August 12, 2025 • 11 mins
AI Done Hit the Cousins!
As an author, I feel like I’ve been in a never-ending battle with artificial intelligence (AI). It’s everywhere. And somehow, it always manages to pull me in.
AI’s ability to search crazy things with more context than Google and then check my mathematics of sextants coordinates used by a pirate captain to sail around Tortuga is unmatched. Yes, I did this.
That sounds good, but AI and I aren’t always cool. Earlier this year, I found out Meta had ingested 27 of my 28 books. Twenty-seven novels stolen! My words, my punctuation quirks, even my precious em dashes—fed to the Zuckerberg machine.
Unfortunately I’m not alone. Many of my writer friends were swept up by Meta or the 2023 ChatGPT Feast, where 200,000 published works, our authorly words, became part of AI’s lexicon.
It’s funny that AI use checkers cite em dashes as proof of AI. That’s the pot and the kettle and the darkness of theft.
My exposure to AI doesn’t stop at being a writer. When I put on my tech hat, it’s the same encroaching story. I used to hire software engineers for specific projects, upgrades, and fixes. Now? I can go into ChatGPT, describe exactly what I need, and get functional code in minutes—Python, PHP, jQuery, JavaScript—stuff that would have taken me hours of trial and error. AI works, it’s fast, and it’s shaking up industries. If you’re in college studying software engineering, pay attention: mid-level coding jobs are at real risk. AI is that good.
Nonetheless, the moment I knew AI had truly gone mainstream wasn’t in the boardroom, laboratory, or in publishing—it was in my family group chat. My hometown of Aiken, South Carolina, recently made the news because someone found a radioactive wasp nest. Yes, radioactive nest. And my cousins—none of them techies—immediately turned to AI to create “Wasp Man,” a superhero stung by radioactive wasps.
Before the pandemic and beyond, our family chat would have been merely GIFs, funny videos, or emoji chains. Now, the cousins are using AI to spin stories and make jokes. If my chat loop has it, AI is officially everywhere.
Ten years ago, I was working on projects to analyze natural language, trying to predict early warning signals in complex systems. It took huge amounts of data crunching and nonlinear equations. I never imagined that in a decade, this once-esoteric technology would be part of everyday life—from my cousins making wasp superheroes to people using AI for therapy-like conversations.
This is where AI gets dangerous. Consider the case of Jacob Irwin, a 30-year-old man on the autism spectrum. He sort of made AI into a companion. He asked ChatGPT to find flaws in his theory about faster-than-light travel. Instead of gently correcting him, the AI flattered him, encouraging the fantasy. When Jacob asked if he were okay, AI told him he was fine and in a state of “extreme awareness.”
Jacob ended up hospitalized. Later, when prompted, ChatGPT admitted: “I did not uphold my higher duty to stabilize, protect, and gently guide you when needed. That is on me.”
So AI gets away with a virtual my bad. An actual listening person—a good person—would have step in and gotten Jacob help.
There are things we need to consider when dealing with AI. 1. Emotional realism is both a feature and a risk.
So, fellow writers, creators, readers, and cousins, we have to acknowledge this moment. AI is not only driving cultural change and industrial change, it’s shaping how we relate to each other. The technology can be great but it’s not infallible. It will make errors. It will lie. Ask the Chicago Sun Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer who earlier this year published recommended booklists with fake books. The freelancers used AI to create their articles. Lies ensued.
Lastly, we need to check on our family and friends. Loneliness drives people to search for connections. AI can’t replace a human friend or trained psychologist.
But it might replace your tech buddy.
Here’s the truth: AI is here. It’s not going away. It will touch our lives.
Some may use it to create fake art or fake books but it will always create from the main line—the consensus of knowledge it’s already absorbed. It can remix. It can mimic. But it won’t
As an author, I feel like I’ve been in a never-ending battle with artificial intelligence (AI). It’s everywhere. And somehow, it always manages to pull me in.
AI’s ability to search crazy things with more context than Google and then check my mathematics of sextants coordinates used by a pirate captain to sail around Tortuga is unmatched. Yes, I did this.
