Friday Flashback, 27 June 2025
Siphoning the guts of Self-Esteem - and what happened when I asked AI to pretend to be me
Before I post a Friday Flashback about someone performing at Worthy Farm this weekend, I have to tell you the terrible thing I did a few weeks ago.
Inspired by a terrifying column about AI, I asked ChatGPT to write another article – any article – in the style of… me.
The results were – I’m happy to say – dreadful. I went full Welsh Mam in reply (cross as well as disappointed), so the AI, apologising profusely, rewrote it.
It didn’t make the piece much better. I found some of it – like its ripe attempts at metaphors (“rain-sobbed car windows”) – funny. But other parts felt frightening. The AI prioritised the gentler sides of my writing, making it flatter, blander, gloopily sentimental, sugary. It neutralised my broader personality, rotting its sharp teeth to smooth, pink gums.
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