Exactly how to resist generative AI
7 ways to push back against the idea that we "must" use LLMs
My partner is a data scientist, and for years, we had a dark, ongoing debate: What’s the greatest existential threat of our time? A former environmental nonprofit employee, she argued it was climate change (in a 2019 presidential debate, Bernie Sanders eloquently articulated why), while I—the granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors—believed it was the global rise of fascism.
Both are terrifying and ongoing, but the discussion’s over. Today, we both agree the most urgent issue of our time is AI companies’ pursuit of superintelligence. As I wrote last week, using these products enriches corporations that have shown blatant disregard for ethical integrity, that exploit people and the planet, and that have openly admitted AI could kill us all (no, I’m not just being dramatic1).
And our window to do something about it is narrowing. To quote the Center for Humane Technology: “Power dynamics are dramatically shifting as AI both centralizes economic and political influence in the hands of a select few, and radically decentralizes powerful and dangerous capabilities across society.” If a tech company (and/or a superintelligent LLM) becomes more powerful than the government…yeah, good luck finally passing that legislation to regulate AI, lawmakers.
If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, please start there:
Why I'm against the use of generative AI altogether
In a vacuum, generative AI has some exciting, helpful functions and narrow, targeted applications that absolutely can (and, in some cases, do) benefit individuals and society, the planet, etc. But we don’t live in a vacuum, and the people developing and cashing in on the technology are interested in profits above all else. That’s not hyperbole—profits over human welfare, safety, the environment, and even the future.
My first draft of the above piece was actually satire, which I shared here. But I quickly realized that deriding people for using AI for asinine things wasn’t helpful. I don’t think every use case is bad; I think every AI company is bad.
Look, we all empower ethically problematic corporations in different ways—I’m still on Meta, and Substack just platformed Andrew Tate, to give a few examples. My goal is to encourage people to be mindful of the broader implications of using generative AI and not unthinkingly reach for it, and to decide for themselves where their red line is. (I’m aware that mine is more extreme than most people’s, and steeped in privilege.)
Anyway, in my not-satire post, I promised to share some thoughts on what individuals can do to push back against the idea that we “must” embrace AI. This is a jumping-off point, and I want this to be a conversation, so please, please share your ideas and strategies in the comments!
1. Loudly and proudly state that you don’t use generative AI in any way to write your books.
Yes, it’s self-report, but it’s an important signal to readers. I’ve seen shoppers say they’re wary of books published after 2022 because it’s possible the author used AI, which, yikes—that attitude will torpedo the industry PDQ. Reassure your readers that your books are safe! I’m going to ask my publisher to include a statement that my book was made without the use of generative AI on the copyright page, and if they refuse, I’ll put it in an author’s note. (THE LAST FERRY OUT already has this cool addition:)
Now do the same for your other line of work, if applicable! My friend Anna Maltby, who runs the fantastic, body neutral fitness publication How to Move, gives us a perfect example:
By taking a stand, you encourage others—in your industry and beyond—to be brave and do the same. And since most Americans really don’t want to pay for AI slop (see: the SHY GIRL clusterf*ck), you’re also making a shrewd business decision, imo. People will love it! (On that note, one more plug for Anna’s fantastic workouts and programs!)
Shoutout to this fantastic post from Emily J. Smith too:
2. Educate yourself.
The more you understand, the more empowered—and motivated—you’ll feel to talk to others about AI.
Read books like EMPIRE OF AI, THE THINKING MACHINE, SEARCHES, THE AGE OF EXTRACTION, and DELIBERATE INTERVENTION. (Don’t let AI summarize them for you.)
Follow outlets such as Wired, Fortune, and Futurism, who are sharing fact-checked reporting on AI and citing their sources. (I’m also a fan of the Instagram account that posts “something insane an AI executive said every day in 2026,” because, wow, the words that come right out of their mouth…) Follow content creators in this space (I like YK Hong for “liberatory strategy and tech justice” and am honestly disturbed I can’t name more off the top of my head) and let the algorithm do its thing and show you more. (Irony, yes. Don’t make it a thing.) Signal-boost important stuff on social media—it’s a low-lift way to help educate your followers (Story shares are more impactful than the regram button).
Watch The AI Doc in theaters or at home. (I am so stoked! I’m certain I’ll regret posting this before watching it because it’ll provide so much fodder.) Download the discussion guide, see it with friends, and then have a candid conversation about it.
Listen to conversations with smart minds on the topic. While I’m not the biggest fan of the pod (those headlines make my spine hurt), I loved Diary of a CEO’s interviews with The Center for Humane Technology’s Tristan Harris, “godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, and EMPIRE OF AI author Karen Hao. (If you don’t know where to start, the discussion with Tristan is a fantastic primer.)
What else ya got, friends? I’d love to hear what leading voices you’re following on the topic and what books, outlets, etc. are helping you wrap your head around this new frontier.
3. Let go of an all-or-nothing approach.
This meme lives rent-free in my head:
It’s so true, right? You could make a huge impact on the planet by choosing plant-based alternatives for everything other than cheese. The same is true for LLMs!
I genuinely don't think it's possible to totally stop using generative AI unless you like, go live off-grid in the forest. I have so much compassion and empathy for people who consider the tool a life-saver, and again, I know my relatively extreme position involves a lot of privilege.
But using generative AI as little as possible is hugely impactful. As Clemence Michallon recently shared in a great Reel, you can use existing tools to do much of what you’re asking ChatGPT for…they’ll do it better and without slurping up fresh water, polluting the environment, enriching actual supervillains, stealing from creators, etc.!
