Reading LLM text makes us worse writers

The top advice given to anyone wanting to get better at writing, besides just writing, is to read more. Especially good writing. Because we imitate that which we experience more of.

So then, perhaps obviously but it took way too long for me to realize, reading LLM output influences how we write. And since writing is thinking, it seeps in, ablating the voice in my head. I’m, as one says, horrified.

I value LLMs for their ability to understand hyper-specific search queries. But I want to consider how much of the generated text I read; it’s better to read the human source. Or other non-forced exposure.