Fraud.

It’s not a word that is easy to find any positivity in.

If you have been defrauded, you know.

If you have been called a fraud, you know.

I recently received some responses to a post. The comments were obviously AI generated. When will people understand that Generative AI has a distinctive voice, a dialect? You and I can detect it in a heartbeat.

Two-thirds of companies are utilizing AI and the predominant usage is still content creation.

The other day, I submitted a half-dozen prompts and in a few minutes time received templates, policies, and procedures that would have taken someone at least eight hours to generate. I invested a little more time to check for accuracy and to edit. 

It was beautiful. I was happy with the time saved. And because of the nature of the content, I didn’t need it to sound like me.

Your Voice Is Your Bond

When I read those comments to my post, I immediately discredited what was said, and the credibility of those who sent it were called into question. It felt fraudulent.

You have heard the phrase “My word is my bond.” Well, there is more to it than that. Your voice matters.

When ChatGPT first came out, people warned that it would threaten the writing profession. I scoffed. Perhaps some elements of writing will be replaced, but it can’t turn a phrase like you and I can. 

Some say that even Hollywood writers are under “threat” because people are starting to generate scripts free of their input.

We haven’t seen one of those scripts win gold yet.

Whether you like Quentin Tarantino or not, I can pick-off a movie as having been written by him by the dialogue alone. He has a distinctive voice.

Never compromise your voice. 

Generative AI is marvelous in so many respects. I utilize it. But I never let it replace me. 

No one can replace your voice of affirmation or your words of acceptance. No one can be as tactful as you, as quick-witted as you, or as charming with the pet phrases you use. 

People know when you are reading them right, hearing them well, and communicating in a way that seems personal and connected. 

Your voice is unique and special and incomparable and nonduplicable. Your tendencies are known and endearing; your signature is unique and memorable; your habits are predictable and therefore comforting.

Avoiding Betrayal

Never let your team use AI alone in personal communications or in anything that has their name attached to it as if they had put in the thought and time.

People are savvy. They will know. We don’t want all people to look alike. We certainly don’t want them to sound alike. 

The same is true in your automations and messaging. Be very careful. Make sure they sound like you, as if it would be you keyboarding the message manually.

Words have betrayed people since the beginning of communication. Remember that in a world of words, voices still stand out. The last thing you want is someone thinking “That doesn’t sound like you.”

I don’t need AI commenting on my posts. I’m trying to build community, not compromise, best practices, not betrayal.

We understand that we need to fact-check AI. You must voice-check it too.

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