Writer vs AI Smackdown
If the technology is so good, why do AI companies keep hiring writers?
I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn as part of (one) of my day jobs, so I see a lot of job postings. True journalism gigs are few and far between these days. But you know who is hiring writers? AI companies.
The tenor of many of these postings are the same: companies need writers to lead creative. Occasionally, it’s for big bucks: Anthropic, the same AI company that had to shell out USD$1.5 billion to authors for using their books to train Claude, the company’s AI, is currently looking for a head of product communications. Salary? A cool USD$400,000.
Now, what I find curious about these jobs are that they don’t look like AI training positions. There was certainly a nefarious trend of writers being hired to make chatbots better, and that practice still goes on. But take a gander at the Anthropic gig—there’s no mention of primarily using AI to make creative. This is still very much a human being taking the lead in shaping a narrative.
That’s just one example of quite a few I’ve dug up.
What makes job postings like those painfully ironic is how different they read from some job descriptions at actual journalism outlets. I was alerted to this job posting from Bow Valley Insider, a local newsletter based in Canmore, AB, a few days ago.
Sigh. Almost too much to unpack there.
Bigger outlets are more publicly using AI too. Max Tani, the media reporter at Semafor, broke the news that Business Insider is starting a “AI News Desk that will use AI to ‘help publish quick news stories.’”
All of this together is perhaps not enough to draw conclusions from. However, I do think AI companies have done a great job as selling themselves as creative solutions — but it might be AI doing the bulk of the selling.
Further reading: All these thoughts are part of the preliminary research into a story — not quite sure the shape of it yet, but please do shoot me a message if you have thoughts! I also have an essay about the labour of writing coming out soon, which I will of course be sharing here when it launches.
A Book-ish Gift Guide — Part Two!
For the friend putting the elder in elder millenial
The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington: I just finished this novella last month, and have since fallen down a Carrington rabbit hole — she was a surrealist artist who escaped forced confinement in a sanitarium (!!!) by marrying a friend and jetting of to Mexico, where she lived most of her life. The book follows an elderly woman sent off to a bizarre nursing home. First, I loved that this novel embraced a senior having a true adventure. Second, there was something so amazing about how Carrington writes on the malleability of gender and age. Read it, and get excited for the adventures of our elder years.
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner: Another writer who lived a fascinating life who wrote a fascinating book. The titular Lolly leaves her home in London to take up a life of witchcraft in the country. Sounds ideal to me!
Massage Hook: Take it from your pal who has been dealing with back pain since childhood — massage hooks are the real deal when it comes to managing muscles aches at home. You can hit pressure points similar to how a massage therapist or physio does. Much needed after a day of writing or reading.
For the friend trying to expand their romantasy palate
The Book of Love by Kelly Link: I’m always trying to chase the high of being 10-year’s-old, totally engrossed in a fantasy novel. The Book of Love got me there this year. Three teens wake up from the dead, and have to figure out how to slip back into their lives. It only gets stranger and more magical from there. There is romance in this book, and an ending that I think will help pure-romance readers transition away from the happily ever after.
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: You want yearning? You want magic? You want…the impact of the Chilean dictatorship on citizens? Yes, trust me, you want all these things. I’ve always been surprised that Allende isn’t bigger on BookTok, etc, given the romance at the heart of many of her books. Let me be the person to beat the drum for Allende.
Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer: The venn diagram between romantasy readers and writers has to be preeeetty close to a circle. Get your friend started on their writing journey with one of the most beautiful writing guides out there.
Plucky Notes
I love essays that start with one small idea, then use that idea to jump into larger meditations on a topic. For example: the New Yorker’s Brady Brickner-Wood on “performative reading:” “If everything is potentially performative, how will we ever work up the courage to step outside of our sphere of normal, to risk being earnest and cringe, and experience something transformative?”
December is a quiet time of year for media news, but I’m keeping my eyes open. Later this month, I’ll take you inside a few classic teen mags from my personal collection. In the meantime, you can send tips, ideas or notes to hgwatson7@gmail.com.