason, one of the most important insights from meditation is that the connection to other people is really important.
Now, is it possible to connect with other people with AI-supported writing? Potentially, and I expect that to grow as the years go on. But right now? I see the writing output from AI as more of a barrier. It can convey some ideas well, but it isn’t personal.
Because I believe that community is important when it comes to learning mindfulness, I prefer to have a personal touch when I write about it. For me, that means I write my own pieces without AI.
Trust Is Important When It Comes to Mindfulness and Mental Health
Finally, the last reason I don’t use AI to write my posts on this blog is that trust matters. The focus of my blog is mindfulness and mental health for lawyers. These are important topics and there is still a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about them.
In this day and age, it can be hard to know who to trust when learning about these topics. Mindfulness is complicated and personal. There a lot of differing opinions and strong feelings on topics relating to mental health.
If you are going to read a blog on these topics, you deserve to know who is behind it’s ideas. That’s why I am generally upfront about my own experience with mindfulness. It’s why I have been so specific in explaining my training as a mindfulness teacher.
I don’t necessarily believe that using AI inherently destroys the potential for trust. But it can raise questions about what the AI platform used, the manner of use, and the level of editing and revision that took place after.
For me, it’s just better to keep it simple. My posts come from me, my years of experience, and my training as a mindfulness teacher.
I Plan to Keep Writing Posts without AI
I don’t make big promises or vows here. Who knows where technology is heading and what AI tools may creep into the writing process as time goes on? I can say that the first 300 posts on this blog were written without AI and I don’t plan on changing that any time soon.
I enjoy writing and I love building community around mindfulness through this blog. My plan is to keep on writing posts without help from generative AI. Thank you for the trust you have shown me over the years by reading and engaging.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, How to Be a Badass Lawyer, for a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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