Good day everyone! It’s been awhile, but as you might know, there was a dark cloud in my family and I had to take time away to rest and recharge the senses. I’m still in the midst of the process but figured that I’d drop something here to keep the Skool alive. Always remember that slop is slop, regardless whether it’s human or AI. As my old colleague would say, “same waste, different cubicle.” So don’t be too obsessed over AI slop. It’s not our first rodeo as readers and writers, we’ve seen it all before. It’s just that AI makes it easier to create crap when abused. And as for the question of the day: What are some of the most telling signs that you’re dealing with AI slop?

I started this Skool because I wanted to leave a genuinely positive impact on the lives of fellow writers. I understand firsthand how hard it is to survive in the writing world. It is a place to improve your mindfulness, pick the minds of fellow creatives, and share the excitement of your latest masterpiece. But I'd be remiss if I ignored the technological elephant in the room. With the rise of AI, we have seen a schism in the ranks—those for AI and those utterly against. Unpopular opinion, but I must admit that I used to be a luddite, standing against the march of machines. But then I realized that one can be so much stronger with AI on their side. I'm not saying replace ideation with AI generation. By no means. You'll still need your creative faculties exercised and in top shape to thrive. No, instead, I believe what AI can do for me, is 1. Speed up the research process by sorting curated information based on my keywords. 2. Aligning research according to the latest developments and practices out there. 3. Bouncing ideas of a quasi-human writing companion that can stimulate one's grey cells. At the very least, it makes the solitary writing process more amusing. With that said, the toughest challenge for me is spotting and eliminating hallucinations. Hallucinations are the mistakes generated by AI, which affect the reliability of their responses. I feel that we're still not ready to trust AI information wholeheartedly, especially when it comes to recent or localized details. You simply got to read between the lines and fact-check every time. Like if I am querying about the unique design features of the recently released Air Jordan 1 Union X Fragment models, I might not get an accurate response. AI might muddle the release dates, shoe materials, and other pieces of information that would jeopardize my credibility as a writer if I incorporated them in my work. So yes, that's a pet peeve of mine as a writer who leverages AI for research. I guess the easiest and most reliable way around it is to perform a manual check on key information. Don't think I'll ever let my guard down even if they declare that AI has a 99% accuracy.

I am now thoroughly convinced that: You don’t have to be the strongest, You don’t have to be the best looking, You don’t have to be the tallest, the cutest, or the baddest. You don’t have to be the coolest. You don’t have to be the funniest or the richest. Just be the most interesting version of YOU and invest time in wholesome ideas, activities, and people. And be the one who shows up every time (as much as you can). And you’ll find yourself ahead of the pack - the quality of life just hits different.

Writing and reading are two sides of the same coin. By reading, you’re filling your mind with precious material. You learn what to write, how to present your words nicely. And yes, you also learn what not to do. So, I hope you don’t reach a point where you’re writing so much that you forget about the importance of reading! Keep those grey cells stimulated and I hope you’re having a productive week! What have you been reading lately btw? Here’s what’s on my current reading list: 1.The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W.Bly 2.Pagans by Ethan Doyle White