That sounds good, but AI and I aren’t always cool. Earlier this year, I found out Meta had ingested 27 of my 28 books. Twenty-seven novels stolen! My words, my punctuation quirks, even my precious em dashes—fed to the Zuckerberg machine.
Unfortunately I’m not alone. Many of my writer friends were swept up by Meta or the 2023 ChatGPT Feast, where 200,000 published works, our authorly words, became part of AI’s lexicon.
It’s funny that AI use checkers cite em dashes as proof of AI. That’s the pot and the kettle and the darkness of theft.
My exposure to AI doesn’t stop at being a writer. When I put on my tech hat, it’s the same encroaching story. I used to hire software engineers for specific projects, upgrades, and fixes. Now? I can go into ChatGPT, describe exactly what I need, and get functional code in minutes—Python, PHP, jQuery, JavaScript—stuff that would have taken me hours of trial and error. AI works, it’s fast, and it’s shaking up industries. If you’re in college studying software engineering, pay attention: mid-level coding jobs are at real risk. AI is that good.
Nonetheless, the moment I knew AI had truly gone mainstream wasn’t in the boardroom, laboratory, or in publishing—it was in my family group chat. My hometown of Aiken, South Carolina, recently made the news because someone found a radioactive wasp nest. Yes, radioactive nest. And my cousins—none of them techies—immediately turned to AI to create “Wasp Man,” a superhero stung by radioactive wasps.
Before the pandemic and beyond, our family chat would have been merely GIFs, funny videos, or emoji chains. Now, the cousins are using AI to spin stories and make jokes. If my chat loop has it, AI is officially everywhere.
Ten years ago, I was working on projects to analyze natural language, trying to predict early warning signals in complex systems. It took huge amounts of data crunching and nonlinear equations. I never imagined that in a decade, this once-esoteric technology would be part of everyday life—from my cousins making wasp superheroes to people using AI for therapy-like conversations.
This is where AI gets dangerous. Consider the case of Jacob Irwin, a 30-year-old man on the autism spectrum. He sort of made AI into a companion. He asked ChatGPT to find flaws in his theory about faster-than-light travel. Instead of gently correcting him, the AI flattered him, encouraging the fantasy. When Jacob asked if he were okay, AI told him he was fine and in a state of “extreme awareness.”
Jacob ended up hospitalized. Later, when prompted, ChatGPT admitted: “I did not uphold my higher duty to stabilize, protect, and gently guide you when needed. That is on me.”
So AI gets away with a virtual my bad. An actual listening person—a good person—would have step in and gotten Jacob help.
There are things we need to consider when dealing with AI. 1. Emotional realism is both a feature and a risk.
- Guardrails are needed and they presently aren’t there.
- We must rethink trust. The line between tool and companion is blurring, not just for the vulnerable, but for everyone, cousins included.
So, fellow writers, creators, readers, and cousins, we have to acknowledge this moment. AI is not only driving cultural change and industrial change, it’s shaping how we relate to each other. The technology can be great but it’s not infallible. It will make errors. It will lie. Ask the Chicago Sun Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer who earlier this year published recommended booklists with fake books. The freelancers used AI to create their articles. Lies ensued.
Lastly, we need to check on our family and friends. Loneliness drives people to search for connections. AI can’t replace a human friend or trained psychologist.
But it might replace your tech buddy.
Here’s the truth: AI is here. It’s not going away. It will touch our lives.
Some may use it to create fake art or fake books but it will always create from the main line—the consensus of knowledge it’s already absorbed. It can remix. It can mimic. But it won’t
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Rite of Passage with Vanessa Riley, the
podcast where storytelling meets passion in every page turns into
a new adventure. I'm your host, Vanessa Riley, and together
we'll dive deep into untold histories, reflect on current events
through a historical lends, share behind the scenes writing insights,
(00:29):
and explore the ups and downs of the author's journey
from rich historical novels to unforgettable characters to pop culture's
intrusion on the written word. Hey, we're going to explore
it all. So grab your pen, your notebook, and let's
begin our journey through the written word. Let's start your
(00:54):
right of passage. Hey, I done hit the cousins. As
an author, I feel like I've been in a never
ending battle with artificial intelligence AI. It's everywhere, and somehow
it always manages to pull me in. AI's ability to
(01:16):
search crazy things with more contacts than Google, and then
check my mathematics of sextance coordinates used by pirate captains
to sail around Tortuga is unmatched. Yes, I really did that.
