When I open up a new Word document, I am immediately greeted with a prompt, an encouragement -– but definitely not a temptation! — to let Microsoft’s AI, Copilot, remove the burden of writing. I wished that I could make it go away, in more ways than one. It persists, as do I.

I’m reading a great book, Goodbye to a River: A Narrative, by John Graves. Published in 1959, the author shares the story/ramblings/insights of his canoe trip down the Brazos River in 1957 before the multitude of planned dams were built on it. Some believe that his book prevented the building of about 10 of the dams. The bibliography to his book stands as evidence as to how he was able to enrich the narrative with stories of the people and events that happened along the river where he and his pup travelled. What does this book have to do with Copilot?

His style – style being something that is uniquely personal, influenced by one’s character and personality, and desire to share in a particular way – is something Copilot wouldn’t understand or be able to create. Graves’ use of ellipsis fascinates me because I like to use it contrary to “the rules,” too, when I am trying to create a particular effect in how one may read to oneself a particular sentence that conveys a stream of thought, particularly in moments of thoughts trailing off.

I guess Copilot, and its ilk, are supposed to take the work out of writing, which is the equivalent of the difference in experiences between picking up produce at the grocery story or taking the effort to prepare the soil, plant the seed, weed the garden, protect the plants from disease and pests, nurture the growth, harvest at the right time for tasty rewards, and leave some to go to seed to produce again in the future. If the garden approach sounds like arduous work with no benefits, then maybe Copilot is for you; if you can sense the enjoyable effort and resultant sweat and sore muscles, the farmer’s eye on the weather as it relates to the crops, the pride in growing enough to eat and can, and the creation of future generations by assuring there is seed for the future…then maybe Copilot isn’t for you, like it isn’t for me.

Let’s stand our ground. Learn to find and activate your personal style and voice in all forms of expression. Study and improve – even master! – the skills required to communicate and share in your way and with your voice that can only be yours because no one else in all of existence has lived the life you have.