The Lie
You have to pick a side.
AI is the end of writing, or AI is the future of writing.
Hero or villain.
Those are the only two seats, and everyone in the room is shouting from one of them.
I believed that for a while, which is why I stayed out of the whole conversation.
Then I got curious enough to ask questions, and I found out the shouting was hiding something.
The Cost
When the only choices are loud, most writers choose nothing.
They avoid the subject. They go quiet in the group chat. They let the people with the strongest feelings decide what everyone else is allowed to think.
And here’s what I’ve learned about not choosing.
If you don’t choose, the choice gets made for you.
You either act, or you get acted upon. Life works that way, and this subject is no exception.
If you own a phone, you’re already near AI. If you use the internet, you’re using it. Saying “I don’t touch AI” can mean a thousand different things, and most people mean a different one each time they say it.
So the fight never ends, because nobody is arguing about the same thing.
The Turn
I asked my 11-year-old a question.
“Is a knife a tool or a weapon?”
He thought about it. Then he said, “Yes?”
Best answer I’ve ever heard.
My guest this month, RJ, put it another way. Every problem we have with AI is a human problem with a black box sitting in the middle. The data centers, the money, the people who build it and the people who use it. Who’s in control? Do they care about people? Do they care about the world?
Those are questions about humans.
And you can ask a human a hard question. You can’t win an argument with a black box.
Once I saw that, the fight got quieter. I could agree with both sides, because both sides are pointing at something real. Two things can be true at the same time.
The Door
Don’t pick a side.
Pick a sentence.
Finish this one out loud: “When I say AI, I mean ______.”
A spell checker?
A chatbot that writes for you?
A tool that checks your line edits and shows its work?
Then decide, on purpose, what you want to do about that one thing.
Use it, refuse it, or fence it off from the parts of your writing that belong only to you. Every one of those is a real answer.
I’m not trying to convert you.
I want you calm, and I want the choice to be yours.
Your Turn
Have you actually studied what AI is,…or do you rely on the emotional wave of the internet and society around you for your information?
Knowing, allows you to ACT, and not be ACTED UPON.
Join Us
If this hit home, subscribe for more unfiltered truth about writing life, mindset, and creative courage.
If you want the deep-dive framework that shows you how to build a sustainable audience without chasing algorithmic favor, it’s waiting for you in the paid companion article.
Listen to the full conversation with RJ: 🎙 EPISODE 17: Is AI a Tool or a Threat for Writers Who Are Afraid of It?
Want the whole method? Read the deep dive: How Does a Writer Choose Their Own Relationship With AI?
…and come join the Roundtable Discussion: Why Do Writers Need a Room to Talk Honestly About AI?
About This Podcast
Nothing About This Is Safe is the monthly writing-truth podcast hosted by , featuring candid conversations with working authors. We go after the real questions fiction writers actually search for ... craft, identity, mindset, publishing reality, money, and creative survival ... without sugarcoating and without performance.
If a writer is looking for an honest answer, these are the conversations you want to listen to.
Jaime Buckley
Nothing about this is safe, but it’s worth it.
For Those Seeking To Grow Their Craft…
