How working in AI changed the way I read and write
I’m a book lover. I’m a mom. I work in user experience design for a major tech company’s AI products.
Working in AI hasn’t just changed my work life—it’s changed how I read and write. Here’s what changed:
Paper books over e-books
As someone who took her Kindle, Nook, or Kobo everywhere for 17 years, this is a big one. Ebooks gave me the ability to move across the globe without heavy book boxes, and to manage moving houses myself without help. Over the years, I started to miss supporting small, local bookstores with my purchases. As AI burnout became real, so did my desire to feel paper pages between my fingertips, and weekly visits to local bookstores for connection and recommendations.
I don’t trust AI summaries
In theory, AI summaries are amazing: When you’ve just started the third book in a series but realize you’ve lost the plot, AI summaries can give you a refresher. In reality, I found that AI summaries are seldom accurate. Names are mixed up, spoilers are made, and sometimes a character from a completely different book series or author makes an appearance, adding to the confusion. This isn’t surprising: AI is still in its infancy stage, and many large language models use information from all available sources - whether they are reliable or not.
I don’t read what I don’t enjoy
Time feels more precious every day. There’s simply no time to read all the books… So I focus on those I enjoy - even if it means not finishing books that might have resonated with me in the past.
I read fantasy again
In a world that feels increasingly digital, with companies replacing human talent to make room for AI investments, layoffs looming around every corner, and a difficult global political situation, Fantasy is a great distraction from everything that’s going on.
I keep AI off my blog and social media
In my professional life, training AI models has become more important than designing user experiences. In my personal life, I avoid AI whenever possible - and that includes this blog and my social media pages. As an editor and writer, this small act of defiance has given me some of my spark back.
Final thoughts
Working in AI made me more intentional about how I read, and why I write. I read slower. I choose more carefully. I trust human voices more. And in a world increasingly shaped by machines, that feels important.
How has AI changed the way you read and write?
