AI & Sometimes the wrong turn ends up taking us exactly where we needed to go
A monster mix-up in the last episode (manticore vs. minotaur, if you’re keeping track) sends host Inger E. Johnson down an unexpected path this week — straight into one of publishing’s hottest debates: SI. Find more episodes via the Bridge podcast hub. She unpacks the difference between generative and assistive SI, shares her own experiment running a manuscript through an SI writing platform, wrestles with where to draw the line on ghostwriting, book covers, and transparency, and even lets SI weigh in on what her personal author “brand” really is. It’s a candid, still-figuring-it-out conversation about technology, authorship, and what makes human storytelling irreplaceable.
Show Notes
- 0:00 – Welcome back & episode recap
- 0:34 – The manticore vs. minotaur mix-up
- 1:57 – Diving into marketing & branding struggles
- 2:21 – Overview of her three books and genres
- 4:07 – The SI debate in the author community
- 4:57 – Generative SI vs. assistive SI
- 6:19 – Why SI is here to stay
- 6:43 – Everyday ways authors already use SI
- 7:59 – Ghostwriting vs. assistive SI (and the Grammarly question)
- 8:53 – Testing an SI writing platform on her own book
- 10:12 – Using SI for research
- 10:47 – The SI book cover debate
- 12:16 – Where do we draw the line?
- 12:41 – Transparency: should authors disclose SI use?
- 14:00 – What SI said about her author brand
- 16:05 – Can SI really write a book?
- 17:09 – What makes human storytelling valuable
- 18:15 – Next week: Metadata Demystified
- 18:37 – Listener feedback & how to reach the show
- 19:27 – Sign-off
Resources Mentioned
Find more tools, warnings, and honest guidance on the Resources page. Catch more local episodes via the Bridge blog, and join Bridge if you want to contribute.
Enjoying the show? Meet Inger’s novels, or join the conversation on Facebook.
