AI on WordPress… surely this is terrible for blogging? 🤷

So I stumbled across WordPress’s recent [AI announcement post]) this morning and my heart sank a little.

WordPress was *the* original blogging platform. It’s where I hosted my earliest blogs, and met some of my earliest friends on the internet.

I’m aware that many of the world’s websites (over 40%) are run on WordPress, but at its core, the story behind WordPress — to quote the site’s own About page — was such:

*“WordPress started in 2003 when Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg created a fork of* [*b2/cafelog*]*. The need for an elegant, well-architected personal publishing system was clear even then… WordPress provides the opportunity for anyone to create and share, from handcrafted personal anecdotes to world-changing movements.”*

*Handcrafted personal anecdotes*… the irony. I’m not sure exactly how much encouraging AI will continue to encourage anecdotes of the personal and handcrafted kind. (And judging by the comments under the announcement posts, the AI add-on is being pushed fairly vigorously).

Whilst AI has certain benefits, WordPress’s actively embracing AI to the extent that they’re pushing it upon *every* user will change the platform — and blogging — forever.

Whilst the ability to discover other blogs could have long been improved on WordPress (curation has been lacking, and focus has shifted more towards businesses & their websites vs individual blog users), with this rollout it now means that you have no idea what you’re reading and who (or, rather, *what*) has written it.

It removes the *personal* from personal blogging.

It’s strips out the human element.

It disempowers both writer and reader.

It diminishes connection.

And so much more.

In the [announcement post]), the comments at the bottom make for an interesting read — and very divided in their sentiment. Many express similar dismay at the AI rollout. Offering AI support for those who want it is one thing, but enforcing it upon every single user in the way they have done… just, *ugh*.

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Perhaps it was only a matter of time but it would seem that, once and for all, WordPress is no longer the place to host a personal blog.

I currently run my blog on an independent platform running on Notion (which also, less surprisingly, is adopting AI).

I’m also a member over at micro.blog, a simple and affordable platform which encourages both shorter and longer posts on your own independent platform, with a community of fellow bloggers whose posts & pictures are easy to discover and connect with. These modest platforms are now the future of blogging. I hope they continue to exist — and more people embrace them rather

I was intending to write this piece in as measured and objective a way as possible, but I have to get it off my chest… AI is *t.e.r.r.i.b.l.e* for blogging. For anyone driven to write and create and connect.

[Here’s]) the announcement piece once more with the comments underneath (I’m a little surprised there aren’t more of them, tbh).

It’s a sad day for blogging.

🙁

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*What do you think/feel about all this? Genuinely? I’m curious to hear what others here make of this.*