Judgment in the Age of AI · Article 23
AI is good at making prose smooth, complete and recognisably article-like. It can also erase hesitation, rhythm, personal experience and useful irregularity. Voice is usually lost not because AI was used, but because the tool shaped the article before the writer formed a position.
Write three things that cannot be outsourced
- The one sentence you genuinely want to say
- An experience, observation or example only you can provide
- The part of the question about which you remain uncertain
Then give AI a limited role
Ask it to find structural gaps, repetition, objections or alternative titles. Avoid requesting a complete article at the beginning: a finished draft anchors later thought around choices you did not make.
Perform a de-averaging edit
- Delete grand sentences you would never say.
- Restore your mixture of sentence lengths, pauses and vocabulary.
- Replace generic examples with specific experience.
- Mark where your judgement differs from the AI suggestion.
- Read aloud and ask whether it sounds like you explaining something to a real person.
Voice is not decorative style; it is where a person pauses, doubts, emphasises and accepts judgement.
References
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