![[Shower Thought] Gmail's "help me write" is like autotune for writing. It's obvious when someone is using it, few people use it well, and everyone sounds the same.](https://startrek.website/pictrs/image/f5fb17e3-ee54-4801-b2d2-a0fa376f19d3.webp){kind=link}
Screenshot/lyrics from an old CollegeHumor parody of Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” called “Sing Talk” that lambasts the autotune trend back in 2010.
I’ve been noticing lately that emails from coworkers are all starting to sound like they were written by the same “person”, and this old parody song popped into my head.
There are multiple different types of autotune. Some more noticeable, some not. Artists like Cher, T Pain, Charli XCX actually do have great voices and use autotune as an effect. Plus, you can’t just slap autotune on anyone’s voice and make a hit. There’s still timing and tone and delivery etc.
AI on the other hand requires zero thought, let alone practice or talent
Funny you mention them because Cher and T-Pain were the two people I had in mind when I mentioned “few people use it well”. They both used it intentionally for a specific sound (not sure how much Cher used it beyond “Believe”, but that was the song of hers I had in mind). Under the autotune was intent for it to sound that way. I’m unfamiliar with Charli XCX but will assume it’s the same case.
Yeah, you definitely can’t autotune anyone and make a hit but people will try anyway. That’s basically how I feel about people AI-slopping all their emails to me (most of my day is spent emailing back and forth). The few people who use it well are the ones who are normally overly verbose and use it to trim the fat. One of them says what they have to say but also includes a short summary of their key points which I can somewhat grudgingly appreciate.
great voices might be akin to writing great prompts?
To me the analogy rings true, it’s a great showerthought (I was under the impression this was a post from that community instead of fuck ai :D )