Tips for Maintaining Authenticity in AI Writing

I just got YET another thank-you email 📧 from a candidate that was clearly a direct copy-paste from ChatGPT.... And that just reminded me that… …a key part of GenAI literacy is understanding when and when not to use AI-generated output: Use GenAI too sparingly, and you miss out on (potential) efficiency gains (which are huge especially for ESL folks); overuse it, and you risk losing your unique voice. I’ve chatted with a few folks on this topic and wanted to share eight tips for writing authentically while using GenAI: 1️⃣ Motivation: This one might seem odd, but I find that I do need a little inspiration and reminder not to rely on these tools too much. Sometimes, it's tempting to settle for "good enough" output from ChatGPT, but then I remember the reason I write. Is it to churn out unoriginal content, or did I start writing online to connect with others through my words? 2️⃣ Cultural References: Incorporating cultural references, idioms, and expressions relevant only to your audience and topic can make your text more much more relatable. AI is unlikely to grasp these nuances, which can help your content stand out in a sea of generic synthetic material. 3️⃣ Fine-tune the AI Model: Feed your writing into the model and ask it to mimic your style, voice, and tone. For a shortcut, you might even ask it to define your tone of voice based on your text. But remember to still check the output. 4️⃣ No Shortcuts: Avoid relying on "AI humanizers," which can produce content that still feels inauthentic. Nothing beats your own proofreading to ensure your voice remains authentic. 5️⃣ Use Active Voice: AI-generated text often defaults to passive voice, leading to weaker, less engaging content. Opt for an active voice to make your writing more direct and engaging (and clearly distinguishable from AI-generated stuff). 6️⃣ Vary Your Sentence Structure: AI often relies on patterns and may repeat similar sentence structures, leading to monotonous content. Try mixing short, snappy sentences with longer, more descriptive ones. This captures readers attention and conveys complex ideas better than the monotonous AI-generated-pattern-heavy writing. 7️⃣ Check for Formulaic Language: Be wary of predictable phrases. Not sure why but a lot of ChatGPT responses I get start with “in the realm of.” This, of course, adds no value and can make your writing appear cliché. Keep an eye out for such formulas. 8️⃣ Editing and Proofreading: It may seem obvious, but after using AI to generate text, always edit and proofread. Never let AI output go unchecked. Especially if you’re sending thank-you emails 😏 We're developing lessons on this very topic, but I wanted to share some preliminary thoughts! Just remember: People want to hear from YOU! #edtech #edtechstartup #GenAI #AIupskilling

We’re living in a world where AI can write, design, summarize, translate, and brainstorm, but it still can’t anticipate that your stakeholder will ask, ‘Can we make the CTA pop more?’ for the third time. But here’s the catch: AI can assist your voice, it shouldn’t replace it. If you’re navigating how to stand out without blending in with a sea of AI-generated sameness, here are a few ways I’ve been keeping things human. 1️⃣ Lead with your tone of voice Whether you’re writing a caption, an email, or a case study, your voice is your fingerprint. Use words you actually say. Embrace your quirks. 2️⃣ Design with personality Add colors, fonts, and layouts that match your energy. Whether your vibe is minimalist and moody or punchy and playful, your visuals can do a lot of talking before you even say a word. 3️⃣ Use AI as a co-pilot, not a ghostwriter I use AI to start the idea, not to be the idea. I edit, shape, and sprinkle in personality until it feels like something I’d say. 4️⃣ Show your face Whether it’s behind-the-scenes photos, messy sketches, or a video of you sharing your thoughts, that’s all you! 5️⃣ Inject YOU into the process Don’t just share the polished result, share the “why,” the lessons learned, or even the things that didn’t work. People connect to the human behind the pixels. AI can scale your ideas, but it’s your authenticity that makes people remember them. Curious to hear, how are you balancing AI support with staying true to your "brand”?

For some course revisions I'm working on, I'm experimenting with some AI content generation, including a video avatar of myself (preview coming soon!). But as I'm working, I'm aware I feel an intense tension here: on the one hand I can see enormous potential in how this could make it easier to create and update course content way more quickly. Typically content maintenance and revision is the big unsolved challenge with MOOC-style online education (asynchronous and built around high-quality pre-recorded videos). On the other hand, though, there's a risk of this becoming deeply impersonal: the traditional approach to course content development has an authenticity and intimacy to it that this would lose. With traditional video, there's a clear assurance that I felt comfortable enough with the content to go into the studio and film it with my face and voice; with AI avatars, that assurance is diminished. I decided to film a video to include at the start of any course or lesson that uses my AI avatar that provides my justification. As part of that, I realized I have three rules I'm following for principled AI content creation. I wrote about them in my blog: https://lnkd.in/e9j2KJwD In a nutshell, though, the rules are: • Authenticity: Only text written by me gets loaded into my avatar. I decided not to go with a group account with the avatar generation tool we're using because I don't want anyone else to even have access to my avatar to generate content for it, so there can be no doubt that anything my avatar says is just as authentically from me as anything I presented on camera (where I, granted, use a teleprompter anyway—but I write the text for that, too!). • Transparency: Even if AI gets good enough to pass as real video, where AI is used is always transparent. In creating my own AI avatar, I made a couple choices for the training video that I NEVER make during a real video, so that there are immediate indicators if a video uses my AI avatar. • Enrichment: My AI avatar is only used to present in video content that I otherwise WOULD have presented in plain text or an otherwise less rich medium. If I felt the content was ready to be filmed in the studio, it gets filmed in the studio; my AI avatar is only used to enrich otherwise plainer content. My hope is that with these rules in place for myself, these technologies really do enrich the content without undermining the social authenticity.

Tip: Do NOT let ChatGPT write your cover letter for a job application. Perhaps let it give you a rough draft, or evaluate the cover letter you have written to improve upon. Why, you ask? Because anyone who is using ChatGPT can spot a ChatGPT written cover letter a mile away. It has an artificially pristine and even-tempered feel to it, that it is so lacking in any actual personality as to be obvious to anyone who has been exposed to the output of these tools. The good news? Personality matters. Perspective matters. Passion matters. You, the human, have those things. The robot does not, it only wants to give you what it thinks is the best next word. Example: I let LinkedIn's AI rewrite the above post as it so insistently wants us to do with the ubiquitous "Rewrite with AI" button. See for yourself. ____________________________________________________________ AI written version of above post: Tip: Don't let AI write your cover letter. While AI tools like ChatGPT can be helpful in generating a rough draft or evaluating your work, relying on them entirely can be detrimental to your job application. Why? Because these tools lack the personal touch that hiring managers look for in a cover letter. Anyone who has been exposed to the output of these tools can spot a ChatGPT written cover letter a mile away. It has an artificially pristine and even-tempered feel to it that's so lacking in personality that it's obvious. The good news is that personality, perspective, and passion matter in a cover letter. You, the human, possess those qualities. Use them to your advantage. AI can only give you what it thinks is the best next word, but you know your voice and what makes you stand out. So, don't rely on AI to write your cover letter. Let it assist you, but make sure to infuse your personality into your writing. That's what will make you stand out to hiring managers.