There has been a lot of discussion recently about AI-generated content.
Some people are excited by it. Others are frustrated by the flood of low-quality articles, videos and images appearing online. I understand both reactions.
So before The Third Act grows any further, I want to be completely transparent about how I create the work you read here.
I use AI.
Not to replace my thinking, but to help me express it.
For most of my working life I never thought of myself as a writer. I had ideas, opinions and questions, but they usually stayed in my head. After retiring, I found myself paying more attention to the world around me. News stories became less about politics or technology and more about what they revealed about people.
I wanted to write about those things.
The problem was, I didn’t know how.
AI didn’t suddenly give me opinions. It didn’t give me my memories or my experiences. It couldn’t tell the story of my working life, my retirement, my struggles with confidence or the questions I ask myself on my daily walks.
Those belong to me.
What AI gave me was something different.
It became a patient thinking partner. It challenged my ideas, asked better questions than I was asking myself, pointed out weak arguments and helped me organise thoughts that had been scattered for years.
Every article starts with my observations.
Sometimes it’s something I’ve experienced.
Sometimes it’s a headline that makes me stop and think.
Sometimes it’s simply a question I can’t get out of my head.
From there, I work with AI to explore the idea, test it and shape it into something worth reading. Then I edit, rewrite and decide what stays and what goes.
The final responsibility is mine.
I know some readers would prefer every word to be written without AI.
I respect that.
For me, using AI isn’t about taking a shortcut. It’s about removing the barriers that stopped me from writing in the first place.
That’s why I’m telling you this openly.
I don’t want anyone wondering how these articles are created. If you read something here, you deserve to know the process behind it.
There’s something else I’d like to make clear.
Everything I publish on The Third Act will be free to read.
I don’t want thoughtful conversations hidden behind a paywall.
If this publication grows, I’d rather support it through practical resources—journals, templates, guides and creative tools that genuinely help people—than by asking readers to pay simply to access my thoughts.
If you choose to subscribe, you’re not paying to unlock articles.
You’re encouraging me to keep asking questions, keep learning and keep writing.
My hope is simple.
That every article leaves you thinking a little differently than you did before you started reading.
If AI helps me do that more clearly, and honesty helps us build trust, then I believe both have a place in this journey.
Thank you for reading.
And thank you for giving an ordinary retired man the confidence to finally find his voice.