How fast will AI replace the Web for decision-making? And what does that mean for authors?
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How fast will AI replace the Web for decision-making? And what does that mean for authors?

How do people find answers to questions? For decades, the standard paradigm for decision-making revolved around web sites, links, search (and SEO), content marketing, and social sharing. Whether the question was “How can prepare for a job interview” or “What’s the right organizational strategy for a transnational company?” the answer started with a web search….

The high road to writing; AI is normal; Wikipedia as propaganda: Newsletter 30 April 2025
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The high road to writing; AI is normal; Wikipedia as propaganda: Newsletter 30 April 2025

Newsletter 92. Why you should put in the most effort at the start of a writing project. Plus, AI as normal technology, five strategies for authors who are stuck, three people to follow, and three books to read. Climbing mount prose Any cyclist or runner will tell you this about hills: you can start by…

Charming clients; untariffed books; avoiding backsplash: Newsletter 9 April 2025
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Charming clients; untariffed books; avoiding backsplash: Newsletter 9 April 2025

Newsletter 89: Why charm, competence, and respect aren’t just good for business, but are a way of life. Plus Shopify won’t hire for what AI can do better; suing Trump to preserve libraries, Amazon recaps books with AI, plus three people to follow and three books to read. Charm, Competence, Respect How in heck was…

Idea theft normalized; library funding cut; AI citation screwups: Newsletter 19 March 2025
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Idea theft normalized; library funding cut; AI citation screwups: Newsletter 19 March 2025

Newsletter 86: Insisting on crediting idea creators, AI can’t cite articles properly, a new business hybrid publisher, plus three people to follow and three books to read. Fight the rip-off culture I recently accepted a job to write a book chapter. The clients were expert business thinkers. The topic was a business discipline that should…

Automating LGBTQ erasure; AI’s copyright loss; words worth avoiding: Newsletter 12 February 2025
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Automating LGBTQ erasure; AI’s copyright loss; words worth avoiding: Newsletter 12 February 2025

Newsletter 81. Using machines to enforce prejudice backfires, don’t use AI to apply to AI companies, a copyright legal shocker, and a list of words to avoid. Plus, three people to follow and three books to read. Machines can’t make trans people disappear — but they can sure do a lot of damage when they…

The US Copyright Office’s new report on AI is great for creators, AI tool developers . . . and lawyers
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The US Copyright Office’s new report on AI is great for creators, AI tool developers . . . and lawyers

After a year of study and more than 10,000 comments, the US Copyright Office issued its second report on AI and copyright. This report attempts to address the question of when works created with AI tools can be copyrighted. (A third report, to be released later, will address the contentious issue of the legality of…

What is AI good for; The Onion swallows InfoWars; fake bear damage: Newsletter 20 November 2024
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What is AI good for; The Onion swallows InfoWars; fake bear damage: Newsletter 20 November 2024

Newsletter 71. Why technology’s long-term impact is unknowable, HarperCollins pays you to train AI on your books, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s imaginary world, plus three people to follow and three books to read. Everyone predicting the AI future is wrong I spent last Friday at MIT, attending a conference called “BIG.AI@MIT” (Business Implications of Generative…