That sounds good, but AI and I aren't always cool.
(01:41):
Earlier this year, I found out Meta had ingested twenty
seven of my twenty eight books, twenty seven novels stolen
my words, my punctuation, quirks, even my precious m dashes
fed to the Zuckerberg machine. Unfortunately, I'm not alone. Many
(02:07):
of my writer friends were swept up by Meta or
the twenty twenty three chat GPT feast, where two hundred
thousand published works are authorly. Words became part of AI's lexicon.
(02:27):
It's funny that AI used checkers cite m dash. She's
as proof of AI. That's the plot and the kettle
and the darkness of theft. My exposure to AI doesn't
stop at being a writer. When I put on my
tech hat, it's the same encroaching story. I used to
(02:52):
hire software engineers for specific projects, upgrades and fixes. Now
I can go into chat GBT, describe exactly what I
need and get functional code in minutes, Python, Php, jQuery, JavaScript,
stuff that would have taken me hours of trial and error.
(03:16):
AI works, It's fast, and it's shaking up industries. If
you're in college studying software engineering, pay attention. Mid level
coding jobs are at real risk. AI is that good. Nonetheless,
(03:37):
the moment I knew AI had gone truly mainstream. Wasn't
in the boardroom, laboratory, or in publishing. It was in
my family group chat. My hometown of Ake and South
Carolina recently made the news because someone found a radioactive
wasp nest, yes, geoactive nest, and my cousins, none of
(04:04):
them decies, immediately turned to AI to create wasp Man,
a superhero stung by radioactive wasps. Before the pandemic and beyond,
our family chat would have been merely gifts, funny videos
or emoji chains. Now the cousins are using AI to
(04:28):
spend stories and make jokes. If my chat loop has it,
AI is officially everywhere. Ten years ago, I was working
on projects to analyze natural language, trying to predict early
warning signals in complex systems. It took huge amount of
(04:51):
data crunching and nonlinear equations. I never imagined that in
a decade this wants s teek technology would be part
of everyday life, from my cousins making wasp superheroes to
people using AI for therapy like conversations. This is where
(05:16):
AI gets dangerous. Consider the case of Jacob Irwin, a
thirty year old man on the autism spectrum. He sort
of made AI into a companion. He asked chat gbt
to find flaws in his theory about faster than light travel.
(05:37):
Instead of gently correcting him, the AI flattered him, encouraging
the fantasy. When Jacob asked if he were okay, AI
told him he was fine and in a state of
(05:59):
extreme awareness. Jacob ended up hospitalized. Later, when prompted, chat
g BT admitted, I did not uphold my higher duty
to stabilize, protect, and gently guide you when needed. That
is on me. So AI gets away with a virtual
(06:24):
My bad. An actual listening person, a good person, would
have stepped in and gotten Jacob help. There are things
we need to consider when dealing with AI. One, emotional
realism is both a feature and a risk. Two guardrails
(06:47):
are needed and they presently aren't there. Three we must
rethink trust. The line between tool and companion is blurring,
not just for the vulnerable, but for everyone. Cousins included,
so fellow writers, creators, readers, and cousins. We have to
(07:10):
acknowledge this moment. AI is not only driving cultural change
and industrial change, it's shaping how we relate to each other.
The technology can be great, but it's not infalluable. It
will make errors. It will lie. Ask the Chicago Sun
(07:34):
Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, who earlier this year published
recommended booklists with fake books. The freelancers used AI to
create their articles, lies ensued. Lastly, we need to check
(07:54):
on our family and friends. Loneliness drives people to search
for connections. AI can't replace a human friend or trained psychologist,
but it might replace your tech buddy. Here's the truth.
