My love-hate relationship with Apple

Hi Reader,

I’m an Apple fanboy.

I’ve bought Apple products for years.

Airpods.
iMacs.
MacBooks.

I couldn’t imagine changing from iOS to Android any time soon.

One reason why? I’ve 1000s of photos stuffed into my iCloud library.

The Photos app shows memories of my now 18-year-old son, back when he was a newborn.

I can search for photos of every family holiday from the past 18 years—holidays like our waffling croissants and wine in the South of France or descending the Tower of Terror in Disney Orlando.

Apple Photos helpfully reminds me of simpler times when I’d more hair, too.

Now, I know Android has a similar feature, but I can’t find a compelling reason to move.

So when Apple releases a new product or a service, I pay attention.

Lately, the Apple boffins in Cupertino are hawking its ChatGPT partnership. Now, it works inside Apple Notes they say!

Expect AI “Everywhere words matter.”

These new writing tools will help “Transform how you communicate” and help you “Write effortlessly”.

I can’t imagine anything worse.

Yes, AI is helpful for planning. And yes, AI can eliminate some mundane writing jobs, such as proofreading.

But figuring out what you want to write, why, and to whom?

Discovering how to write content that moves readers or persuades them to act?

It’s easy to think crafting a prompt or pressing a button will answer all those questions.

But AI–even one hawked by Apple–can’t do that.

The reality?

Your words matter, yes.

They matter so much that you shouldn’t hand over critical and creative thinking to AI and a bot.

Working writers treat AI as a useful tool, but not a replacement for doing the work.

Many of them have a library of unique content and ideas they can draw on, and this is not something that AI can easily replicate, generate, or replace.

If you want to create something like this, check out my course about the Zettelkästen Method for Writers.

Write on,
Bryan Collins