Don't Let AI Do Your Writing

Summary

Paul Bakker argues that people should not use AI to write their documents because writing is a way to think deeply about a problem and decide what matters to communicate. He says tools such as Claude, Codex/ChatGPT and Gemini are useful for coding, research, data analysis and information gathering, but generating a document from bullet points can skip the reasoning that gives the document substance. In his view, the problem is not that these tools produce poor prose; it is that they cannot replace the human work of developing ideas and understanding the problem. He also rejects measuring writing productivity by volume or speed, comparing a short, well-considered strategy with a longer document full of filler. His position is not absolute: after completing an initial draft, he uses AI to ask questions such as what is unclear or most important, treating the output like proofreading feedback. He advises thinking through the feedback personally rather than asking an agent to rewrite the document. Before writing, he also recommends using AI to sift and structure data and identify patterns, so that the author can spend the later stage on analysis and decisions.