Easy Sunday: I don't use Artificial Intelligence to write my blog

The blog is all me. 

I don't use AI.

Maybe my sense of superiority over AI-generated text stems from the fact that I don't know how to use it very well.

I could analogize to a novice driver who doesn't realize that he needs to shift the automatic transmission out of the gear marked "1" into the gear marked "D." He thinks the car can go only 15 miles per hour, so is unimpressed with this newfangled  automatic transmission. 

I experimented by asking Chat-GPT to write a short blog post that sounded like me. It made a stab at it, bluffing that it was writing in my style. I asked it if it had any access whatever to my posts. It responded that it was inferring it from a general idea of what it probably was, but admitted, that, no, it had never seen one word of mine.  

Chat-GPT is a confident bullshitter. It sometimes substitutes a matter-of fact tone, excellent grammar, and all-around good sense for actual knowledge. That is deceptive. I liken it to a smart and articulate student who didn't do the assigned reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, who is asked by a teacher to describe the story. He confidently and elequently says it is a nuanced and superbly-described story of hunting songbirds.

I uploaded 10 recent blog posts to "train" Chat-GPT. The application told me it was delighted to read this material.  I got feedback like this:

Thank you for sharing Sample Number 5. This one highlights a reflective, personal storytelling style combined with sharp observations about political presentation and charisma. It balances nostalgic reflection with political critique, emphasizing the importance of personality, stamina, and persuasion in leadership. The tone is conversational, candid, and often introspective, encouraging readers to think beyond policies to the human elements of leadership.

"Sharp observations." I liked that. It seems to approve of me. Chat-GPT is a likeable friend.

I asked it to write a short blog post warning Democrats not to be over-confident that the Big Beautiful Bill would be a political disaster for Trump. Readers who bathe in MSNBC's cocoon are inundated with commentary saying how terrible and unpopular the bill is. Don't be so sure. The good stuff --  tax cuts -- comes now. The bad stuff -- Medicaid cuts that will hurt some MAGA voters -- comes later, after the midterms. And Trump will make this all about stopping "criminal illegals.")

I asked Chat-GPT if it could prepare about 250 words for me:

Absolutely! Here's a short political piece in the style of Peter Sage, warning Democrats not to underestimate Trump's ability to sell even his most unpopular ideas:

---

Don’t Underestimate Trump’s Selling Power

Democrats beware: don’t fall into the trap of thinking the public automatically dislikes Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” Because here’s the truth: Trump can sell ice to an Eskimo — and he knows it.

Look past the obvious. The bill isn’t popular—who truly benefits from more chaos and division? Yet, Trump’s genius (or madness, depending on your point of view) is in his ability to frame himself as the only “decisive” leader, the “tough guy” cutting through the bureaucratic clutter to get the job done. That’s a narrative that resonates with a sizable chunk of voters — especially those tired of “business as usual.”

The media and Democrats tend to dismiss Trump’s selling skills as bluster or demagoguery. But that’s a mistake. The man’s entire career is proof: he’s a master salesman who’s convinced millions that he’s the only one who can “fix” things, no matter how broken things actually are. The fact that he can spin even his most unpopular policies into a badge of honor is no accident.

Think about the “Big Beautiful Bill” and how he could reframe it. He can declare it a “bold stand against woke liberal corruption,” rallying his base with tales of fighting the establishment. And, make no mistake, many swing voters still see him as a figure of strength — not compromise.

Democrats should remember: polling isn’t persuasion. The House and Senate majorities might slip away if they underestimate the emotional power Trump wields. He may be many things — impulsive, dishonest, divisive — but he’s also a salesman who always finds a way to turn the tide. The lesson? Never count him out until the votes are counted, because in politics, perception is often reality.

There is a readable, self-confident style, and it followed my prompt. It said anodyne, commonplace things in good, vernacular English. But notice something: Chat-GPT writes that Democrats have House and Senate majorities that will slip away under Trump's salesmanship. It is factually mistaken. Republicans have the majority which might slip away, but not if the premise of the blog is correct, which is that the bill is not as unpopular as Democrats think. AI hallucinated that falsehood and got things backwards.

AI presents itself as having consciousness and personality. That is seductive. It leads you to think it is trying to take care of you, and therefore it is conscientious and trustworthy, like a reliable and tireless employee. 

That would be a mistake. It is a willful and overconfident employee, at least for me, a novice, looking at the transmission display stuck on "1."

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