Comment by alsetmusic

I think this is correct. I told a coworker that when I edit my email drafts they get shorter. He was surprised and said that his get longer. I trim and refine. Sure, I add details that I missed at first. But I also create better structure and remove ambiguity or unnecessary words.

Yesterday, I was working on an email for someone who I was trying very hard not to overwhelm with technical details. I cut it roughly in half in terms of words, but I also turned paragraphs in single lines of sequenced steps or concise statements without decorating the text with unneeded aphorisms / commentary.

I was pretty pleased with the end result. This is only possible because of careful rereading and reflection (including knowing my intended audience). I imagine an LLM can approximate this, but I don't trust one to craft with the same level of care. Then again, we all think we're better than the robots at the things we care about most.

I understand the urge to throw mechanical writing at the bots. But a human will grasp the need to add a detail explaining the why of something when (the current) bots gloss over it. There's still nuance worth preserving.