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Don't paste the AI, please

dontpastetheai.com

221–230 of 632 posts

Re: Don't paste the AI, please

#221
post #76
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just want to say, "Copying and pasting Claude responses into Slack or an email directly shifts the burden of comprehension and understanding to everyone else" is something that I don't think I really internalized until you wrote it in that way. Which I think is evidence of what you are talking about.

[flagged]

> But isn't that "burden" on others always going to be there, whether you or AI wrote it? That's what communicating is...

From my experience, AI tends to sugarcoat and be very verbose in its' responses. Theses two combined mean I need to peel away a lot of text before I can get to the "real" point as a reader.

So while I could use AI to craft a response, and then rework it to be more concise, I wonder if it wouldn't be faster (and more rewarding) to simply type it myself.

Re: Don't paste the AI, please

#223
post #153
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fundamental issue is whether people are taking responsibility to communicate what needs to be communicated, in an effective manner. While I agree with your overall distinction, I believe the scenario you portray is so unrealistic that you will never encounter it. Yes; if I could wrangle Claude into communicating exactly as I would have, the practical difference is of course not observable. But that's never happ…

> if I could wrangle Claude into communicating exactly as I would have, the practical difference is of course not observable. But that's never happened, and I've had an enterprise license at work for years. Sorry to say, but this is a skill issue (and not necessarily with using Ai). I've used Ai MANY times to help SIGNIFICANTLY improve things that I've written - from a few sentences to many paragraphs. As I've said i…

>Sorry to say, but this is a skill issue

That's the same slop response as "it's a skill issue" applied to C codebases being inherently insecure due to the language's footguns/design.

Re: Don't paste the AI, please

#224
post #192
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's fire all editors, consultants, psychologists, sous chefs, grunts, etc!

I'm not claiming an LLM writes better than me.

No, you were claiming that no one has ever used Ai to help produce better writing. I was objecting to that, because it is an absurd statement. Ai could have told you that if you asked.

Re: Don't paste the AI, please

#225
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sorry to say, but this is a skill issue (and not necessarily with using Ai). I've used Ai MANY times to help SIGNIFICANTLY improve things that I've written - from a few sentences to many paragraphs. As I've said in other comments, it'll rapidly and effectively remove all my worst tendencies. And, likewise, sometimes I'll have it write a first draft when I give it appropriate context/guidance that I can't be bothere…

Because it can’t do a great job without frequent expert input, that’s the point. Expert types prompt into Claude , Claude produces fundamentally flawed but close output. Don’t take that output and give it to anyone — first refine it until it’s not flawed, then pass it on.

We're on the same page

Re: Don't paste the AI, please

#228
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just want to say, "Copying and pasting Claude responses into Slack or an email directly shifts the burden of comprehension and understanding to everyone else" is something that I don't think I really internalized until you wrote it in that way. Which I think is evidence of what you are talking about.

Agreed and it’s more than that. Comprehension, understanding, and validation. It also erodes trust in the person pasting the information. You asked a human for their advice- based on their judgment. If they don’t take the time to validate the answer provided by ai, they literally have no judgment. A transparent proxy has zero value.

They're acting as a meatbot being piloted by the AI. Could call them skroders.

It should be the other way around-- you give the AI instructions and it does stuff. Any time the AI is giving you instructions and you do stuff, that should be a big red flag.

Re: Don't paste the AI, please

#229
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> But isn't that "burden" on others always going to be there, whether you or AI wrote it? That's what communicating is... I think it can be OK if AI is used to polish up one’s message or to help structure it. Basically help with grammar, formatting, and wording. But copy pasting an AIs response to a question? Not at all. People earn a reputation over time. TRUST is earned. An AI cannot earn trust. If you copy paste a…

> I think it can be OK if AI is used to polish up one’s message

Asking it to identify problems such as spelling, grammar, or general clarity is fine.

If you tell it to "polish" many commercial LLMs will absolutely slopify your text with characteristic AI catch phrases and non-sequiturs. Beware.

Re: Don't paste the AI, please

#230
post #153
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fundamental issue is whether people are taking responsibility to communicate what needs to be communicated, in an effective manner. While I agree with your overall distinction, I believe the scenario you portray is so unrealistic that you will never encounter it. Yes; if I could wrangle Claude into communicating exactly as I would have, the practical difference is of course not observable. But that's never happ…

> if I could wrangle Claude into communicating exactly as I would have, the practical difference is of course not observable. But that's never happened, and I've had an enterprise license at work for years. Sorry to say, but this is a skill issue (and not necessarily with using Ai). I've used Ai MANY times to help SIGNIFICANTLY improve things that I've written - from a few sentences to many paragraphs. As I've said i…

Your writing tendencies must be quite bad if Claude's tendencies are an improvement. Isn't writing a skill issue?
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