It’s dangerous to go, “Well, I can’t totally eliminate it from my life, so there’s no point in trying.” There is enormous value in trying! Please try! Keep the mission-critical uses and ditch the rest. The future of humanity literally depends on it!
4. Identify your use cases and find alternatives.
To that end: Maybe you can’t give up generative AI for everything, but I bet there are many things it’s good at…that humans are even better at. I know we all don’t want to ~bother~ our friends or ~ask~ people things, but the folks who love you also love helping you, especially in a community-vibes, favor-economy, we-got-each-other way. (So like, don’t ask a stranger—me—to do a query critique for free. But do ask your crit partners or writing group!)
List the things you’re using AI for and figure out if you could do a skill-swap or pay someone to fill that role. One friend said they were using it to refine loglines before pitching studios. I was like, “Dude, text me! I live for this stuff.” Another bud is helping me build a new website in exchange for my publishing consulting services. One author I know “hired” a friend to help pitch her book to podcasts…in exchange for sewing lessons.
I know this isn’t always practical or possible, but can we try? (Bonus, it builds community and feels great.) What services—handyman, cooking, errands, writing-related, you name it—can you offer a contact who has something you need?
5. Focus on the facts, not unfounded accusations.
As I wrote in my piece about proving your work’s human-made, things will get ugly fast if we all start pointing fingers:
The same day my op-ed came out, New York Magazine published a piece about the exact fear I expressed: The People Getting Falsely Accused of Using AI to Write. It’s already happening. And you can imagine the nightmare, Red Scare, worst-case scenario: Individuals accusing anyone they don’t like of AI plagiarism, leaving the defendant with few tactics to prove their work’s authenticity. Spiteful writers could ruin their nemeses; political figures could attempt to get unflattering books cancelled before they even hit shelves. Is this the future we want?
Screaming “OMG THIS IS SO CLEARLY CHATGPT” is not productive, in my opinion. You do not have the right to ruin someone’s career because their m-dash usage strikes your ear wrong. Running someone else’s words through an AI detector without their consent is unfair and wrong, and no detector is 100% infallible (in fact, many are crap).
If someone’s published writing still has AI prompts in it, or they publicly state that they’ve used it (here’s lookin’ at you, James Frey), you absolutely can declare you don’t approve of that decision—and choose not to support that author. You can even alert the publisher of your feelings—yes, we want them to know that readers are not cool with AI-generated books.
But bullying and death threats only make the world a more miserable place…and encourage writers to hide their own LLM usage, which makes the “human-made” pledges and disclaimers meaningless.
6. Spread the word.
A number of people reached out to thank me for the post and to say some variation, of, “I want to send this post to my family/friends/coworkers, but I'm scared!” I get it—I was nervous about posting it, too. The pro-AI evangelists are no joke, and everyone hates feeling like a nag or setting themself up for a mean and defensive reply.
But y’all, that is why we need to get this info out there. The technology has terrifying implications that won’t go away if we stick our heads in the sand. Why are we all so afraid to discuss these companies and their products frankly? (Is it perhaps because their $$$ marketing machine is working???)
Start a convo in the group chat. Gently and lovingly say something when your aunt sends you an AI-generated video of her cat riding a magic carpet. Have a calm chat with your coworker who’s letting Claude write her performance reviews. Ask questions, present the facts without judgment, and validate that we’re all being told to use AI all the time.
We need to speak up when we can. Know you’re not alone, discuss your fears in the comments here, and do the brave thing. The stakes could not be higher.
Here’s a comment I absolutely loved:
Can you raise the issue in your book club, writing group, or school board meetings? If your company announces AI training or directives, can you ask if you can help organize a discussion of AI ethics too? The Get It Write community can help you figure out what to say (drop a comment!); staying silent helps no one. I promise, people will be grateful you said something!
7. Link up with larger movements.
We need more, of course! For now, check out QuitGPT, the Users Union (still in its early stages), the Human Artistry Campaign, and the Center for Humane Technology. Join the Human Movement for resources and action items.
Ask your lawmakers to introduce and/or support legislation regulating AI. Support politicians already running on pro-regulation campaigns, especially Alex Bores in NY.
I’m planning a Substack Live with Saul Austerlitz, author of HOW TO ASSEMBLE AN ACTIVIST, where we’ll tap into his wisdom on taking action—vs. doomscrolling and feeling overwhelmed and helpless—against Big AI. Watch this space for details!
For now, I’d love to hear from you: What did I miss? How else can I help? Are there actions and resources we all should know about? What changes are you going to make based on this?
Would you like a Substack Thread/discussion (help I still don’t know how to use Substack) where we can discuss these issues, brainstorm how to push back, craft language for contacting our higher-ups and loved ones about these crucial issues, etc.? Or a Slack or Discord or something? Should we have a live co-watch party for The AI Doc? What do you need?
Action and community are the antidote to fear. Let’s figure this out arm-in-arm. AI, that soulless collection of zeros and ones run by some of the worst people around, won’t ever understand what it’s like to band together, human to human, and lift each other up.
So let’s do exactly that—before it’s too late.
Ed. note: While I oppose the use of LLMs, I do not condone bullying and ask my fellow anti-AI activists to refrain from personally harassing those who choose to use it. That said, please do not use this space to tell me why it’s actually fine that you use generative AI.
Great work as always. I def need to see the AI doc! Also, it’s wild to me how some of this advice is similar to giving up/cutting back on booze. Is the whole world drunk on LLMs??
Thanks for highlighting this critical issue!!