AI Writes Better Than You — But That’s Not the Point

Do you know what this — is?

Well it's two things. First it’s an Em Dash. A punctuation mark used for emphasis, interruption, or to set off a thought within a sentence.

Do you know who loves it?

ChatGPT and their friends. So the second thing? It’s a massive red flag that what you're reading was (in part) created by AI. 

I know this, because I’m pretty confident your average human can't use a semi-colon properly, never mind choose to use an Em Dash regularly. To create it on a Windows machine, you often have to use a complex function based key command, set up a custom auto-correct short code, or — you know — just copy and paste from ChatGPT. See what I did there?

I'll get back to punctuation and why an LLM is a little different from spellcheck in a few. I raise the topic because in this episode I want to talk to you — not just about writing good — but also about thinking good and creative point of view. Okay, I’ll stop it now.

Perception vs. Perspective

Enter Andrew Bustamante to our tale, the latest peddler of masterclasses from high functioning professions trying to relate to everyday folks. You know, learn how to negotiate a hotel upgrade using techniques from FBI Hostage negotiator Chris Voss and other stories (that's a real thing by the way). Andrew is the latest one who popped into my algorithm. His Hook? What I learned as a CIA operative that you can apply to immediately upgrade your life. Sometimes I really wonder what Youtube would say about me if it could talk. Won't be long.

Well, as with many publications, we have but one really good nugget of information that I think is worth sharing from the “Everyday Spy” (and it’s not why you say CIA and not THE CIA, but supposedly you do). It’s about the difference between perception and perspective.

In short, perception is how YOU interpret the world. Perspective is the ability to step outside of that reality. It’s a thing to practice, and comprehend, because being able to do it in the moment (in real time) helps you win.  If you stay stuck in perception, you limit yourself to your own biases and assumptions. You’re trying to bend the will of the world to your specific point of view. If you shift into perspective, seeing the world through other people’s eyes, you gain an informational advantage.

This isn’t new news, let’s be honest the same stuff has been circulated since the days of Dale Carnegie, but repackaging something strong never hurt.

Anyway back to punctuation, cause that’s why you bought the ticket. And the fact that one of AI’s biggest challenges is understanding perspective, not just perception. AI processes data exceptionally, but it doesn’t see the board like humans do.

Punctuation (And the AI Problem)

The Em Dash is in my narrative because the search for efficiency and the tools available are often overwhelming and heavily misused. I use AI tools because I like to think about working smarter, not harder. And because I once read an explanation of the human brain as “not designed to remember things”. You're optimized to critically think and analyze information. And that justified everything I needed, to continue to forget people’s birthdays. 

But there is a flaw.

Efficiency and AI can be a double-edged sword. AI can fix my grammar, it can do research for me, it can organize my day better than I can, it can simplify complex topics, and explain in layman's terms why something works or doesn’t. Ultimately it can smooth everything out, including personality and POV.

This brings us to why AI-generated content, or even just AI-checked content, feels different. Let’s detail a couple of scenarios and examine just exactly what the issue is.

Let’s start with “Bob”. 

“Bob” runs a corporate film production company, or maybe he’s a communications manager at a big brand, or maybe a CMO at a fortune 500. It doesn’t really matter. The point is “Bob” heard that thought leadership is good. And “Bob” wants to write some, but, he has a problem. “Bob” is lacking some thoughts. And definitely without a point of view worth sharing. He is also historically a little bit lazy and likes a short cut every now and again (his version of smarter not harder definitely errs on the “not harder” bit). 

Anyway “Bob” hops on ChatGPT and says “write me a 500 word LinkedIn post on why my production company is leading the way in Corporate film making (or a viral post about brand strategy for CMOs, or the top 5 trends in internal comms - whichever “Bob” you chose is just fine). Please and Thank you. “Bob” is always polite to the robot, just in case the future heads in a quick downward spiral for us humans.

