3 Weeks of Public Writing. No AI Allowed. (Part 1)

I’m running an experiment.

For the next three weeks, I’m writing publicly without AI. Not because AI can’t write, but because I wanted to stretch a different muscle. The human one: story, humor, vulnerability, observation.

📞 My “Design Agency” Is My Daughter

Last week I had an idea for a LinkedIn carousel.

Instead of using AI graphics, I texted my daughter Trisha, a sophomore at a design school on the other side of the country.

Our usual long-distance chats go something like this:

• Her: “Dad, I need money for materials. They don’t let us design with thin air here.”
• Me: “Did you at least visit the college gym?”
• Her: “Yes Dad 🙄 , lifting portfolios counts as cardio.” (The eye rolls are real!)

So I sent a one‑liner brief: 👉 “Turn Google’s messy serendipitious origin story into a simple, human storyline.”

A few short hours later she texts: “It's done. Do you know how to check designs on Figma?”

What I found was a thoughtful, witty carousel that made my notes look like napkin doodles.

Dad Lesson #472: Sometimes the best long‑distance call is… a design brief followed immediately by a FamPay (think Venmo, but in India) request.

🌱 The Story: Serendipity

I chose to focus this writing series on the unexpected detours that shaped giants.

Take Google:

• Larry almost stayed in Michigan
• Sergey found him “irritating”
• Their project “Backrub” nearly sold for $1M (and nobody wanted it)
• Rejection after rejection ... until they built it themselves

Those odd detours rewired the way we all search for knowledge.

Google → ChatGPT

Fast forward and history rhymes.

The rise of ChatGPT looks familiar:

• Skepticism at the start
• Small, clunky experiments
• Experts saying “This won’t scale”
• Then suddenly, boom.

Both stories remind us: Innovation isn’t a straight ladder. It’s stumbling through the dark until something clicks.

😂 The Humor in It All

Yes, I’m running a “No AI” experiment while outsourcing my design work to my daughter. (Nothing serendipitious about this, creativity and design are far from being my strong suits)

But that’s the point. The best stories come from the messy, human places: the awkward FamPay (Venmo) requests, the gym jokes, the adorable irony.

Like watching your daughter roast you about cardio ... while secretly out‑creating you in a matter of hours.

Closing Thoughts

Some of these posts will miss the mark. Some I’ll cringe about later.

But maybe, just maybe, one will light a spark for you the way my daughter’s carousel sparked for me.

Because in the end ... whether it’s Google, ChatGPT, or clumsy dads experimenting on LinkedIn ... the serendipity is the story.

If you’ve ever stumbled your way into clarity (or wired money for “project materials” that also funded dorm room pizza), I’d love to hear your version.

Here's the first carousel in the series.

Design Credits: Trisha Basu