Balancing Innovation and Identity: The Debate over Integrating AI in Software Applications

Christmas has come and gone, and so have the holiday festivities. I trust you savored this special season, a time for connecting with family and dedicating attention to personal projects. Personally, this holiday period has been one of profound reflection for me. Without a doubt, 2023 has been a landmark year for AI, particularly for Microsoft.

As a result, I immersed myself further into the world of AI, shifting my focus from technical aspects to the latest news and advancements. My connection with Microsoft has always provided me with a wealth of information, but this time, I was keen to uncover what's happening behind the scenes. I aimed to go beyond the well-known narratives surrounding major players like Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Meta, etc., and instead sought to understand the grassroots perspective of businesses that Generative AI could significantly affect, such as writer apps.

When last week, on Twitter, a user wrote this:“Its such a weird time to work between Xmas and new year”

…my reaction was this one:“Disagree. It's the relaxing version of your daily routine ...at least if you have nothing better to do ...or urgencies."

Exactly. Last week, I experienced two wonderfully peaceful workdays, free from team notifications and an overload of calls. It was a refreshing change to relax and concentrate on my tasks during the holiday season. You understand the feeling–no calls, no chats, just a serene work environment.Picture this: you play some background music and open that Excel file that’s been waiting for you. In the absence of pressing urgencies, this time of the year is perfect for focusing on initiatives that could streamline your work. It’s an opportunity to study, conduct research, or explore intriguing new apps.

I always liked to write since I was at the University. I write a lot every day because of my job. I write Word documents, emails, prompts on Copilot and Teams chats, I write on LinkedIn and Twitter. I like to write, and when I don’t write, I find excuses to write. For example, I started an internal newsletter on Data Security at Microsoft to discuss and talk with my community about what I/we do and what I love about that field of research and about Data Security products. But it’s at least 5 years that I’m not using writers’ dedicated software on my computer.

Just to be clear, Microsoft Word is a fantastic text editor and its features are amazing to be used my daily work, but if I you need some specific functions it could be considered a little distracting or, in my humble opinion this is not the best option you could consider if you want to write a fiction novel. It just gives its 100% for your job and I like it, but if you need to focus, you would probably would like to see what’s on the writer’s tongue.

During my university years, I was particularly fond of Ulysses, a text editor designed for the Apple ecosystem. Ulysses caters to creative writers who prefer not to be bogged down by concerns about text layout, formatting, or other distractions. Its focus is on the simplicity and purity of the writing experience, and it supports Markdown. Markdown is a lightweight markup language developed by John Gruber, intended for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor. Its beauty lies because it allows you to write without worrying about text formatting, link insertion, or applying bold or italic styles directly. Instead, you use what I like to call "shortcuts" while writing. These shortcuts are then translated into formatting rules when you export the text from the editor. For instance, a single "#" represents a Title 1, while "##" indicates a Title 2. Similarly, writing "I just love **bold text**." in Markdown means that "bold text" will be displayed in bold in the final output. For more insights into Markdown, you can explore further details online.

I strongly appreciate Markdown, although I no longer use it regularly. Occasionally, I still find it incredibly useful. And speaking of Ulysses, it truly is a fantastic app. The major drawback, however, is its exclusivity to the Apple ecosystem. At this stage in my life, I find myself more at ease using Windows, which led me to search for a Markdown editor compatible with it. While I’m not expecting finding something exactly like Ulysses, there’s always a glimmer of hope for a pleasant surprise.

“Best apps for writers 2024”

My Bing search was straightforward. I typed in my query, clicked, and was greeted with a myriad of results — a blend of organic suggestions and those likely influenced by robust referral programs. Amidst this digital deluge, one particular “software” (pardon the old-school terminology) piqued my interest: iA Writer. I had never heard of it before. Their website struck me as cool and minimalist, definitely worth exploring. It boasted of being exceptionally user-friendly (especially for those familiar with Markdown, which isn’t too complex) and offered features that enhance focus. Intrigued, I gave it a try to quickly installed the trial version on my PC.

Spoiler alert: I wasn't impressed.The graphics, probably more refined on a Mac, felt outdated on Windows, reminiscent of a Windows 8 interface. I also wasn’t keen on how the app handled files, specifically .txt and .md files. As a focus-driven app, it required me to hide the taskbar for full-screen mode by default, which wasn’t to my liking. I prefer having my Teams notifications visible.

However, what truly intrigued me, and the reason I’m discussing this app here, is the company’s statement on AI. Their stance is fascinating, particularly because it seems to diverge from the current mainstream opinions about AI. This position piqued my interest.

But my intrigue with iA Writer wasn’t solely based on their AI statement. During my investigation of the company, I came across some of their blog posts. It was here that my curiosity was truly ignited.

There is a big picture, immediately visible, when you visit this link, from the iA Writer blog. It features Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, and Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, against a backdrop with a prominent 'Anarchy A' symbol. The significance of this illustration naturally peaks curiosity. This led me to explore thoroughly a series of blog posts by iA Writer discussing AI. These posts outline the company’s stance on AI and their perspectives on the topic. In the post titled ‘NO AI FEATURE’, they articulate their decision against integrating ChatGPT or any similar generative AI system into their software as if Microsoft and ChatGPT were the culprits of technological progress.

In their posts, iA Writer presents several arguments against AI and ChatGPT. One key concern is the rush by apps to adopt AI, driven by fear of missing out, which might lead to a homogenization of features and potential absorption by larger AI entities. This reminds me of the early iPhone days, when third-party apps provided flashlight functionality, a feature now natively integrated into iPhones, rendering those apps obsolete.

The trend seems to move towards a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, raising concerns about app redundancy. It’s feared that operating systems might soon perform all functions currently handled by separate apps. Integrating today's popular apps into a few comprehensive applications is being developed by major tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Meta for the future. This ‘diminishing thickness of competitive advantage‘ is not new, but is an ongoing process. Over the past decade, operating systems have incorporated many app functions, leaving only a few essential standalone apps. Big tech companies, has bundled into subscription plans others such as Microsoft Office or Apple Arcade.

In this scenario, AI is a key player, with some arguing that it can operate independently of apps, directly through the OS.

AI is revolutionizing the work lives of millions. Consider Copilot, Microsoft's chatbot, which could save billions of worker hours by summarizing Teams chats or streamlining the creation of Word documents. This doesn’t mean we should stop thinking critically, but use AI to enhance our work and productivity.

Is AI inherently good or bad?For the sack of progress is a “good”, but the answer isn't straightforward. Like many things in life, what benefits some may not be advantageous for others. This is the nature of progress. Every organization has the right to make decisions for its economic survival. For iA Writer, this means avoiding AI integration to prevent 'contamination' and implementing a feature to manually tag ChatGPT's contributions as AI-generated text, which they refer to as 'Markdown annotation'.

Right or wrong, they are responding to their customer base, which is what truly matters. If there are people out there eager to accept your product, it’s a good idea to satisfy them.