{
  "id": 12785679,
  "title": "On using AI as a writing assistant",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/on-using-ai-as-a-writing-assistant",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-08T03:07:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Lobsters",
    "slug": "lobsters",
    "url": "https://ninashamsi.com/writing/i-am-a-bad-writer.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Here are my experiences using AI as a writing assistant:\n\nI often think about how to choose apples for baking. As I write about the subject, my mind naturally connects apple trees, farming, and sustainable practices. While my readers may find these connections irrelevant, I believe sharing knowledge can reshape behaviors. However, I know that not everyone can appreciate my writing style. This is where AI comes in handy.\n\nAI helps me convert my fluid thoughts into structured pieces. I find it useful for breaking my writing into digestible parts. Yet, I sometimes struggle with the stilted tone of AI-generated text and the lack of cohesion in the final product. Nonetheless, I'm intrigued by how others use AI writing assistants and would like to share my own workflow.\n\nBefore starting a piece, I look for inspiration elsewhere, sometimes unrelated to the topic or by listening to music. If I'm stuck, a drive might help me regain focus. My unpublished technical writing may not be much, but I'll use those few examples in this article.\n\nWhen I write without AI, I interact with the process using custom tools. When I use AI, I employ a range of methods and tools, including Telegram bots and home-built custom tooling. I appreciate how clinical some AI-assisted writing can be, as it aligns with my technical writing style preferences. However, both examples might seem similar to others, which I find fascinating from a cognitive science angle. Ultimately, I grapple with the challenge of balancing authentic writing with objective technical information. I find AI indispensable in helping me stay organized and maintain consistency in my writing.",
  "summary": "Some people are using AI for writing assistance, but not everyone is using it the same way. If you were always bad at something, I don't think AI makes you better at it; in fact, it may even amplify your inadequacies, and anything you produce will be just as dysfunctional as without AI. This article is about sharing a process, and I am wondering what process others use. Maybe AI anything is just…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}