[Tech Thoughts] Reconsidering the social dimensions of hating AI - Rappler

AT A GLANCE

More than a year ago, I wrote about the social dimension of hating artificial intelligence and supporting human art and artistry by hiring people who make things instead of delegating the creative process to AI.

I have been vocal about my disdain for AI use, in that I tend to be the “fun police” when I discuss the negative impacts of AI on social, societal, and environmental aspects.

I’ve had to revisit my stance on talking about the negative impacts or the social dimensions of AI as right now, it’s starting to become ubiquitous, and much like the other things that came out of Pandora’s box, there’s not really a way to go back as an individual unless you take technology companies aside and tell them their products are harmful. Being kind is much better, too.

Blaugust 2026, and blogging rules

I mention all of this because one of the communities I participate in has a yearly blogging month, called Blaugust, which invites people to make blogs and post about their thoughts on topics that interest them… sort of like a friendly writing circle.

In 2025, there were some participants who made completely AI derivations, likely without much human intervention, and in doing so went against the spirit of the community event, which was to write.

In 2026, the rules have been adjusted to say that, “Posts that are wholly or substantially generated by AI should not be submitted as Blaugust content or counted towards Blaugust awards.”

While AI can be used to help in the creative process, such as in proofreading or research assistance, completely AI-made posts, or AI-made posts that are edited by a human after the fact would not be consolidated into the listings of Blaugust 2026 entries.

The social dimensions of AI use and disdain

This poses a problem in some regard on two fronts.

On one hand, you exclude a subset of people who write with the help of AI because sometimes, getting one’s thoughts in order can be hard (COVID-19 made this a thing with me, and the struggle is real) and AI can be an accessibility tool if a person pushes back against the AI’s actions rather than allowing it to do what it wants with reckless abandon.

On the other hand, the hardline anti-AI users may consider a reasoned approach to AI-aided work abhorrent, and seek to harass anybody who wants to use AI in aiding their creative processes.

Not by themselves: Writing with AI help

One of my online friends recently admitted she uses ChatGPT to help with the writing process, redoing things from generated outputs to help her find her voice.

She uses it to organize her scattered thoughts and strengthen a basic idea she has in mind. She then takes the ensuing conversation with ChatGPT and adapts it (for lack of a better term) into a draft that she can then edit, fact-check, and adjust so it’s more “her” voice than that of an AI tool.

She admits (and I agree) that doing things this way makes it difficult to suss out how much of a given written work is her versus the AI. But an older version of myself would have shut this down as “nonsense” without considering the nuance that she has her own voice and just needs help getting what she wants out of her brain and onto a virtual page.

Against AI, but supporting friends regardless

I’ve had to soften my stance on AI use in the time I’ve spent railing against it.

I still will rally people against the use of AI, but I realize that I’m also beholden to it when the news organization I work for does AI-enabled story summaries — and I check those outputs for accuracy versus the original work.

I realize that in this case, I have to be the one to push back instead of letting AI take over the controls of the written word.

I value my friendships with people now more than the hatred I have for AI. Whether or not my friend is excluded to some extent by Blaugust rules, I still count her among my friends, and I’d love to read her voice more online, even if it is aided by AI and then worked upon afterwards by her own effort.

Much like anything else in life, the struggle is what makes things in life worthwhile and, ultimately, human!

Besides, it’s the tech companies pushing for an AI-enabled future that are the problem. We’re just being forced to live in the world where it exists in ubiquity.

For those curious about Blaugust and would like to learn more, check out this post from Indiecator announcing the sign-ups; the sign-up sheet for the event is there, if you’re so inclined to join in. – Rappler.com

How does this make you feel?