I'm tired of AI generated content but I use it myself
Hard-won AI guardrails, nostalgic copywriting that still slaps & the most entertaining Wimbledon moments so far
Issue #12
Welcome to this week’s Culture Curve, your 5-minute rundown on what’s shaping the way we think, shop and behave. This week I’ve binged Wimbledon (for the tennis as much as for the fits 👀), enjoying my first 4th of July BBQ & trying to get a tan despite not having made it to the actual beach yet.
That said, I’ve got a mixed bag of topics for you today: surviving the AI-content avalanche (and the guardrails that keep my voice intact), a eulogy to great copywriting, and the best Wimbledon moments to catch up on.
AI fatigue: why do our feeds sound like an airport PA system?
Loud, repetitive, impossible to escape… my LinkedIn feed is an army of thought leaders with can’t-miss wisdom to share—all formatted in the same voice, bullet points & emoji. I’m not doubting the quality of their content, I’m questioning the efficacy of the delivery. In a land where everyone sounds the same, people start skimming even if it’s valuable to dive deep.
The numbers back the noise: 88% of marketers use AI daily, yet 52% fear it could swipe their jobs (source: SurveyMonkey & Pew Research).
Scrolling now feels like drinking from a firehose… while someone whispers in your ear that the hose might replace you.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not anti-AI at all. I rely on various LLMs for research and creative projects, both personally and professionally, from nutrition and workout advice to how payment rails work & creating visual content like this image of Jon Hamm hanging out with a Labubu doll wearing an Oura ring (my mind is a weird place, I know).
But the widespread use of LLMs for writing is revealing lazy thinking and for those who use them often enough, it’s becoming easier to spot. These tools can be invaluable in automating tasks, conducting research, collating info, creating visuals and even marketing campaigns on shoestring budgets (a skill I’m being forced to hone in my new startup job). Over-reliance on them, however, leads to lack-luster output that lacks personality, voice, authenticity: all the ingredients needed to create content that evokes real emotion. Or perhaps AI has simply enabled everybody to sound so lustrous that nobody really is anymore.
So here’s how I tell a pure-bot post from a human one and the guardrails I use so my own voice doesn’t get washed out.
The LinkedIn bot formula
Opens with a “5 lessons I learned…” teaser.
Rolls into buzzword soup—optimize, synergize, monetize.
Paragraphs in perfect 3-sentence bricks.
Em dashes galore—make genuine dash-lovers look guilty.
Closes with an abrupt call-to-action.
My lessons from using AI
Treat the model like an intern. It can outline, pull stats, even rough-draft. But be the one writing the actual sentences so the final voice stays yours—awkward jokes, personal anecdote, an imperfect sentence.
Publish less, curate more. You’d rather put out 2 quality pieces of content than 4 entirely automated ones with no unique elements. Trust that your audience—the one you’re actually trying to impress—is intelligent enough to tell the difference. It’s 2025, people.
Lead with lived experience. You can’t build community or an audience without sharing real experiences in a manner that resonates. Vulnerability and authenticity is palpable.
Master the prompts. If you’re going to use it, you might as well understand how to extract the best content by learning how to prompt the models accurately. Any marketing professional will tell you: a clear, concise brief is half the work done.
Since demoting ChatGPT from ghostwriter to research intern, I’m calmer, more productive, and my posts don’t sound like they’re sponsored by an enterprise SaaS demo.
Full-hearted, non-AI generated request: if you try any of these tips or have better ones, let me know.
Is good copywriting dead?
That’s what I caught myself thinking in a dusty corner of Old Seattle Paperworks, a Narnia’s closet of vintage posters tucked underground at Pike Place Market.
I could have spent hours sifting through the old maps, magazines and vintage posters of iconic ad campaigns, from the 1930s to the 1980s. Three headlines leapt out:
Volkswagen: “When we designed this beauty, we kept a few ugly things in mind.”
Panasonic: “If the telephone you buy today isn’t a Panasonic, it may already be out-of-date. If it lasts that long.”
Chevrolet: “IF HE COMPLAINS ABOUT THOSE LAST-MINUTE DINNERS… PUT THIS NEXT TO HIS NAPKIN!”
Yes, the gender politics in that Chevy ad aged like warm milk, but the VW and Panasonic copy still hit:
VW’s self-deprecation makes you laugh with the brand, not at it.
Panasonic needles your FOMO by warning you’ll regret buying anything else tomorrow.
It’s a micro-story, one emotion, full stop.
And a special mention to Amul Butter: the beloved brand that introduced copywriting to me as a kid long before I understood the concept. For Indians, those cheeky billboard cartoons—updated almost daily to riff on politics, Bollywood, or cricket—are basically a national news ticker. A single punny line and the wide-eyed “Amul girl” have kept the brand unforgettable for more than 50 years (this could be an entire issue itself).
Fast-forward to the 21st century and the best lines still obey that rule:
Just do it. — Nike
She’s everything. He’s just Ken. — Barbie
Because you’re worth it. — L’Oréal
I let ChatGPT have a go
Prompt: Six words max. Sell the 1960 Beetle without naming past taglines. This is what it returned:
A little dent, a lot of Volkswagen.
Runs perfect. Paint job optional.
Life leaves marks—this one keeps moving.
Feel anything? Me either.
Copywriting isn’t dead; it’s just buried under a landslide of decent AI drafts. The human edge is emotional audacity; digging for the unsettling angle, the risky joke, the oddly specific detail. That’s the bit someone will frame in a shop in Seattle fifty years from now.
🔎 Culture radar: Wimbledon content you need to see
🍾 This warning issued to a spectator… for popping a bottle of champagne the moment before a player was going to serve
🙏🏻 Blake Shelton made a public plea to Morgan Stanley to allow his sister more PTO because she’s his lucky charm… and they said yes
👨🏻👦🏻 This adorable moment of Djokovic and his kids celebrating his quarter-final win
⛳ The beginning of a (hopefully) beautiful bromance between Alcaraz & Tom Holland
Next week’s Culture Curve will be a Wimbledon Edition:
Wimbledon’s “personality”
Stella Artois’s campaign for Centre Court
The fashion
Until then, keep your sunscreen on and your prompts cheeky.
- Kasvi
This sentence is a keeper: ...AI has simply enabled everybody to sound so lustrous that nobody really is anymore. Actually, a lot of what you've written about needs to be bookmarked. You're also extolling the virtues of good copywriting! My first (and always) love. As for Wimbledon, I am glued. It's keeping me awake until 3 a.m. and so worth it. I've never been a Novak fan, but watching him last night against Sinner broke my heart. Like him or not (and he hasn't always been a fan favourite),he was an indefatigable force for years. He looked exhausted yesterday. And his son cheering him on was beyond poignant and heartbreaking. But as John McEnroe said, Djokovic was playing Djokovic but at his peak.