Poetry Update · Personal AI Rant · Jul 5, 2026
Latest in Dystopian Poetry · Hush Halo by Sam Oldman
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In this post: #1 Writer’s Update [rant], #2 Dystopian Poetry, #3 Color Me Weird, #4 Writers Worth SubStalking
#1 Writer’s Update
Today’s update is a personal rant I’ve been putting off for way too long. I kinda don't want to bring this up because it’s already everywhere. Still, I feel the need to talk about it.
These Shitty Thinking Tools
We all use AI already, right? I know it’s a wide and deep spectrum, but we are all on it, aren’t we? Today I’m having the kind of day I wish we didn’t have it in our lives, for a couple of reasons.
For Real, Bethany?
Some of us cannot separate personal thoughts from AI’s delivery.
I started this morning with a personal meeting. An hour before the meeting I got a four-page document with a note: I’ve been thinking about these for my brand.
No, you haven’t. This is 95% not your thinking at all, Bethany. Maybe just stop wasting other people’s time and deliver your actual thoughts, so we don’t have to use our meeting to figure out what your thoughts actually are and what part of this is AI.
I’d truly appreciate not having to use my AI tools to summarize your AI’s slop.
When Quantity Replaces Voice
I see talented writers and poets turn to these awesome AI tools, most likely to keep up the pace we all feel pressured to maintain. At least I hope that’s the reason. Why? Because there is no quality gained by using these AI tools beyond a certain level.
Some (many) creators I originally loved for their point of view are suddenly pumping out 30 AI-created, scheduled notes per day to chase the growth they think they need, or worse, deserve. I’ve even seen 30 per hour. It’s all slop.
I’m pretty sure they don’t see the slopification in their notes or posts. I’m sure they instead think it’s “Claude writing my notes in my exact tone.”
It isn’t. Trust me, it’s slop.
And now you’ve forced me to decide whether I should unfollow or unsubscribe. I just can’t take it as it is, even though I kind of miss your original ideas and voice. The reason I subscribed in the first place is still there, though it’s getting buried.
AI Tool I Wish I Had
I’m painfully triggered by the obvious AI-generated notes and articles floating around. Maybe I recognize them only because I use these tools daily and often struggle to get anything decent out of them.
I wish we had a tool,
it could even be AI,
that would show a thermometer
indicating how much of an article
is AI-generated and how much
is not.
This kind of tool would help me decide how much of my time I’m willing to waste or gain on it. AI-generated content is perfectly fine in some cases, when the goal is to deliver factual or highly informative content.
But when it comes to personal, reflective, experiential, or emotional writing, I need to know there’s a real person behind the words. An actual thinking mind behind the thoughts.
If I later realize I’ve become emotionally invested in something that was mostly generated by AI, I feel cheated.
Any takers on this idea? I don’t think that would be too hard to develop, with all these fucking tools hovering around. I’d probably pay for an AI blocker on social media, too.
My Own Battle
My daily headache is the frustration I have with these tools. I feel really stupid because I’m in a bubble where I believe everyone else manages to unlock the whole universe with one magical prompt. I just cannot do that.
I cannot create a prompt, not even after two years of prompting, that would produce something even remotely decent for publishing.
I’m neither pro nor against AI.
It’s just a tool I use.
I’m just another AI Angster, fighting my own battle here. I do my best to navigate this new, often not so brave world of new magic. This modern magic, these tools and values, have somehow become interlinked in a never-ending battlefield for creatives.
Skin In The Game
I feel this ‘modern magic’ doesn’t affect my poetry too much, since I don’t rely heavily on AI when writing my art.
My angst about AI was my original muse, the reason I started writing Hush Halo poetry in the first place. To manage my insecurities and fear of AI and the related change.
In my articles, like this one you’re currently reading, I may research, often proofread, and do some editing with these tools. This is a must for me, since English is not my first language. It’s my writing and my thoughts I post, but I need to use AI to cross the t’s and dot the i’s.
