Medium and the Blanket AI Ban 😶

I’ve been meaning to write this since I first saw Medium’s post on Friday — but, you know, life happens. So a little late, but I wanted to share. You tell me — am I the crazy one here? 🫤

👆 Also, River has shown up in a few posts already — the Leonardo reimagining of my blog character. She’s still missing some key features (training tokens are tapped out until the month resets), but you get the idea. 😆 Expect a couple more tweaks coming soon.

So Friday was my chill day (rare, but they do happen) and I noticed somebody had followed me on Medium. Which is funny, because I’d already canceled my membership — it just hadn’t expired yet. Five bucks a month isn’t exactly breaking the bank, so I thought, fine, maybe I’ll toss a few posts over there alongside LinkedIn.

That was the plan. Until I landed on Medium’s homepage and saw this headline:

“We want your feedback: how can writers use AI to tell human stories?”

🦄 Perfect hook, right? Except two scrolls later I was fuming like I was just called in for a rollback on a Friday night. 😡

The Fine Print 🔍

By the time you dig through the post, the documentation, and the linked policies, the message is clear:

• AI as spellcheck? Totally fine. ✅
• ChatGPT outlines and fact-checks? Approved. ✅
• Anything more (drafting, editing, all other AI assistance)? ❌
  • You’re officially outside their definition of “writer.”

And if you do dare use AI, you have to declare it at the very top of your post, within the first two paragraphs, and again on every image. Metadata doesn’t count.

🦄 TL;DR: If you lean on AI for anything beyond grammar, you can write on Medium, but you’ll never get boosted, partnered, or featured. You can post, but you’re standing outside in the rain while everyone else gets a table inside. 🍽️

Why It Feels Off 🤔

Look, I get it. Nobody wants a feed full of unedited AI sludge. I’m not trying to game the system either. I’m not chasing claps or badges. I write because it’s fun, because I need a break from code, and because I have opinions the world clearly needs to hear. 😉

AI doesn’t erase my voice — it sharpens it.

So calling everything in between spellcheck and prompt-posting off limits? No appeal, no nuance, just blanket exclusion? That’s where I’m lost.

Developers talk nonstop about AI. Colleges too. It’s a huge, messy, important conversation. And Medium — the site that prides itself on being the “top blogging platform” — takes the most stereotypical, exclusionary stance possible. ChatGPT usually gets painted as the villain here, but really, it’s just the stand-in for all the tools that make the work easier.

Honestly, it feels less like quality control and more like gatekeeping. Nuance would’ve made sense. Even a “don’t automate your blog posts” sounds great. This? It’s like they skipped gray completely and went straight to Twilight Zone monochrome.

My Reply ✍️

You know I couldn’t resist. 🤷‍♀️ Yes — I dropped a response directly on Medium’s front door, and linked to it right in their own discussion. That’s the only thing I’ve ever published over there besides the previous post on Blogging with Bots I forwarded as an explanation.

If you want the full-on-rant version of how I pushed back, here it is:

Wrapping It Up 🌱

I’m calmer now, but the question still bugs me. AI doesn’t erase my voice — it just lets me shape it faster, sharper, and with a little extra spark. So if Medium can’t see that, maybe that’s their loss.

And hey, I don’t want this to be a solo rant echoing into the void either! I want to know what you think. Is this really such a crime against writing, or is Medium being willfully old-school about it?

🦄 Let’s hash it out right here — the corner of the internet where the fun people hang around anyway.

🛡️ Powered by espresso shots, a healthy eye-roll, and a touch of AI cleanup ⚔️

All opinions are mine, ChatGPT just helped keep the rant from running off the rails (again).