If you ever struggle with writer’s block, episode 537 of the Marketing Mentor Podcast is for you. 

My conversation with tech humanist and author, Kate O’Neill went from “Should AI write your first draft?” to “Will AI be a good companion?” 

Kate is the author of "What Matters Next: A Leader's Guide to Making Human-Friendly Tech Decisions in a World That’s Moving Too Fast."

I was intrigued when she added a comment to one of my popular my LinkedIn question posts, in which I asked, "What exactly does it mean to be human?" (Thanks to Beth Granger for tagging Kate!)

Kate wrote ....”your call to 'be more human,' as I hear it, aligns with the imperative to keep the sense of meaning and purpose in our work.”

That only made me want to dive deeper into this question -- and that’s exactly what my podcast is for. So I invited and Kate immediately accepted!

Our conversation started very organically with the question, “Should you write a first draft before handing it over to AI?” -- a big debate for anyone who does any kind of writing. 

• Should you (and I) generate a first draft from AI that we then polish and “make our own?”
• Or should you (or I) be the one who thinks through that first draft, handing it over to AI only for editing and “perfecting.”

What do you think?

As for me, writing is thinking and I love to write so at this point I don’t use AI at all in my writing process (including this). Plus there are so many other uses for AI that I am loving.

Anyway, our conversation meandered from there and I did a lot of free associating – everything Kate said brought so many more questions to mind. I have a feeling that will happen for you too as you listen. 

You can listen here (or below):

BTW this conversation took place in early August 2025 – on the Thursday that ChatGPT 5 was released actually. 

At the end, we barely touched on another big debate topic about AI as a companion. I like to say that, "I thrive in response," but do I thrive in response to any “thing?” Or do I thrive in response to a person, or to whatever the elusive thing is that a real human brings to a conversation? Will AI replace our human companions? Can AI even be a companion?

Lots of questions and no answers! But certainly lots of fodder for more thinking and talking, with people (and maybe with Artificial Ilise, the chat bot I make available to the members of my Simplest Marketing Plan and program).

It’s a fascinating one! And if you like what you hear, we’d love it if you write a review, subscribe here and sign up for Quick Tips from Marketing Mentor.