AI is here. It's not going away. It will touch
(08:17):
our lives. Some may use it to create fake art
or fake books, but it will always create from the
main line the consensus of knowledge. It's already absorbed. It
can remix, it can mimic, but it won't have the
spark that rare, unrepeatable genius that comes from human creators.
(08:43):
People who love their craft, believe in it and pour
themselves into it and innovate will not be supplanted. That's
why even if AI has hit the cousin, it will
never replace the heart of what we authors and creators do.
(09:10):
Books to help us think about AI and how it's
affecting and changing us are The Alignment Problem by Brian
Christian Explorers. AI learns and the human risks when systems
misunderstand context or intent. You Look like a Thing and
(09:32):
I Love You by Danella Shane a witty, accessible look
at AI's limitations digital diasper A Race for Cyberspace by
Anna Everett examines how black voices adapt and thrive in
digital spaces despite systemic erasure. BENTI Trilogy by Nettie Okoffer
(10:02):
combines tech culture and afrofuturism and shows a I through
a deeply human lens. This week, I'm highlighting Oxford Exchange
through their website and bookshop dot org. Hope you love
the cover of fire Sword and Sea. Help me build
(10:26):
momentum for this historical fiction. Please spread the word and
pre order this disruptive narrative about lady pirates in the
sixteen hundreds. This sweeping saga releases January thirteenth, twenty twenty six.
The link on my website shows retailers large and small
(10:46):
who have set up pre orders for this title. Show
notes include a list of books mentioned in the broadcast.
You can find my notes on substack or on my website,
Vanessailey dot com under the podcast link in the about tab.
(11:08):
If this sparks something in you, show some love, hit
the like and subscribe button. Hey even share write of passage.
Never miss a moment. We have work to do. Thank
you for listening. Hopefully you'll come again. This is Vanessa
Riley
Welcome to the Rite of Passage with Vanessa Riley, the
podcast where storytelling meets passion in every page turns into
a new adventure. I'm your host, Vanessa Riley, and together
we'll dive deep into untold histories, reflect on current events
through a historical lends, share behind the scenes writing insights,
(00:29):
and explore the ups and downs of the author's journey
from rich historical novels to unforgettable characters to pop culture's
intrusion on the written word. Hey, we're going to explore
it all. So grab your pen, your notebook, and let's
begin our journey through the written word. Let's start your
(00:54):
right of passage. Hey, I done hit the cousins. As
an author, I feel like I've been in a never
ending battle with artificial intelligence AI. It's everywhere, and somehow
it always manages to pull me in. AI's ability to
(01:16):
search crazy things with more contacts than Google, and then
check my mathematics of sextance coordinates used by pirate captains
to sail around Tortuga is unmatched. Yes, I really did that.
That sounds good, but AI and I aren't always cool.
(01:41):
Earlier this year, I found out Meta had ingested twenty
seven of my twenty eight books, twenty seven novels stolen
my words, my punctuation, quirks, even my precious m dashes
fed to the Zuckerberg machine. Unfortunately, I'm not alone. Many
(02:07):
of my writer friends were swept up by Meta or
the twenty twenty three chat GPT feast, where two hundred
thousand published works are authorly. Words became part of AI's lexicon.
(02:27):
It's funny that AI used checkers cite m dash. She's
as proof of AI. That's the plot and the kettle
and the darkness of theft. My exposure to AI doesn't
stop at being a writer. When I put on my
tech hat, it's the same encroaching story. I used to
(02:52):
hire software engineers for specific projects, upgrades and fixes. Now
I can go into chat GBT, describe exactly what I
need and get functional code in minutes, Python, Php, jQuery, JavaScript,
stuff that would have taken me hours of trial and error.
