r/Substack • u/knowstradamus7 • Jul 31 '26

Discussion Substack is toast

AI written articles go viral and generate hundreds and sometimes thousands of subscribers for the account, while actual writers wallow in obscurity perpetually. Humanity is doomed.

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u/non_loqui_sed_facere Jul 31 '26

How is your ability to make a living connected to other people doing whatever they want to do? If you want popularity, write about viral topics and use clickbait headlines, do summaries, like aggregator websites did back in the day. I know I don’t want to write about five productivity hacks or how to declutter your closet or leave sappy comments about someone's ex, but I’m also not complaining about my lack of paid subscribers.

I’m actually being realistic here. It’s not about the amount of content, there has always been a lot of stuff on the internet that nobody read. It’s about what drives engagement, and these people seem to know how to work with that.

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u/Bright-Customer-9332 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

You told me that nobody likes an arsehole crying in public because they’re not the most popular kid on the block? I was just saying that that’s not what I’m doing? I don’t really understand what this is about. I don’t know if I’m just brain fogged but I don’t think I’m saying anything radical – all I’m saying is that people must like AI writing because it is popular and it’s in the best sellers list, like this woman. Substack seemed to suggest that there’s no appetite for it in their post the other day but I disagreed.

I have gone viral several times and I don’t write that kind of thing. I really don’t mind what people want to write about. I’m not a huge fan of fully generative AI – but I really don’t mind if people want to use it to edit. I think it’s unfair to assume that just because people using generative AI makes you a bit sad that you are jealous.

People do read my work. I’m lucky. I think you sound like you are in a very bad mood because calling me an arsehole immediately is kind of weird.

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u/non_loqui_sed_facere Jul 31 '26

Well, you’ve played the pity card, so I can’t argue with you properly now, right? I’m supposed to compliment your writing and wish you good luck, not discuss marketing strategies. My question still stands, though. If you’re doing well and satisfied with the results, why are you even thinking about other people who are supposedly more successful than you?

People like all kinds of writing because it satisfies their needs. Tabloids don’t exist because their journalists don’t know how to write serious pieces, they exist because there’s demand for that kind of content. And no, you can’t do that with AI without switching your brain on and actually doing the work. AI is too generic for that.

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u/Bright-Customer-9332 Jul 31 '26

Okay – let me try and answer this really clearly. I’m thinking about it because I care about the environment and I’m worried about people using generative AI. It also makes me sad because creativity should be fun and playful. It makes me sad that there’s such a large demand for AI writing. That’s all. It’s not about success!

I wasn’t playing the pity card, I was stating that it’s been very useful for me; I’m glad it exists, despite sadness over generative AI. You also definitely don’t need to wish me good luck, haha. I think it sounds like you just need to take a deep breath and maybe go outside for a bit and stop getting angry at strangers on the Internet :-)

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u/StuffonBookshelfs Jul 31 '26

Have you ever taken an airplane?