Thread

My 2 cents on AI in the foreign policy/commentary space: I think analysts who use it too much are planting seeds of our own destruction. I think it’s fine to use for research and brainstorming (I do) — but the moment your output starts to SOUND like AI, and lose your own human voice, your production has become a commodity and therefore worthless. If your commentary sounds like ChatGPT or Claude then why wouldn’t a reader/listener not just go straight to them? 2026 has been the year when I have seen even name brand analysts cross this rubicon and frankly I’ve been shocked. I have written this year for NYT and Foreign Affairs and both are now having authors sign pre-publication contracts in which authors affirm they are not using AI at all. Both struck me as overreactions at the time but I increasingly see the logic. It is that curated personal touch that people are after — your experience, your background, your VOICE. (Not just in policy but in all fields, it seems.) Once you show your audience it’s something else, bye bye. I will personally continue to use AI as a tool, it’s fantastic, but resist the short term benefits of letting it fully take the wheel.