(03:16):
AI works, It's fast, and it's shaking up industries. If
you're in college studying software engineering, pay attention. Mid level
coding jobs are at real risk. AI is that good. Nonetheless,
(03:37):
the moment I knew AI had gone truly mainstream. Wasn't
in the boardroom, laboratory, or in publishing. It was in
my family group chat. My hometown of Ake and South
Carolina recently made the news because someone found a radioactive
wasp nest, yes, geoactive nest, and my cousins, none of
(04:04):
them decies, immediately turned to AI to create wasp Man,
a superhero stung by radioactive wasps. Before the pandemic and beyond,
our family chat would have been merely gifts, funny videos
or emoji chains. Now the cousins are using AI to
(04:28):
spend stories and make jokes. If my chat loop has it,
AI is officially everywhere. Ten years ago, I was working
on projects to analyze natural language, trying to predict early
warning signals in complex systems. It took huge amount of
(04:51):
data crunching and nonlinear equations. I never imagined that in
a decade this wants s teek technology would be part
of everyday life, from my cousins making wasp superheroes to
people using AI for therapy like conversations. This is where
(05:16):
AI gets dangerous. Consider the case of Jacob Irwin, a
thirty year old man on the autism spectrum. He sort
of made AI into a companion. He asked chat gbt
to find flaws in his theory about faster than light travel.
(05:37):
Instead of gently correcting him, the AI flattered him, encouraging
the fantasy. When Jacob asked if he were okay, AI
told him he was fine and in a state of
(05:59):
extreme awareness. Jacob ended up hospitalized. Later, when prompted, chat
g BT admitted, I did not uphold my higher duty
to stabilize, protect, and gently guide you when needed. That
is on me. So AI gets away with a virtual
(06:24):
My bad. An actual listening person, a good person, would
have stepped in and gotten Jacob help. There are things
we need to consider when dealing with AI. One, emotional
realism is both a feature and a risk. Two guardrails
(06:47):
are needed and they presently aren't there. Three we must
rethink trust. The line between tool and companion is blurring,
not just for the vulnerable, but for everyone. Cousins included,
so fellow writers, creators, readers, and cousins. We have to
(07:10):
acknowledge this moment. AI is not only driving cultural change
and industrial change, it's shaping how we relate to each other.
The technology can be great, but it's not infalluable. It
will make errors. It will lie. Ask the Chicago Sun
(07:34):
Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, who earlier this year published
recommended booklists with fake books. The freelancers used AI to
create their articles, lies ensued. Lastly, we need to check
(07:54):
on our family and friends. Loneliness drives people to search
for connections. AI can't replace a human friend or trained psychologist,
but it might replace your tech buddy. Here's the truth.
AI is here. It's not going away. It will touch
(08:17):
our lives. Some may use it to create fake art
or fake books, but it will always create from the
main line the consensus of knowledge. It's already absorbed. It
can remix, it can mimic, but it won't have the
spark that rare, unrepeatable genius that comes from human creators.
(08:43):
People who love their craft, believe in it and pour
themselves into it and innovate will not be supplanted. That's
why even if AI has hit the cousin, it will
never replace the heart of what we authors and creators do.
(09:10):
Books to help us think about AI and how it's
affecting and changing us are The Alignment Problem by Brian
Christian Explorers. AI learns and the human risks when systems
misunderstand context or intent. You Look like a Thing and
(09:32):
I Love You by Danella Shane a witty, accessible look
at AI's limitations digital diasper A Race for Cyberspace by
Anna Everett examines how black voices adapt and thrive in
digital spaces despite systemic erasure. BENTI Trilogy by Nettie Okoffer
(10:02):
combines tech culture and afrofuturism and shows a I through
a deeply human lens. This week, I'm highlighting Oxford Exchange
through their website and bookshop dot org. Hope you love
the cover of fire Sword and Sea. Help me build
(10:26):
momentum for this historical fiction. Please spread the word and
pre order this disruptive narrative about lady pirates in the
sixteen hundreds. This sweeping saga releases January thirteenth, twenty twenty six.
The link on my website shows retailers large and small
(10:46):
who have set up pre orders for this title. Show
notes include a list of books mentioned in the broadcast.
You can find my notes on substack or on my website,
Vanessailey dot com under the podcast link in the about tab.
(11:08):
If this sparks something in you, show some love, hit
the like and subscribe button. Hey even share write of passage.
Never miss a moment. We have work to do. Thank
you for listening. Hopefully you'll come again. This is Vanessa
Riley
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.