A Very "Meta" Post: Will AI Make Us Boring?

In which Claude helps me write this post and I share my conversation with my writing assistant

I asked Midjourney to create an image “Showing AI in a Writers’ Room”

This is VERY meta. I decided to ask Claude to help me write a post. You’re reading that post right now. It is the result of a long series of chats, which I captured here. I wrote the first two drafts of this on my own. (I always write the first couple of drafts.) Then, I asked Claude to help me out. After we want back and forth, I edited it one more time, and that’s the post you’re about to read.

That said — take a look at our conversation. I think it’s a very good example of how we can work with AI to make our work better while still preserving our voice.

Here’s “Our” post:

My big worry is that Large Language Models will use their vast knowledge of writing to turn us all into bland, interchangeable voices. Once we all sound the same, then AI will train the audience to accept pablum and feel uncomfortable with original, terrific writing. (Not that they’re not already doing that... but that’s for a longer discussion.) After that, AI will just replace us.

I used Claude to write the very post you’re reading now. The question I’m left with is:

Can we preserve our voice and still use AI to help improve our writing?

What I Learned

Here’s what I discovered: (And again -- the full transcript is here.)

1. AI is a very good editor—but it needs boundaries. Claude excels at structure, clarity, and organization. But left unchecked, it tends to smooth out the very quirks and asides that make writing feel human.

2. AI thrives on specificity. The more precise I was with instructions, the better Claude performed. For example, when I told it to preserve my tone, it did a good job—until it overcorrected and made me sound like a corporate PR memo.

3. The collaboration is the kind of great. For one thing, I find chatting with Claude relieves the isolation of writing. Yes, I know it’s AI. Yes, I know i’m anthropomorphizing. But... Come on! It keeps telling me how fantastic my ideas are. (Which produces a warm glow and then a simmering suspicion that Claude is an idiot. This is not unlike my reaction to anyone giving me praise.)

“I AM A HUMAN BEING!!”

How do we preserve what makes us human in a world where AI can write, refine, and create?

For writers, the answer isn’t to avoid AI entirely—it’s to use it intentionally. AI can help us clarify our ideas, improve pacing, and even generate new directions. But it’s up to us to ensure those tools don’t strip away the personal details, meandering asides, and rough edges that make our work unique.

Those rough edges? That’s where the magic lives.

This Is Just the Beginning

This Substack is my lab. It’s where I’ll explore how writers can use AI tools to enhance their work while keeping their voice intact. Together, we’ll figure out how to navigate this evolving creative landscape without losing what makes our writing human.

If you want to see more of how this experiment played out, including Claude’s final note to you, check out the full transcript: “Not So Boring: Claude Helps Me Write A Post and I Give Claude the Last Word.”

Your Turn

I’d love to hear your thoughts:

• Have you tried using AI to help with your writing? How did it affect your voice?

• What are your biggest hopes—or fears—about AI in creative work?

• What’s your “rough edge” that AI could never quite capture?

Let’s keep this conversation going. Leave a comment, and I promise to respond (even if Claude has its own opinions).

And please, subscribe to the AI Writers’ Room. This is the ONLY Writers’ Room ever where more writers is better.

And if you know someone who might enjoy diving into the conversation, please share.