AI Isn't Replacing Me
Why I'm Not Afraid of AI
Over lunch with friends yesterday, the conversation turned to artificial intelligence.
Like many people, they had concerns.
If AI can do everything, will people stop doing things for themselves?
Will students stop learning and simply let AI do the work?
To some extent, both may already be happening. But I’m not convinced AI is the real issue.
Long before AI appeared, some people looked for shortcuts. Some students avoided learning. Some aspiring authors hired ghostwriters. Human nature hasn’t changed.
What AI has changed is access.
Today, anyone can ask questions, explore ideas, improve their writing, and learn skills that once required expensive courses or professional help.
The real question isn’t whether AI can create.
The real question is whether you want AI to create for you, or whether you want to create and use AI to improve, refine, and multiply your efforts.
I know where I stand.
I love to write, so AI has become my editing partner.
Marketing has never been my strongest skill, so AI has become my marketing partner.
It helps me organize ideas, improve headlines, refine descriptions, and see possibilities I might otherwise miss.
But the ideas are still mine.
The stories are still mine.
The experience behind the words is still mine.
At 87 years old, I’m writing more than ever. AI hasn’t replaced me. If anything, it has helped me become more productive.
I don’t know what AI will eventually replace. None of us do.
But I do know this:
It won’t replace the desire to create.
It won’t replace experience.
And it won’t replace the unique perspective each of us brings to our work.
As I write a new and expanded edition of Publish Without Permission, I’m using AI the same way I use any other tool—as an assistant, not a substitute.
The goal remains the same: helping people share their knowledge, stories, and ideas without unnecessary gatekeepers.
AI is simply one more tool that can help make that possible.
What we choose to do with it is up to us.