MAIVENS Podcast
💜 Hey M(AI)VENS, ☕ Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Welcome back, ladies. I’m thrilled to share M(AI)VENS is now available in audio format! If you’d rather listen while you walk, commute, or do chores, just press play instead of reading. 🎧 📰 This Week in AI: The “AI Bubble” The news this week has been buzzing with the idea of an AI bubble. You may have seen the phrase in headlines. The concern is that money, energy, and hype are pouring into AI faster than results are showing up. Much of this attention comes from a new MIT study that found 95 percent of corporate AI projects don’t deliver meaningful outcomes (Windows Central [https://www.windowscentral.com/artificial-intelligence/95-percent-ai-projects-fail-bubble-pop?utm_source=chatgpt.com]). Some economists are comparing it to the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s. Even Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has acknowledged there’s a risk of inflated expectations. Here’s my take: while the research is interesting, it’s based on a relatively small sample and doesn’t capture the many ways AI creates business value. An AI pilot might not “scale” in the way MIT measured, but it could still reduce customer acquisition costs, improve employee productivity, or make teams more efficient. If you’re using AI at work, look for wins like reduced marketing costs, smoother workflows, or time saved in your day. For many of us, these everyday gains matter just as much as splashy headlines about billion-dollar projects. Whether you agree or not, “AI bubble” is a useful phrase to know. Do you think we’re in one? Or are we just experiencing the normal growing pains of a powerful technology? Either way, there’s another term you’ll want to know: AI slop 🧼. It’s the flood of generic, low-quality writing filling feeds, and that’s where we’re focusing this week. Let’s get into it! 👀 Once You See It, You Can’t Unsee It When I first started exploring AI tools about two years ago, I was focused on what they could do, not how they were shaping my words. I was dazzled by the convenience. Whole drafts of blog posts, emails, and captions appeared in seconds. At first it was like magic. But over time, I noticed something. Certain turns of phrase kept showing up. Articles started with the same rhythms. Social posts felt like they had all been written by the same invisible hand. And once I spotted those patterns, I couldn’t unsee them. That’s when I learned about AI slop. It’s the name given to the flood of low-effort content generated by AI. Think of it like junk food for the internet: quick to make, easy to consume, and missing real substance. The Guardian even compared it to “spam for the AI age” (The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2025/jan/08/ai-generated-slop-slowly-killing-internet-nobody-trying-to-stop-it]). I don’t want your words, effort, and hard work to fall into that category. When our readers, customers, and colleagues see our work, we want them to see us. 🛑 The Top 5 AI Writing Calamities Here are the five biggest giveaways I’m seeing everywhere, plus easy fixes to keep your voice in control. 1. The “It’s not just X, it’s Y” formulaAI adores this structure. You’ve seen it: “It’s not just about saving time, it’s about transforming your business.” It’s tidy, it’s dramatic, and it’s everywhere.✨ Fix: Say what you mean directly. Add variety to your sentence structures. If you want contrast, tell a short story instead of relying on this formula. 2. Formulaic openersAI often starts with “Have you ever wondered…” or “Are you struggling with…” These sound like they belong in an infomercial, right?✨ Fix: Consider beginning with something only you could write. A personal anecdote, a surprising fact, or a human observation. 3. Vague generalitiesWatch for phrases like “experts say” or “studies show” with no names, stats, or links. AI defaults to filler when it can’t provide specifics.✨ Fix: Name the person or entity, include the numbers, or share your own lived example. 4. Stiff formalityAI avoids contractions, so you’ll see “You will” instead of “You’ll.” The result is polished but a bit robotic.✨ Fix: Write the way you speak. Use contractions. Imagine you’re talking to your best friend. 5. Overuse of the em dashAI has a habit of leaning too hard on the em dash — it shows up everywhere. Often it’s dropped in where a simple comma or period would work just fine. When every sentence tries to be dramatic, the writing starts to feel mechanical. ✨ Fix: The em dash isn’t the villain, it just doesn’t need to star in every sentence. Mix in commas, periods, and colons so your writing flows more naturally. When you do use the em dash, it will stand out the way it’s meant to. 📝 Quick Edit Tips Here’s a mini checklist you can use any time you’ve worked with AI on a draft for social media, a blog post, a letter, an email, etc. Think of it as a five-minute polish before hitting publish. * Did I add a personal story, detail, or memory? * Did I replace buzzwords like cutting-edge or game-changing with something specific? * Did I vary my sentence rhythm? * Did I let a little imperfection or nuance stay in the text? * Did I add a touch of warmth or empathy? * Does it sound like me when I read it out loud? This is my personal favorite! 🎯 Reader Challenge This week’s challenge: Take one piece of writing you created with the help of AI, maybe a LinkedIn post, a blog entry, or an email. Run it through the checklist above. Then make one small change to bring it closer to your voice. Maybe that means swapping out a generic opener. Maybe it’s cutting a stiff phrase and adding a personal example. Then read it again. Notice how much more it sounds like you. If you feel like sharing, reply here or drop a comment with your before-and-after snippet. I’d love to see it. 💡 Why This Matters AI is here to stay, and it can be a wonderful ally. It helps us brainstorm, polish, and save time. But it shouldn’t be the main driver of our voices. The more we lean on AI, the more important it becomes to layer in our own perspective and lived experience. Our quirks, our stories, and our emotions are what make writing memorable. That human layer is what keeps our words from slipping into AI slop. And here’s the good news: women are natural storytellers. We bring empathy, nuance, and connection to the way we write and speak. Lean into that strength by letting your stories carry the message, while AI plays a supporting role. 🌟 Let’s Bubble Wrap It So this week, you got a taste of two important terms: * The AI bubble, a phrase you’ll keep hearing as companies work to prove results. * AI slop, the wave of generic, low quality content flooding the internet. Most importantly, you now have an easy guide to spotting the tell-tale signs of AI writing and a quick-edit checklist to polish your own work. Always let the human experience shine, and let AI provide the support. ✨ Little Things I’m Loving This past Sunday was the 50th anniversary of the Annapolis 10-Miler, a race that winds through our beautiful town and always draws a big crowd. I have to brag a little: my oldest son ran it this year! Here’s the twist. My husband, being the supportive dad, slipped him an energy pack to use when he felt like he was running out of steam. Except… he didn’t realize that packet was massively expired. I’m talking three-plus years out of date. 🤮 My son crossed the finish line, but only after throwing up a few times on his way down the chute. Not exactly the triumphant finish he had envisioned, but still, he did it. And now we have a family story that I suspect will live on for at least another 50 years. 🏃♂️🎉 Annapolis 10 Mile Run [https://www.instagram.com/annapolistenmilerun?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==] Thanks for reading another edition! If you’re enjoying the M(AI)VENS newsletter for women, will you please share it with a girlfriend, a family member, or business colleague? I’d be so grateful! 💌 🦉 💜 More soon, CheyenneFounder, M(AI)VENS Copyright © 2025 M(AI)VENS. All rights reserved. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit womenai.substack.com [https://womenai.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]
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