Dear Reader,
I spent the early part of this week joining a fascinating event called The Gathering of the Ghosts. Far from a metaphysical meetup, this was the second annual conference designed solely for ghostwriters—an often- misunderstood profession. Through two days of sessions and networking, these "ghosts" talked about how they collaborate, what it takes to write in the voice of someone else, and the role AI is likely to play in the future of their profession. See my article below about what they said and some key themes from the event.
In other stories this week, you will read about why I think Kim Kardashian deserves more respect than she gets, how AI can help reduce accents when it matters most, why I think humans still need car keys and the intriguing story of a lost typeface that was recently dug out of the River Thames.
Enjoy the stories and stay curious!
Rohit
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Insights about the Future of Writing From Industry Professionals ...
At the annual Gathering of the Ghosts event in NY, AI was a hot topic as sessions focused on the business of writing and the future of the profession. I was lucky to join the conversation to offer my thoughts as both a writer and as a publisher. Here were some of my takeaways from the two-day conference:
- Writers Should Be Using AI (But Not For Writing) - This may seem obvious, but the widely held opinion among most was that AI is a great tool for organizing content, doing preliminary research, offering a sounding board or helping with small details like mapping a timeline of events or assisting with ideas for character names. In a room full of elite level writers, unsurprisingly the conclusion was that AI was nowhere near as good at actual writing as anyone in the room.
- Data About How Writers Use AI Is Revealing - As part of the event, my friend Josh Bernoff explored some of the interesting insights from his survey of AI and the Writing Profession that collected responses from 1,481 writers. The survey offered plenty of statistics about how writers use AI, what tools they generally use and how they feel about it.
- Demand For Writers Is Still Strong, But It Is Uneven - Among the writers at the conference, they reported feeling like the demand for their services was still at a premium and people needed their skills to write books. As you approach newer writers who are starting in the industry or those who specialize in more online content, they were feeling the impact of AI tools far more on their roles and opportunities.
- The Need For Camaraderie & Bonding Is Real - Writers can be a solitary bunch so the event also offered a much-needed chance for them to get to know one another, and it was clear the connections are real and will last.
How AI Is Helping Reduce Accents, But Could Do Much More
Thanks to AI there are a number of new services that are designed to help language learners learn a new dialect and reduce their accents too. A platform called Daily Clips uses clips from movies to help users practice their English. Another called Accent No More is an "AI-powered pronunciation coach" that will listen to you speaking and provide you with instant feedback to improve your pronunciation. It works by "combining audio examples, motivational quotes, and speech pattern recognition."
As someone who often tries to learn phrases in languages for regions that I'll be traveling to, I love this idea as a way to minimize my own accent when speaking languages other than English so that I can sound more authentic and be more easily understood. As a native speaker of English, I hate to think that widespread tools like this might remove the beautiful linguistic diversity of accented English and make everyone sound the same. So, I'm conflicted.
My new favorite tool in this realm is one called Say My Name! which offers a pronunciation guide to help English speakers pronounce the names of people and places properly. It also offers the added bonus of telling you what a name means. Now we just need to extend this as a tool that could teach American politicians that the correct pronunciation of a country name like Iraq does not rhyme with "Eye-Rack."
Does the World Still Need Car Keys? I Hope the Answer is Yes.
Writing about innovations that I hope die quickly isn't usually my style ... except for today. A recent piece in WIRED magazine asks whether we should still be carrying around car keys anymore. With many cars offering remote unlock services or pairing with your phone, the car key has become optional and may soon disappear. I hope it doesn't and apparently, I'm not alone. There is a lot of nostalgia associated with car keys, as well as some intriguing behavioral psychology behind why people like it. Having physical keys gives some people comfort.
Stefan Gössling, a professor at Linnaeus University, Sweden, and author of The Psychology of the Car describes it this way:
"A car key is full of meaning. Jingling them gives some motorists the opportunity to show off their automobile, even if the car is not close by. Car keys are also comforting to some, a physical reminder that your vehicle is there to take you away; to protect you.”
Replacing car keys with apps or phones also makes it impossible for you to leave the house without your phone ... not to mention creating complications when your phone inevitably runs out of battery. And fully digital locks could make cars more vulnerable to hacking, plus they make it easier for authorities to repossess or prevent access for any reason including an accidentally missed payment. For all these reasons, it's one innovation that I hope continues to roll out slowly. Do you agree or do you love digital keys for cars?
Why Kim Kardashian Deserves Something She Never Gets: Respect
Some people are saying that Kim Kardashian just had the "most terrible week ever," but I don't agree. The facts probably aren't on my side. Her new legal drama is currently getting a 0% Rotten Tomatoes score. After years of law school, she failed the California bar exam. Her mom's birthday party was shut down by cops. And apparently she consulted multiple psychics who all told her she would indeed become a lawyer. On the surface, that does seem like a bad week, but here's another take on it ...
She is a widely known celebrity who had an embarrassing setback to her ambitions to be a lawyer, yet she chose to publicly share it, rather than hide her humiliation:
"Six years into this law journey, and I'm still all in until I pass the bar. No shortcuts, no giving up."
Her reason for wanting to be a lawyer is admirable too--to reform the criminal justice system and help those who have been wrongfully convicted. It will be much easier for her too on the business side, as the brand she founded just got another round of funding this week at a valuation of $5 Billion.
You have to admire someone who continues to grow a successful business and chases her ambitions while living in a world surrounded by media (and humans) who would love to see her fail and criticize her every move. Despite the vocal naysayers, she still shows up, owns her failures, refuses to take a shortcut or give up and chooses to do the work and be true to herself. That doesn't sound like the worst week ever to me. It sounds like someone who deserves a lot more respect than she ever gets.
