AI and Blogging?

I Sustained a Remarkable Email Two Days Ago

It was from ChatAI, and it was about how AI can help with blogging. I shall reproduce some of it below, with a thought.

But First, Some Woolgathering

I'm still thinking of my two friends who died very recently, Heather and Rudolfo. When one writes obituaries, it's customary to include significant episodes, facts, observations, and anecdotes about the deceased's time on earth, and I hope and believe I accomplished that. But as time goes on, as it temporarily does for those remaining, less significant thoughts intrude. Two tiny quotes have done just that as I was thinking about my departed friends.

It's Staying Down

When I lived in New Jersey, the entrance road to my community sported a temporal succession of family-run restaurants. It's a tough business, and these weren't notable and were largely indistinguishable from the usual Italian, American, and random cuisine establishments that occupy the enormous niche between roadside diners and gourmet-fare purveyors found in big cities. With one exception: A nouvelle cuisine restaurant dared to occupy the building when its immediate predecessor succumbed.

I am not a "foodie" but I am capable of recognizing culinary excellence, albeit without the vocabulary and discernment of professionals or those keen on "fine dining." When this restaurant, whose name I've sadly forgotten, appeared, I ate there as often as I conveniently could. It was really good!* When the waitrons obtrusively stopped by to inquire as to my degree of enjoyment, I was effusive. Not just because the fare was really good* but to encourage the establishment to remain. To my observation, it was never overburdened with customers, and I knew better than they the discouraging history of the previous occupants of that location. I was especially keen on eating there when I had visitors or was with friends. This may not have been the best strategy.

One day I hosted my pseudonymous friend Rudolfo for lunch. The waitron made his appearance to inquire as to how we were enjoying our meal. He replied with enthusiasm "It's staying down." I don't recall how his comment was received, but the restaurant was gone the next time I passed its corner.

Fluffy Has To Eat

Heather, no fan of anonymity and one to speak her mind in a very posh and distinctive manner, was walking with me down 9th Avenue in NYC when we passed an eatery** on the corner with many words scrawled on its window. The scrawls touted various confections that sounded unappetizing and overpriced, but Heather decided to stop and consume a food item. When I exhibited surprise at her venue selection, she declared "Fluffy has to eat."

That tickled me to the extent that

• I have never forgotten the expression.
• I have applied it as intended with regard to food.
• I have applied it as not intended to any number of circumstances for which it seemed and continues to seem appropriate, at least to me.

For example, based on the Fluffy has to eat theory, I could embark on a discussion of taxation! I'll spare us all for now, but be prepared for Fluffy and her ilk to reappear. Thank you, Heather!

AI and Blogging?

So it seems. I sustained an email two days ago from ChatAI.com. It began thus:

We all know the struggle – staring at a blank page, desperately trying to churn out that next engaging blog post...

The email continued:

DocAI isn't here to replace you, it's here to empower you. Let's dive into our newest step-by-step guide on how to leverage AI to create captivating blog posts with DocAI

Further bullet points suggested it could Spark Your Ideas, Research Like a Pro, Craft Compelling Content, and Polish Your Masterpiece. I don't think it was referring to this specific masterpiece but who knows? I'm sure it was sent to many thousands and perhaps millions of blogging and non-blogging recipients. DocAI is here to empower me. I was whelmed with thoughts about empowerment and my questionable ability to "churn out" that next engaging blog post. (I'm an elderly person who actually knows what the word "churn" used to mean although I never encountered the device itself. DocAI, new as it is, probably enjoys the odd anachronism as much as I enjoy misplaced anthropomorphism.)

As I read on about this software amanuensis, I was befuddled. Somehow find a use for it? Or at least experiment with the free trial? I decided that was hard to do while simultaneously recoiling in horror at the concept. But, at the very least, it provided me with the next—hopefully—engaging blog post. That (i.e., this) blog post will be un-Richardianly introspective.

I'm A Meanderthal***

I began thinking about this blog, which I started over 18 years ago. After a month of steady bloggage, I was put to this Question:

I concluded even then that this blog had no theme, no purpose except—possibly—my own entertainment, and that of the occasional millireaders who happened to stumble over it while researching pastry repair or radioactive money. So the full paragraph from the ChatAI email:

We all know the struggle – staring at a blank page, desperately trying to churn out that next engaging blog post. But what if there was a way to overcome writer's block, boost your creativity, and write fantastic content faster? Enter the magic of AI writing assistants, specifically, DocAI.

left me puzzled about my blog's existence! What struggle? What blank page? What desperation? What engagement? Writer's block-Me? Fantastic**** content? Magic of? Yikes and double Yikes! I could issue a point-by-point refutation of practically every word issued, possibly by AI, in that email from what is surely a multi-billion dollar company. Could they be right and I be wrong? Have I for almost two decades totally misunderstood the purpose of my blog?

No! Billions or not, that email is nothing but fare for this blog, scorn and anthropomorphism be damned. I'll let you know when I have writers bl