By Kenna Rathai, ACN Member
Let me first say that I don’t use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write. After resisting it for a while, I have become a general convert and do use it to help me when my brain is stuck and when I need an extra boost of creativity…usually for outlines, planning and other miscellaneous writing-adjacent tasks.
I’ve been to a lot of workshops and listened in on a lot of webinars about using AI in communications roles. One of my favorite pieces of advice from an Ag Media Summit session this summer was “Not everything we do deserves the time it takes; spend more time on the ‘magic’.”
All that said, I had a writing assignment weighing on me this summer. It wasn’t for my paying gig. It was for my volunteer work with Honor Flight Chicago, a non-profit that honors veterans with visits to Washington D.C. to thank them for their service and sacrifice.
I’m given the names of veterans who live within a reasonable driving distance so that I can visit with them in person. I hit record on my phone, ask them questions, let them tell their stories, then review the transcript and write up a 1,000-1,700 word profile. I take their lead, push a little with questions, but it’s up to them how much they want to share and how deep they want to go. No problem on the first couple.
Then came Alfred. He went deep. His stories were so incredibly tragic and graphic that I had to remove my heart from the conversation, or I knew I would look and act shocked and horrified, which he didn’t need in that moment. He needed a listener who would tell his story.
I visited with him and his wife for three hours. I had 55+ pages of transcription. And I let it sit. The deadline came and went — I had the excuses of a new job, my dad passed away, life. But I was always hesitant to pick it up again because the stories were so intense, and I’d have to re-read them, then try to summarize those three hours in 1,500 words. I did read through it, jotted down some notes, but it became so overwhelming to think about, it turned into analysis paralysis.
Then I decided to break my own rule. I sent the 55+ pages off with an AI prompt that tried to convey my challenge, and a link to the other profiles for reference. I got it back in a few minutes.
And I cried.
For Albert’s memories. And for the heavy burden that AI lifted from me.
It summarized the most heartfelt and poignant parts of Alfred’s story…nearly perfectly. I of course checked facts and memories, and edited where I thought it was warranted. But if you read it, please know that some of the wording that may sound a bit over-dramatic, was actually in the transcript. I checked that too.
Take a read if you have a moment. And thank a veteran.
https://www.honorflightchicago.org/alfred-weedon-a-life-of-resilience
– Rathai is Corporate Communications Specialist for AgroLiquid