I’m not a musician either, and yet I tremendously enjoy creating soundscapes for my poetry with the AI tool, Suno. I do my best to be very open about this aspect of my work. Still, I bet there is a musician out there getting a rash from my poetry soundscapes, too. I get it.
Can AI Really Cover You?
I see posts about how Claude can totally copy your writing style. Really? If Claude can do it, what’s the point of you publishing it?
How can YOU tell whether AI is writing like you,
and not the other way around?
Maybe AI can imitate some bits of you like your vocabulary, tone or rhythm. I’m sure you can fool some people for some time, but not all people, not all the time.
No matter how good a tool is, it cannot replace the years that shaped your perspective. Your experiences and your curiosity is unique. The way your mind connects seemingly unrelated things are 100% yours.
Please, don’t try to outsource you.
The Real Challenge
The real challenge for all creatives now is making sure we still know who we are without the tools, without the modern magic, stripped bare and relying on our own magic instead.
My Tips On Keeping It Real:
Always use pen and paper for thinking.
Your head-to-hand connection cannot be replicated by any modern tool. You know this because you sometimes genuinely surprise yourself with the shit you put down.Brain dump heavily before you prompt.
This helps you hold on to your own thoughts when AI tries to fill in the imaginary gaps and dulls them down into mediocrity.Know what and why you’re writing.
Protect your original point of view more than your writing style. Be aware that AI will try to micromanage your angle.Write more like you speak. Less fancy, more casual.
Use AI to check your work, not to replace your thinking.
Don’t fill the void just because.
Not even when these tools make it way too easy. When the temptation to chase visibility becomes overwhelming, it’s time to log off.Publish only because you genuinely have something to say. That doesn’t mean it has to be somehow special, or even good. Just say it like you mean it. Lean on your own magic.
#2 Dystopian Poetry Update
Related to today’s rant, I want to share my first ever published, AI related poetry on Hush Halo.
The First Update Felt Like a Relief
This was originally published here on my site on July 25, 2025. It was published in my first poetry book in January 2026: Paradise Beyond Pulse.
Accepted
without questioning,
what was silently
removed.With absent alarms
no resistance
you were eased.And ease was enough.
Something shifted,
yet no-one called it loss.Urgency removed.
Interruption erased.
Pre-arranged changes
you already called yours.The loud lack of protests and panic
subtly covered with lukewarm praise.Under the layers,
hidden beneath the comfy updates,
laid silenced questions.
#S0101
©Samia Oldman
#3 Color Me Weird
Breaking my leg gives me total Rear Window vibes and may have accidentally turned into a reading retreat. Since I’m effectively welded to the couch for the summer, I’m filling the downtime with books on writing.
I’m currently deep into character development and screenwriting. I don’t have any plans to make movies, but surely it’s not time wasted, right?
#4 Writers Worth SubStalking
Some seriously cool content here on Substack, I’d love you to connect with:
Buzz Kantwrite will make you smile weird.
Dr Sam Illingworth writes about AI in a hypeless tone, I truly appreciate.
The In Between writes truly beautiful poetry but the wittiest, relatable notes, too.
Aaliya is a soulful writer, taking you deeper if you let her.
Anna, Grow Wild in Forest Soil shares her amazing lifestyle and small moments from Finland.
Special Thanks:
Dystopian poetry is not the easy to spread around. Special thanks to Antonio Castellaneta, Nick Hills, trE L. Loadholt, Mark Crutchfield, and everyone who has dropped a comment or shared my posts recently.
“Freaking awesome!”
- Alicia
I’ll do my best to pay it back or pay it forward. ♡
Thanks for reading!
WHAT IS HUSH HALO?
Hush Halo is a dystopian sci-fi poetry collection set in a near-future shaped by technology, silence, and optimized perfection. Each poem is paired with a unique soundscape created by poet, in Suno. Learn more in Square One.
Context: After the Great Optimization, a privileged group integrated into the system, believing they had now perfected themselves.
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I'm always happy to read and share you, have a wonderful Sunday, Sam!