Avoid the Ouroboros
Unfortunately, this is about Ašļø
hello lover,
You may have heard recently that Substack is adding a new feature for readers toā¦run a post through AI in order to identify any AI written content within that postā¦1
I want to make clear something that I hope you already assumed to be true: I donāt use AI to write my newsletters, my social media content, my books. I donāt use it to create my writing schedule, marketing copy, or blurbs. I donāt use it to write my fucking grocery list. Instead, I use this magical invention that each and every one of us has called my brain!
And while I am vehemently 100% against AI being used in writing of any kind, I must take this opportunity to caution you against using AI tools to sus out AI writing.
When you use AI to identify supposed AI, you are putting my words into AI. I cannot describe to you how much of a betrayal that is. Please never put my words into AI, because now youāve made my words part of the machine that was created to make my job obsolete.
When you use AI to identify supposed AI, you might be forgetting that AI written content was trained on non-AI written work. Ie. my words are fed to AI (and that is true, all of my books from Hot Copy to The Match Faker were used to train AI without my permission or knowledge) > AI is then capable of producing something that sounds like me > an AI tool trained to āidentifyā AI reads something I wrote and thinks it sounds like the AI that was trained on that somethingā¦you see what is happening here, yes? Itās a Backrooms-esque ouroboros.
I am not saying that you shouldnāt be on the lookout for AI writing. Unfortunately, Amazon is stuffed full of it (making it very difficult for real authors like myself and my colleagues to make even the inkling of a living from our work). But please, use caution when trying to identify supposed AI use and definitely think about the impact the tools youāre using to do that will have on our world and on that creatorsā work.
I will state again, for the record: I do not, will not, and never have, used AI to write. I find the practice to be abhorrent, disgusting, and morally corrupt.
A sociologist friend of mine, Dr. Alexis Shotwell,2 and I have discussed at length on our walks to and from the gym every morning, the use and misuse of āmoralizingā (ie. being judgy) when discussing AI and how moralizing as a way to convince someone not to use AI is almost always ineffective. And while I agree wholeheartedly with the arguments, the ethics, even the data on the ineffectiveness of moralizingā¦
I find myself incapable of being anything but the judgiest of bitches about AI use.
Basically, what Iām saying is, I do feel like a better person than the people who use AI and IDGAF! Judge me for it if you want, since I am clearly 100% judging others! That is your, as well as my right! I am an imperfect person using an already morally bankrupt platform to share my words with you. Leave me to my moralizing - as a treat!
Letās shift gears to Something I Have Been Delighted By RecentlyTM:
I started watching Heartstopper with my kiddo and it has been an absolute JOY to rewatch this series through her eyes. Her excitement when Charlie and Nick kiss for the first time was effervescent. She launched herself across the couch to wrap her arms around my neck and shake me with glee. When Tao and Elle finally found their way to each other, I thought we were going to have to send earplugs to all of our neighbours, her celebrations were super-sonic.
Weāre getting to the end of S3 now, and preparing for Heartstopper: Forever, where I know discussions and portrayals of on-screen sex will take place. My kiddo has known about how bodies make babies for a while now (we received What Makes A Baby by Cory Silverberg as a baby shower gift and I highly recommend it for an age-appropriate way to answer big questions about bodies and reproduction). Sheās also often referring to books like Sex Is A Funny Word (also by Silverberg) and How to Love by Alex Norris. But I am feeling a touch nervous for this next step in the conversation!
I used this as an opportunity to speak with my friend, Dr. Rena Bivens3, a professor of communications and media studies, about it during a lifting session recently. Apparently, I source all of my friends from the gym. And she gave me some great tips about how to talk about what weāre about to watch:
giving options, because consent is key; talk to her about whether she wants to watch these scenes or skip over them and letting her know thereās no shame in either choice
giving her the option to watch separately because some kids might feel awkward watching with their parents
being open to all kinds of curiosity, while also remembering that there are some things kids donāt have to know about
highlighting consent, because how often do we get to see consent on screen handled so vocally?
I am very scared I am going to fuck these conversations up because my child often has a way of asking questions I havenāt prepared for or even thought of, but Iām also kind of excited to hopefully create an experience different from the one that I had as a preteen, when I was endlessly curious about this topic but met with apathy (at best) or shame and judgment.
Ruby Recommends:
I watched A Nice Indian Boy this weekend and I request that each and every one of you watch it immediately. Funny, sweet, tender. It was a tight 96 minutes that had me blubbering more than once throughout the story. There were some moments that I kind of wished we could have been allowed to sit with a bit longer, moments for marination, if you will. But despite this, I was still so delighted, so touched. I deeply enjoyed this film and hope you will, too.
xo Rubes
I am aware that this function can be disabled and I have disabled it for this newsletter and will continue to do so for all future posts for the reasons I have outlined in this newsletter.
Yes, that is a very obvious name drop. My friends are very important people, they have many leather bound books, etc, etc.
Two academic name drops in one newsletter. I am insufferable.
Nodding and laughing a lot over here.