What AI cannot fake: taking delight in everyday detail

When I first started writing about investments, every day left me feeling like a great big fraud. There I was, writing about products I couldn't afford to own, talking to fund managers about things I didn't understand, and wondering how I was going to explain it all to an audience who knew less than I did.

How did I get through it? I read everything I could get my hands on, and I asked questions, lots of them. Some stupid, some completely irrelevant. But they helped me process things in ways I could understand, to then hopefully share with others.

And one day, it dawned on me. My weakness was my greatest superpower. I could turn complicated, technical jargon into something people found easy to understand. In financial services, that's a skill that will always be in demand.

I was reminded of this when I was fortunate enough to work with the Church of England Pensions Board on a new financial wellbeing programme for stipendiary clergy. Read about the Church of England content project.

This is a group of around 7,500 people who generously devote a huge proportion of their time to looking after others. Many of them freely admit they know little much about the world of pensions, savings and investments.

And yet, as part of their role, they are very likely to come into contact with people in need of financial assistance.

So, it simply makes sense to help give this group access to a range of information – everything from educational guides to clergy-specific products and services – that can help improve their own financial wellbeing, as well as offering support to others where they can.

In delivering this project, I was able to get to understand this group better, finding out how they think about money, what drives people where the accumulation of wealth is not the primary motive. And it was both refreshing and challenging, in the way that every good writing assignment should be.

I'm a much better writer today than I was 20 years ago. In fact, I'm a better writer now than I was this time last year. I learned by getting things wrong. Often.

I still make the odd mistake, and always will. I AM human, after all. But I know the companies I work with, and their customers, better. And I can connect the dots in ways I simply wasn't able to before.

So, could AI replace what I do? Yes, if you think being a writer is just putting words on a page. Or you think your customers won't know the difference between good and this will do.

But most clients understand that good writing is thoughtful, empathetic and considered. It doesn't hallucinate. It illuminates. It's sometimes prepared to fight over every word. Because every word matters.

Anyone with a keyboard can write. That's always been true. But being a good writer is a skill you get better at with years of practice. And the belief that you never really stop learning.