I can’t get away from AI no matter how I try. This doesn’t make me a luddite, a fossil, or closed-minded, it makes me someone that likes to do things for myself. I drive a manual car, I write with a fountain pen, I read books – paper ones.

Am I in the minority here? Is writing dead? Is reading on the way out? Is The Algorithm all-powerful? Is AI running the world? Should I stop fighting and fall back into the soft pillows of a comfy bot and let technology do the work for me. Who needs to drive a car themselves anyway these days?

I recently took a break from the corporate coalface. It’s been a full-on 25 years or so and I needed to take my foot off the gas (see what I did there). My worry now is, if the modus operandi is to let machines do the work, what call is there for someone who’s dedicated their life to comms, and writing in particular? I’ve heard the whole, ‘AI will only polish what your create’, but I don’t even want it to do that. I want my creation to be my creation – warts and all.

Putting AI aside, and thinking about trying to find a lower-pressure more local job, I decided to see if there was anything part-time nearer home. So far I’ve applied for roles – and been ghosted by – a village primary school, a local hospice, a cafe and a dog kennels. An impressive list of rejections from jobs with applicant numbers in single figures that no one could be bothered to tell me I’d been rejected for.

Yes it’s a dent to one’s ego. But I cannot go back to Sharepoint and newsletters and All Hands and Teams.

Knowing what I don’t want to do is a start. In the meantime I’ve got plenty to be getting on with. Just being at home when my younger son gets home from school as he works towards his A-Levels is great. I have no idea what he’s talking about half the time (I failed maths GSCE, he’s doing further maths A-Level), but having a cuppa together and listening to how his latest practice paper or test went, is a gift. I’m learning golf. Terrible at it, but persevering. I’m writing again.

Longer term I do wonder what the future holds though.

It can’t just be me who feels this way; who’s looking to change direction after a long career, but who’s hard-earned skills and experience (despite decrepitude) employers don’t seem to want.

Or realise they need?