I’ve been writing a book for the last 18 months. I’m nearly done. I decided to share an author’s note that is part of the book; it outlines my personal philosophy on the use of AI in the process of writing. I hope others might find it useful as they develop their own philosophy.
_____________ Author’s Note Follows _____________
Dear reader:
This is a book about Character, so it’s important I address the elephant in the room head-on: how I think about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the profoundly personal process of authorship, and how I ultimately used it in this book.
I’m a computer scientist who has spent much of his recent career in and around AI, including founding AtlasRTX, a conversational AI company built on the belief that this disruptive technology could enhance the human experience.
I genuinely believe AI to be one of the most transformative technologies of our time. But I also believe it must be used with care, judgment, and, most importantly, complete transparency.
While I use AI in many aspects of my day-to-day life as an efficiency tool, I was especially cautious about using it for a project this personal. I wanted the book to sound uniquely like me, not like a generic voice with generic ideas delivered with a so-called “AI accent.” After all, many of us have developed an allergic reaction to writing styles generated by large language models.
So, I decided to use AI in two limited and particular ways, before and alongside the work of my professional human editor.
First, especially early on, I used it as a thought partner and conceptual challenger to pressure-test ideas and assess whether my structure and logic were sound. All of the stories, memories, beliefs, frameworks, and conclusions in this book are entirely mine, drawn from my life, my mistakes, my relationships, and my love for my sons.
Second, I used it for mechanical editorial tasks such as exploring better ways to phrase a sentence when I felt I had not yet quite captured what I meant, or to find better synonyms or alternatives. In this sense, it served as a preliminary aid before the more important human editorial process.
Most importantly, I worked with a professional human editor from the very inception of the project all the way through its production and publishing. Her judgment, care, and taste shaped this book in ways neither AI nor I could have achieved alone. AI helped me explore options; my editor helped me make better decisions; and I remained responsible for the final product. Through this process, my editor has taught me to be a better writer, and I now find myself much more critical of my old writing. I have gained a great deal of perspective over the last 18 months.
Oh, and I want to mention something AI has become famously fond of using: the em dash. At first, I did my best not to use them anywhere. But, over time, I appreciated that I was hampering my ability to express myself without them. Sometimes, an elaboration or qualification was necessary, and adding another set of commas into my already long sentences would’ve made them unreadable; other times, I wanted to share a brief reflective comment at the end of a sentence and my famous overuse of semi-colons would’ve been too much. So I learned to use them because they made my writing more readable—and more natural.
Ultimately, I accept responsibility for every word on these pages. If a sentence is awkward, it’s because of me. If an idea is wrong, the error is mine. But if some passages move you—and I hope many do—I’ll gratefully accept responsibility for that, too.
This is a very important project for me, and I want it to be the most authentic, highest-quality work I’m able to produce. I hope you find its words to reflect that commitment.
Sincerely with love,
Baba
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