What Is Happening With AI With Ann Handley - TWMJ #1025
Release Date: 03/01/2026
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Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1028 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). In a world increasingly defined by information overload and ideological certainty, the ability to change one’s mind may be the most undervalued skill of all… and few thinkers have explored that terrain as deeply as my friend, . A bestselling author, behavioral design expert and former lecturer, Nir has built a career examining how habits are formed, how attention is controlled and how human behavior can be shaped both externally and from within. His previous works, and , established him as a leading...
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The Science Of Storytelling With Will Storr - TWMJ #1027
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Thinking With Mitch Joel
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What Is Happening With AI With Ann Handley - TWMJ #1025
Thinking With Mitch Joel
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Making The Internet Suck Less With Cory Doctorow - TWMJ #1024
Thinking With Mitch Joel
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Distrust, Polarization And Hypocrisy With Michael Hallsworth - TWMJ #1023
Thinking With Mitch Joel
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Real Transformations With Phil Gilbert - TWMJ #1022
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Thinking With Mitch Joel
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Leadership Unblocked With Muriel Wilkins - TWMJ #1019
Thinking With Mitch Joel
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info_outlineWelcome to episode #1025 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation).
At a moment when panic travels faster than proof, few marketers are as clear-eyed… and as human… as Ann Handley. A pioneering digital marketing strategist (MarketingProfs), bestselling author (Everybody Writes and Content Rules), longtime champion of writing that actually means something and dear friend (also, if you’re not susbscribed to her newsletter, Total Annarchy, you really should be), Ann has built a career reminding businesses that the point of content isn’t velocity… it’s connection. In her recent essay, Something Messy Is Happening: On AI, Panic, and Asking Better Questions, she pushes back against the apocalyptic certainty surrounding AI job displacement and challenges the framing that faster always wins. Responding to venture capitalist Matt Shumer’s argument, Something Big Is Happening, that AI will eliminate half of white-collar work within a few years, Ann dissects the seductive panic embedded in exponential curves and racing metaphors, arguing that technological capability does not equal economic inevitability. She reminds us that adoption is human-shaped, that judgment compounds when speed becomes cheap, and that friction is often where thinking actually happens. Rather than choosing between “adapt or die,” Ann advocates for a steadier path: use the tools, reject the hysteria, protect the work that builds trust, expertise and meaning over time. Grounded in curiosity rather than fear, her perspective reframes the moment not as a race to outrun machines but as an invitation to ask better questions about what we’re building… and why. Enjoy the conversation…
- Running time: 56:04.
- Hello from beautiful Montreal.
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- Here is my conversation with Ann Handley.
- Total Annarchy.
- MarketingProfs.
- Everybody Writes.
- Content Rules.
- Something Messy Is Happening: On AI, Panic, and Asking Better Questions.
- Something Big Is Happening by Matt Shume.
- Follow Ann on LinkedIn.
- Follow Ann on Threads.
- Follow Ann on Instagram.
Chapters:
(00:00) - Introduction and Context of AI’s Viral Impact.
(01:21) - How Ann Uses AI to Strengthen Thinking.
(03:43) - The Limitations and Human Control of AI.
(05:09) - Content Structure and AI’s Role in Creativity.
(07:11) - AI’s Proximity to Human Work and Its Implications.
(11:09) - Extrapolating AI’s Impact on Jobs and Society.
(13:58) - The Emotional and Societal Response to AI.
(18:45) - The Surprising Capabilities of AI in Judgment.
(21:35) - The Role of Human Judgment and Creativity.
(27:20) - The Impact of SEO and Content Homogenization.
(29:58) - AI’s Ability to Mimic Human Taste and Judgment.
(36:40) - Balancing AI Use with Human Integrity.
(39:36) - The Race for Content and Creativity in AI Era.
(42:58) - Speed Culture and Its Discontents..
(50:34) - Navigating AI’s Role in Society and Creativity.
(52:50) - The Future of Creativity and AI’s Impact.
(54:24) - Personal Reflections on AI’s Transformative Power.