Welcome to Chief Word Officer
“I know I am the last generation that knows how to write in the old way,” says Gwen, a 16-year-old high-school student in spring 2025, just two and a half years after ChatGPT was unleashed.
The leaps from clay tablets to quill to typewriter and computer have been smaller than the monumental change that is happening now. Past technologies make the externalisation of words—and thus of human knowledge—easier. Now there’s a technology to do it entirely.
But ideas must be tested, words honed. Humans must still play the central role. Yesterday’s lone writer now becomes the supervisor of mechanical scribes—we all just got promoted to “Chief Word Officer”.
Who am I?
Kenn is a New York Times bestselling author and an editor at The Economist, for whom AI-generated text is a source of both awe and frustration.
Why now?
The world is at a BC-to-AD moment: the way that ideas are expressed is forever changed. In business, genAI will be as pervasive as word-processing software (since, after all, it’s been embedded into the software).
I come at this topic with a deep understanding of AI’s shortcomings: hallucinations, vanilla output, sycophantic responses. At the same time, I do not want to see the world overflowing with AI slop and vapid LinkedIn posts. I also do not want to see a world where no one reads, or where humans forget how to imagine, to dream, to think.
Instead, I hope that the future is one in which technology allows humans to leverage their talents and creativity to an even greater extent. I cannot forget that the written word remains the most important way that humanity stores and shares knowledge. Join me on this journey to see how people are navigating the transition, with all the pitfalls and victories this entails.
And of course… Did we use AI to write this?
I did not use AI to write this because it was faster to write it myself. Words are my day jobs, after all... But I will note when I use AI.
Get involved
If you want to be involved or think there is someone we should be talking to for the channel, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out at chiefwordofficer@substack.com.