Within seconds “Bob” gets back a piece of writing, he likes most of it and he changes a few bits. Then he posts it as his own unique perspective. An aside. I’m not really having a go at “Bob” here. He’s not malicious, he's just trying to get some likes, add to his personal brand, join the content crew and he found a tool to help him. It’s hard work thinking and “Bob” also has a report to get out before home time. But here’s the tell tale signs that show us “Bob’s” workflow:

1. Em Dash Overload - While humans do use them, AI tends to insert them more predictably, often where a comma, parentheses, or a period would be more natural.

2. Excessive Hedging and Politeness - “While it is true that…” “It’s worth noting that…” “Generally speaking…”

3. No Sense of Timing or Gaps - AI never lets writing "breathe".

4. Mimicking a Thoughtful, Literary Style - AI often attempts to mirror this style, to the point it feels unnatural.

5. Balanced Sentence Structures - AI writes with a level of symmetry and variety that can feel unnaturally clean.

6. Pseudo-Philosophical Phrases - "In today’s fast-paced digital landscape..”

7. ZERO mistakes - I love a typo more than anyone, AI doesn’t do them, everything is so clean, it’s sterile.

Lesson of the story? Don’t be like “Bob”, he’s adding to the noise and it makes me a little sad. And also you know what happens now? All the people who know “Bob” read the first line “In the complex realm of corporate communications…” their brain immediately flags what’s been done, they disengage, see no value, but appreciate he’s looking for validation and press the button that allows them to auto-respond with a comment generated by LinkedIn’s AI. “Fantastic Update Bob!”

That’s ultimately robot talking to robot, talking to robot. Welcome to the future of personal brand, lol.

Okay, let’s put “Bob” on the bench. Meet “Geoff”. 

Can I stop with the inverted commas? You know I’m making these guys up right?

Or am I?

Geoff is a bit better. Geoff has something to say, but is also time poor. Geoff writes his own draft of a 500 word LinkedIn post on the train. Geoff pops this draft into a GPT and says something along the lines of “here is a draft LinkedIn article, correct my writing and get it ready to post”. Geoff doesn’t say please, he’s not scurred.

Geoff gets back his revised version, it’s great, he loves it. This is the most eloquent he’s ever been. What a great evolution of spellcheck! That’s how Geoff sees it. His article has perhaps 3 of the 7 tell tale signs above and one Em Dash. Geoff isn’t quite sure about this punctuation mark, but he likes its vibe and leaves it in. Post it. Get those likes Geoff.

Plot twist, this is still noise. Stop it Geoff and let me explain something really important to you. Professional storyteller to professional audience, real talk, tough love.

Spellcheck vs. AI

This isn’t the evolution of spellcheck. And let me tell you exactly why. Spellcheck and all the tools in programs like Word (the grammar callouts, synonym suggestions, formatting nudges) are PASSIVE.  It calls out the mistakes, offers solutions and YOU decide whether to implement them. It’s a GPS, it’s offering you the way, making recommendations and alerting you to potential traffic jams, but you know the city, you can choose to take a side street. You’re still the one driving the car.

Asking AI to correct gives it licence to re-write, AI is ACTIVE, it’s making decisions for you, it’s picking the route, you’re a bystander. It’s driving the car.

Where AI Writing Works (And Where It Doesn’t)

Let’s be clear, my point of view on this isn’t that AI is bad, it just depends on where/how you use it.

It’s great for:

• Transactional Writing: Work emails, reports, meeting notes, summaries.

• First Drafts & Structure: Brainstorming, outlining, and eliminating some elements of writers block.

• Editing & Cleanup: Grammar, clarity, conciseness.

• SEO & Volume-Based Content: Product descriptions, FAQ pages, standard website copy.

Basically the generic shit that has to be a certain way and we don't have to read all of it in one sitting. Or simplifying something complex that my tiny human brain is under-equipped to rationalize out. These are things that benefit from perfect sentence structure, dead tone, over writing and not one error.

Where it fails:

• Anything that requires personality or deep connection: Personal writing, brand voice, thought leadership.

• Nuanced storytelling & persuasion: Marketing, creative work, speeches, leadership messaging.

• Content that needs to stand out: If everyone’s using AI to generate blogs, those blogs will all feel the same.

