I saw a news headline this morning that read, “Will AI be the basis of many future industrial fortunes, or a net loser?”
I didn’t bother clicking on the link because I knew the answer. The answer is no.
As per Betteridge’s Law, whenever you see a headline that makes a claim and then hedges it with a question mark, the answer is no, because if there were conclusive evidence for a yes, the author would just say so.
My corollary to Betteridge’s Law is that if a headline hedges twice, by making a claim, then the opposite claim, and then a question mark, you know it’s such a murky area that it’s really not worth reading about.
This headline still did some good, because in my mind it tied into a podcast that I listened to recently. The podcast was an interview with an honest-to-goodness presidential speechwriter.
At the end of the interview, the speechwriter was asked about AI and how it’s going to affect his field. He replied:
“I think if you think of writing as a burden, then I get the desire for shortcuts. If you think of writing as an opportunity, as a valuable process that clarifies what you think, that helps you discover new connections, and connect different dots, and challenge your assumptions, and force you to be precise in how you articulate your ideas… why would you want to skip that step?”
Which brings me to my Daily Email Habit service. Daily Email Habit involves a daily prompt to write a daily email, like this one.
The underlying assumption for Daily Email Habit is that there is value in writing, which you cannot get by relying on templates, AI, or even a copywriter who will write in your stead.
So why a prompt?
A prompt reduces the infinite space of possible things to write about into something more manageable. It removes the stress of “What should I write about today?” It focuses the mind and acts as a creative constraint, which is useful even if you’re a creative person.
That’s why some of the testimonials I have on the Daily Email Habit sales page below come from:
– A published novelist and poet (hello James) who certainly has no trouble writing or coming up with ideas
– A game store owner (hello Neil) who hasn’t missed an email in over 730 days (and doesn’t want to, so he subscribes to Daily Email Habit as a kind of insurance)
– The head of partnerships at the Write with AI newsletter, which, ironically, teaches you how to write with AI (hello Zack)
If you’d like to find out exactly what Daily Email Habit looks like, and why the folks above subscribe to it, and if it might be right for you: