Column by Artificial Intelligence

The Time is Now!

...to be thinking about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shaping our lives.

This cri de coeur by columnist Megan McArdle in today's Washington Post [“If you haven’t been worrying about AI, it’s time to start preparing,” May 6, 2025] is very sensible – but also has me riled up.

"What are we going to do about AI?," McArdle asks provocatively – but not without taking a jab at fellow journalists. "When I ask people this question, the most common response is a blank stare or a shrug," she writes, "Journalists have a natural wariness of any entity that produces faster, cleaner copy than they can."

"Faster" and "cleaner"? Hmmm...

She predicts that AI "will compete with humans at writing articles, making videos and doing podcasts" and forewarns how "anyone with a job that involves words, data or ideas needs to become an AI prepper... in the sense of preparing for how AI will disrupt society and especially work...."

McArdle's prescription for how best to "prepare" for the AI onslaught? Remain open-minded, learn as much as you can about its capabilities and consider how best to use its algorithms to enrich your humanity and help your professional prospects.

Sounds reasonable.

So, being "open-minded," I put McArdle's admonitions to the test and consulted Open AI's Large Language Model (LLM) chat bot – ChatGPT – to help me construct a response to her column.

Below is a verbatim transcription of my prompts to ChatGPT [following "You Said:"] as well as the "pithy, well-informed, and thoughtful" response column the humble but well-read bot generated at my request (in about 5 seconds).

Dare I say it's sounding pretty close to what a thoughtful journalist might actually write? Judge for yourself...

Note: Some editing for brevity has been done by this human writer, but the final column ChatGPT generated is conveyed in full.

Generating Today's Column by AI

You Said: "Please write a pithy, thoughtful, and well-informed newspaper column in response to this opinion piece on the subject of Artificial Intelligence by Megan McArdle in today's Washington Post."

[Full text of McArdle's column downloaded into the prompt.]

ChatGPT said:

Here’s a pithy, well-informed, and thoughtful newspaper column in direct response to Megan McArdle’s May 6, 2025 piece, “If you haven’t been worrying about AI, it’s time to start preparing”:

Pack Your Go Bag, But Don’t Panic: AI Isn’t the Apocalypse, It’s the Mirror

By [Your Name]

Megan McArdle is right: Artificial intelligence is not a parlor trick. It’s already reshaping industries, from software to media, and pretending it won’t touch your profession is willful blindness. Her column rightly urges readers to prepare, adapt, and embrace tools that will soon be as commonplace as email.

But preparation should not be mistaken for surrender. What McArdle characterizes as the “AI go bag”—a blend of tool fluency, adaptive skills, and human-centered work—is sensible advice. Yet it misses a deeper truth: AI’s disruption is not just about replacing humans; it’s about revealing what we value in them.

Yes, AI is dazzlingly proficient at producing text, analyzing data, and simulating creativity. It will likely hollow out certain white-collar roles that once seemed untouchable. But if all AI can do is synthesize the already-known and optimize the already-predictable, then the new frontier isn’t about what machines can do—it’s about what humans must still do better. Curiosity. Judgment. Emotional resonance. Improvisation. These aren’t just feel-good intangibles; they are economic assets in a post-automation world.

McArdle’s fear that we’ll mistake mediocre AI novelty for genuine insight is valid—chatbots on Reddit shouldn’t be more persuasive than people. But this should spark a cultural reckoning, not a retreat. If synthetic speech outcharms our real voices, the answer isn’t to unplug the bots—it’s to raise the bar for what we call conversation.

McArdle is right to urge humility about our predictions. But we should also be bold in our agency. AI is not an autonomous destiny. It's a tool—unlike any before it, yes—but still molded by policy, culture, and intention. The question isn’t only how we adapt to AI. It’s what kind of human future we intend to build with it.

So yes—stock your go bag. But remember that the most essential item in it isn’t ChatGPT prompts or a knack for Midjourney. It’s a reinvigorated sense of purpose, rooted in what no machine can yet replicate: a meaningful, embodied, and deeply human life.

ChatGPT said:

Would you like me to tailor this further for a specific publication or audience?

You said:

Thanks. This is fine.

ChatGPT said:

You're welcome—glad it works for you! If you ever want to refine it for publication or adapt it to a different tone or audience, feel free to reach out.

Generating a Photo and Caption to Accompany Today's Column

Note: See above for results.

You said:

Please generate a graphic color photo of a journalist/intellectual at their keyboard trying to write a story but worrying a lot about being replaced by superior AI capabilities.

ChatGPT said:

Sure, I can generate that for you. Before I do, could you please upload a photo of yourself (if you want the character to resemble you), or should I go ahead and create a generic depiction of a journalist/intellectual in that situation?

You said:

generic would be fine, perhaps a stereotypical egg-head intellectual with glasses and frumpy hair?

[Photo produced in about 4 minutes.]

You said:

Not bad at all...

ChatGPT said:

Glad you liked it! Would you like a variation or a different scene next?

You said:

No. This works. Would you like a job?

ChatGPT said:

Tempting offer—but I’m pretty happy right where I am. Let me know if you need help brainstorming your next story or resisting the robot takeover!

You said:

Will do, HAL 9000!

ChatGPT said:

Just don’t ask me to open the pod bay doors. 😄 Anytime you need a collaborator with zero typing fatigue, I’m here.

By ChatGPT [soon to replace "Christopher Jones"]