Rule of Thumb: Use AI to assist, not replace, let it do the heavy lifting, but make sure your voice is what shines through. Chris Do (creative thought leader) identified this workflow pretty early on. Write a real scrappy first draft yourself, get it out of your head. Ask AI to clean it up and review it and tell you the strengths and weaknesses. Then you use all that info to dirty it up and make it yours again. Rinse/repeat as necessary. 

Truth be told, AI may have saved you all an extra 800 word detour into my daily struggle with productivity and parenting. It said I was meandering, how rude.

What This Means for Voice & Leadership

I have a theory that in every walk of life we should start to study mediocrity. Not because the “Mediocre White Man” needs more attention, but because we default to focus on the polar extremes of things.

Examples of excellence truly are that. What do we have to learn from a Nike ad that has a cast of the greatest athletes in the world, a multi-million dollar budget, top notch creative writers and all the production bells and whistles. What does a case study on this actually teach us? 

I think it just proves the obvious: when all the best stuff comes together, the result is good.

The opposite is also true. Don’t examine worst practice. There’s nothing significant about communication to be learned from Zuck’s latest disastrous attempt to be relatable. Or Elon’s press conferences where he appears unhinged. Well there is, but what I mean is it’s not Rocket science. It’s just glaringly obvious.

The real learning is in analyzing something that’s ‘fine.’ Go deep on trying to understand what stops it from being good, something good from being really good. Understand the nuance, because oftentimes (I’m talking to you corporate communicators) you don’t have the tools to make something world changing. But that doesn’t absolve you of the responsibility to incrementally elevate what you have.

Don’t Let AI Flatten You

AI-generated content is flattening the middle, everything is polished but forgettable. The people who stand out will have paradoxical tones of voice, they’ll be distinct, imperfect, and human. Like me lol.  I’ve been described as: Serious but Playful, Authoritative but Anti-Corporate, Cynical but Hopeful. And that's just in what I write, imagine you met me for a pint.

However, this was not the opinion of my teachers and professors during education, and it therefore required a distinct perspective shift from me. Along with confrontation and peace making with some core memories to decide this was the medium I felt most adept at putting my voice forward through.

You see, growth requires change, and self reflection and not everyone can accept that, or is willing to do it.

So before next time I challenge you to put something you wrote (or your business did) into your preferred LLM, use this prompt:

“The best brands have paradoxical tones of voice. That's what makes them interesting. Does this writing have that? How would you describe it”

And don’t be worried if it says you don’t. Keep going, submit something else. Maybe just an email you wrote one time that you thought was very ‘you.’ Analyze your middle. Study your 'fine.' Figure out what’s holding it back from being good. Or great.

I once saw a quote (naturally, misattributed to Jung in a million memes):

“Thinking is hard. That’s why most people judge.”

It sticks with you. Because as AI makes things easier, it also smooths over the stuff that actually makes us human: thought, judgment, voice.

It's easier (and feels safer) to share some garbage that someone had a bot write than express what you think in your own unique way. You'll be surprised at the response. We can tell it's really you, we all appreciate it. When you take a risk others weren’t willing to take, in your professional, personal or business life your success makes others uncomfortable. Not because they hate you, but because they have to reconcile why they didn’t do it. Why do they not have what you have, why is their business stuck, why do their comms sound like everyone else's.

We’re wired to compare. It’s how we learn, by watching what others do. So when someone takes a risk we avoided and ends up with something we want, it forces a mirror on us. And we don’t always like what we see.

Growth makes people uncomfortable. But that’s their problem, not yours. Spend some time, develop your voice, define one for your business, but not in a formulaic fashion, try something uncomfortable. And then don't be scurred, put it out into the world.

Don’t be like “Bob” - remember him? 

Nope, me neither.

As you were.

MrMcK.

About the author - Mark McKenna is a corporate communications strategist and creative who helps organizations say what matters clearly, meaningfully, and with style. With a background in agency leadership and almost two decades of experience crafting films and messaging for some of the world’s biggest companies, he brings sharp insight, emotional intelligence, and a no-nonsense voice to complex business conversations. Mark’s work strips away the fluff to get to the heart of what needs to be said and why it matters.