Josh Bernoff, an expert in business writing and the author of "Writing Without Bullshit," discusses the impact of AI on writing education. He critiques the notion that AI can replace teaching essential writing skills, arguing for the vital role of human insight and critical thinking. The conversation dives into the creativity and limitations of AI, the necessity of clear writing in corporate decision-making, and addresses the decline of writing skills among younger generations. Bernoff emphasizes that writing is not just a skill but a fundamental life tool.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
ChatGPT Essay Test
Jim Rutt tested early ChatGPT by having it write an 11th-grade level essay.
It produced a B-worthy essay, demonstrating surprisingly good writing mechanics.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Rigorous English Instruction
Jim Rutt recalls rigorous English instruction involving term papers, essays, and book reports.
Teachers provided detailed feedback, fostering critical thinking and writing skills.
insights INSIGHT
Rote Learning Problem
Traditional writing instruction has become a rote exercise with the five-paragraph essay.
This approach fails to teach students critical thinking, which is essential for good writing.
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This practical and witty book teaches readers to front-load their writing with pithy titles, subject lines, and opening sentences. It equips readers with the skills to purge weak jargon, passive voice, and weasel words, and to write directly to the reader. The book emphasizes the 'Iron Imperative': treating the reader’s time as more valuable than your own. It covers how to format emails for readability, cut down on wordiness, and master modern formats from emails and social media to reports and press releases.
Billy Budd
Herman Melville
The Age of Intent: Using Artificial Intelligence to Deliver a Superior Customer Experience
Josh Bernoff
P.V. Kannan
This book, written by P.V. Kannan and Josh Bernoff, explores the future of customer service where AI-powered virtual agents anticipate and fulfill customer needs. It provides insights on how to architect key information systems, overcome corporate resistance, and analyze customer journeys to make virtual agents effective. The book includes case studies from companies like Avis Budget, Nordea, Dish Network, and TGI Fridays, highlighting the benefits and challenges of integrating AI with human support agents to enhance customer experience.
Jim talks with Josh Bernoff, author of Writing Without Bullshit, about the impact of AI on writing education and professional writing. They discuss Josh's background and career, Stephen Lane's recent op-ed arguing that AI should take over writing mechanics, problems with AI-generated writing, the role of writing in thinking, ChatGPT's "deep research," Jim's ScriptHelper project, the decline in math & navigation skills, the importance of memos for corporate decision-making, literacy as a fundamental life skill, Ethan Mollick's approach to AI in education, writing as art, the PowerPoint problem, the Idiocracy scenario, and much more.
Episode Transcript
"Could AI Replace the Teaching of Writing?: Why the Boston Globe op-ed is dead wrong" - Josh's blog post
"AI in the classroom could spare educators from having to teach writing" - Stephen Lane's Boston Globe op-ed
Writing Without Bullshit, by Josh Bernoff
The Age of Intent: Using Artificial Intelligence to Deliver a Superior Customer Experience, by P.V. Kannan with Josh Bernoff
Josh Bernoff is an expert on how business books can propel thinkers to prominence. He is the author of Build a Better Business Book: How to Plan, Write, and Promote a Book That Matters – A Comprehensive Guide for Authors and Writing Without Bullshit: Boost Your Career by Saying What You Mean, as well as coauthor of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. He works closely with nonfiction authors as an advisor, coach, editor, or ghostwriter.
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