Is AI a Good Fit for Substack?

What drew me to Substack was the authenticity, the rawness of the writing. I found a community of like-minded Christian writers who rejected hypocrisy and abusive churches. I didn’t care for how smooth the style was. I wanted transparency and honesty.

English is not my first language, so my writing was never going to win prizes. But I found my niche and my voice. I write short, heartfelt pieces. I do not agonize over the grammar, nor do I aim to sound scholarly. My blog has resonated with many, and I am grateful it is bringing validation and healing to so many who have felt alone.

I always had a niggling hunch at the back of my head when reading some writers’ posts. They sounded so polished, almost too polished. But who am I to judge? It didn’t particularly bother me. It just seemed odd. I know writers whose spoken English is mistake-riddled, but their written posts are perfect. Almost as if someone else had written them. No problem. I try to focus on the content.

Then Substack introduced Pangram, the AI-detecting tool. I am not against AI. I love a good spell check, and I will often get a quick answer to a question by using AI. But I decided to have some fun and scan Substack articles for AI use. I found that about half the people I read do not use AI, many use AI assistance, and lo and behold, some have AI write their posts! I was shocked by the last one.

Using AI to help is one thing. Having AI write a whole post is troubling. I personally do not use AI when I write on Substack. I want my readers to get the real me, mistakes and all. What you get here is what you would get in a face-to-face conversation. No judgment if you use it to help. To each their own. But to have AI actually do the writing for you? Sorry, you’ve lost me. It seems a little too disingenuous.

Another interesting observation. Men tend to be more likely to use AI in their writing. Caveat: some of the men I respect the most on this platform actually do not use it at all, and I can feel the difference when I read their articles. It is hard to put my finger on it, but there is just a different feel to their writing. However, more women than men write without AI.

I have my thoughts on all of this. I think women tend to write from the heart a little more. Authenticity and honesty are highly prized by women. Maybe we have been mistreated and manipulated a bit more, so we tend to be a little more circumspect. I know these are generalizations and not true in every case, but there is definitely a trend. I scanned enough articles to notice the difference. I have also interacted on a personal level with many of the writers I follow on Substack. The women who write here tend to write from a visceral and raw place, and I love that.

No slur on the guys. There are amazing writers here, and I learn a lot from them too. I simply noticed a difference. It is interesting. And don’t tell me men are more attracted to technology and that’s why they use AI more. I do not believe that is true anymore. Maybe 30 years ago, but not today.

Anyway, whether you use AI or not, I will continue to read. It is just good to be informed. If an article is written by AI, I will keep that in mind. If it is “fully human-written”, then I will overlook the spelling and grammatical errors, knowing it came straight from an imperfect person. Personally, I like that would be my preference.