AI Sidequest

BREAKING! What writers REALLY think about AI, with Josh Bernoff

There's a brand new study from Gotham Ghostwriters and Josh Bernoff looking at how almost 1,500 writers and editors feel about AI and what they're actually using it for. It's fascinating information, and we have the very first look! Read the report at GothamGhostwriters.com/ai-writer/ Find Josh Bernoff at Bernoff.com Subscribe to the newsletter at AISidequest.com

HOT TAKE: Can AI do 2.5% of your work or 48% of your work?

A new study found dramatically different results from a previous similar study of how well AI can do real human work. Researchers from the Center for Internet Safety and ScaleAI got results [https://www.remotelabor.ai/] in a study that, at first glance, seemed similar to the recent OpenAI study that found AI could successfully complete 48% of real-world, economically valuable human work — but this time the researchers found AI could only do 2.5% of the work. I was intrigued! What was the difference? Read the blog post at AISidequest.com [http://AISidequest.com]. Host: Mignon Fogarty

Small AI wins that actually matter: garlic puns to Spanish rock songs

Learn why AI is changing creative work in unexpected ways. Mignon Fogarty and Jane Friedman look at the delightful small uses of AI (like generating puns and learning Spanish through custom rock songs), then dive into the serious stuff: * Spotify's new anti-slop policy * The $1.5 billion Anthropic book settlement * Why your publisher might owe you money * The crucial difference between "YOLO" AI models and reasoning models that could transform your results * What 900+ professions reveal about society's moral boundaries around AI replacement Resources Mentioned: AI Sidequest Newsletter → https://aisidequest.com [https://aisidequest.com] Jane's Newsletters → https://JaneFriedman.com [https://JaneFriedman.com] Get Clean URL → https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/get-clean-url/mobpimjmmonkghndllikpdgpapkfckje [https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/get-clean-url/mobpimjmmonkghndllikpdgpapkfckje] Tab Copy → https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/tab-copy/micdllihgoppmejpecmkilggmaagfdmb [https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/tab-copy/micdllihgoppmejpecmkilggmaagfdmb] Mignon's Spanish Song on Suno → https://suno.com/s/mIoIvVr1DXRldhQU [https://suno.com/s/mIoIvVr1DXRldhQU] Christopher Penn's LinkedIn Post → https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cspenn_ai-generativeai-genai-activity-7381662838051991553-phvo [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cspenn_ai-generativeai-genai-activity-7381662838051991553-phvo] Ethan Mollick's LinkedIn Post → https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emollick_an-issue-with-ai-is-that-it-is-almost-intuitive-activity-7382079797260156928-7Cx9 [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emollick_an-issue-with-ai-is-that-it-is-almost-intuitive-activity-7382079797260156928-7Cx9] Anthropic Settlement Database → https://secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/ [https://secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/] "Moral Repugnance" Study → https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5560401 [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5560401]

Claude Code for non-coding tasks? Plus, the limits of AI without humans.

Mignon Fogarty and Adam Davidson discuss Sora, Claude Code, the OpenAI jobs study, ChatGPT parental controls, and more. Sign up for the newsletter at http://aisidequest.com.

Beautiful bones + ugly scams: Building with AI. Defending against it

Join Mignon Fogarty and Jane Friedman as they discuss their AI wins and worries. They talk about using AI to build web sites, find new haunts, and do deep research. But they also uncover sophisticated AI scams using fake reader emails, the uncomfortable reality of AI note-takers in meetings, hallucinated website links, and institutional bias in AI peer review.