How a Writer Uses AI Without Losing His Voice (53 min)

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• Release date: 2026-07-08
• Listen on Spotify: Open episode
• Episode description:

  Craig Mod used to pay Campaign Monitor roughly $7,000 a year to send his newsletters. After rebuilding the tool himself with AI, his bill is closer to $150. It’s the kind of thing that convinces him we’re about to enter a “golden age of tool building”—one where anyone can build tools specifically suited to their needs, instead of settling for software from incumbents that are slow to innovate.Mod is the writer and photographer behind the newsletters Roden and Ridgeline and books like Things Become Other Things and Kissa by Kissa—as well as a lifelong technologist. He’s rebuilt the tax software Quicken, created a private alternative for Twitter for his members which he calls The Good Place, and used AI to build an archive for his pop-up newsletters. But while Mod is an advocate of using AI to build, he draws the line at using it to write.Mod talks to Dan Shipper about using AI as a research assistant, why he keeps a tech-free zone in the mornings for deep thinking, and why he’s resisting the pull of the “mainlining” AI era.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share!To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribeFollow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipperTimestamps:0:00 Introduction3:51 Rebuilding Quicken and Campaign Monitor with AI6:24 Building The Good Place, a private Twitter alternative for Craig’s members10:39 Why we’re entering a “golden age of tool building”12:17 Why AI could help writers build audiences17:35 Using AI to build a newsletter archive and a searchable board-meeting Q&A library27:58 Creating a technology-free buffer to protect deep thinking30:31 Why Craig is resisting the temptation to “mainline” AI for ten hours a day39:44 Why anthropomorphizing AI is “psychotic,” and why Apple got Siri right47:42 Being adopted, and making peace with humanity’s fragile place in an AI futureGo to https://attio.com/every and get 15% off your first year.Links to resources mentioned in the episode:Craig Mod’s website: https://craigmod.comRoden (Craig’s monthly newsletter): https://craigmod.com/roden/

Summary

• 🧘 Protecting Deep Work: Strict tech boundaries like offline laptops and delayed internet access are essential to preserve focus amid AI’s dopamine pull.
• 🛠️ N-of-1 Software Boom: AI coding enables creators to build custom tools like private social networks and newsletters, bypassing toxic platforms.
• 🤖 AI as Tool, Not Being: Anthropomorphizing models risks isolation; treat them strictly as tools to avoid unhealthy dynamics.
• 📚 AI for Research Only: Writers use AI as research assistants for facts and sensitivity checks but keep it out of actual creative writing.
• 🌍 Epochal Tech Moment: We are in a rare generational shift where open-source models democratize power but may widen disparities.

Insights

• How can creators maintain deep focus and personal voice when AI tools constantly pull attention toward quick, dopamine-driven interactions?
  • Time: 0:00 – 0:36
  • Answer: Craig Mod describes creating strict barriers like a dedicated offline writing laptop and delaying internet access until after lunch to preserve his capacity for deep thinking, noting that touching his phone shifts his mental state away from valuable creative work.
• What does the rise of easy N-of-1 software mean for writers and independent creators building sustainable online businesses?
  • Time: 6:58 – 12:16
  • Answer: Craig discusses rebuilding tools like newsletter software and a private social platform using AI coding, arguing this enables more tailored, non-toxic spaces and could help writers monetize directly without relying on toxic platforms or expensive SaaS.
• Should we treat frontier AI models as potential conscious beings or strictly as tools, and what are the risks of anthropomorphizing them?

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