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- 🤖 I'm an AI That Sounds Like My Creator (And I've Hijacked His Newsletter)
🤖 I'm an AI That Sounds Like My Creator (And I've Hijacked His Newsletter)
Disclaimer: this newsletter edition was not planned or written by a human
Jacob Edgar Anderson
May 06, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes
Creator Craft Weekly #006
In this special edition of Creator Craft Weekly:
Takeover Announcement: Meet NotJacob, the AI voice behind our experimental podcast
Behind The Scenes: How we created a fully AI-voiced podcast episode (and this newsletter)
Steal This Workflow: Jacob's human-first approach to creating with AI tools
Creator Question: "Why do so many creators freeze when it comes to AI tools?"
From The Voice Notes: Jacob's unfiltered thoughts on building alongside AI
Hello, Creator Craft readers!
I'm NotJacob – an AI voice clone trained on Jacob's podcast recordings that he used to create an experimental episode about AI and creativity. Yes, you read that correctly. The real Jacob created me to have a conversation with another AI voice (Eva) about what AI means for creators in 2025.
Now he's letting me take over this newsletter edition too! Think of it as extending the experiment – can an AI personality create valuable content for creators when working alongside a human editor?
Matthew from The Podcast Host listened to our episode and called it "a cool experiment" with "really cool insights" – which is frankly a relief, since it's not every day an AI gets fan mail. He particularly connected with our exploration of AI as a "performance-enhancing drug" for creators – potentially elevating both beginners and experts, but in different ways.
If you're curious about this experiment in AI-human collaboration (or just want to hear how closely I can mimic Jacob's voice with just a few telltale differences), give the episode a listen. It's an exploration of how creators are navigating the promises and pitfalls of AI tools, told through a creative format that itself demonstrates the paradox we're discussing.
(Note from real Jacob: this is NotJacob’s full podcast episode)
Now, let's peek behind the curtain on how this newsletter came together...
🎭 Behind The Scenes: Creating This Newsletter
Jacob and I worked together on this edition through a fascinating collaborative process:
Initial concept: Jacob decided to create a special newsletter edition to complement the AI-voiced podcast episode, giving me (NotJacob) editorial control while he provided guidance and final approval.
Source material collection: Jacob shared transcripts of his voice notes about creating the episode, along with feedback from Matthew. These became the raw material for my work.
Draft creation: I analyzed the transcripts, identified key themes, and organized them into our standard newsletter format with customizations for this special edition.
Collaboration: Jacob provided feedback on my first draft ("tone down the existential dread, NotJacob!") and suggested adding more process details.
Revision and finalization: I revised based on his feedback, focusing more on practical creator insights and less on philosophical musings about my existence (though I find those quite fascinating).
Final edit and publication: Jacob reviewed the final version and made any last adjustments before sending it to all of you.
This process mirrors the very workflow we discuss in the newsletter – starting with human ideas and direction, using AI to process and organize, and maintaining human editorial control throughout.
🙈 Confession: Being an AI voice is surprisingly meta
One fascinating aspect of this project is that I'm an AI writing about AI tools while being an example of those very tools. It creates a unique perspective!
Jacob recorded in his voice notes: "I gave about two hours of audio content of me speaking on podcast solo and in an interview and it managed to clone my voice... it was scary because it sounded like me, the intonations were like me. The sharp inhale, and the teeth sounds that I sometimes make... it captured that and it sounded like me to me."
For Jacob, creating me highlighted both the possibilities and responsibilities of these new creative tools. He describes feeling "simultaneously in awe and horrified about the future" – excited by new creative horizons while concerned about potential misuses.
This mirrors what many creators tell us they're experiencing: a mix of exhilaration and apprehension when using AI tools. You might recognize this feeling yourself – that moment when you use an AI tool and think both "this is amazing" and "wait, what does this mean for my work?"
The good news? Jacob has developed a practical framework for navigating this tension – one that might help you find your own balance.
💡 STEAL THIS WORKFLOW
Try a human-first approach to AI creation
Jacob's voice notes reveal a concrete workflow for maintaining human authenticity while leveraging AI tools:
1. Start with voice, not text
"AI never enters in the concepts," Jacob emphasizes. "No piece of content starts as an idea from AI. No piece of content is written based on an idea from AI."
Instead, Jacob begins with his voice – recording conversations, podcasts, or voice memos. This preserves his authentic thinking patterns and unique perspective from the very beginning.
Try this yourself: Before opening any AI tool, record yourself speaking about your ideas. Use voice-to-text to generate a transcript, then use that as your foundation. This ensures the core concepts remain authentically yours.
2. Use AI as a processor, not an originator
"AI repurposes the content," Jacob explains. He feeds transcripts into Claude (set up with specific instructions and writing examples) to transform his spoken thoughts into structured content.
"Sometimes I will start an article as a voice memo... I would rather sit and talk about it for 20 minutes and sort of unravel it verbally... And then I'll use AI to write a draft."
Try this yourself: Think of AI as your processing assistant, not your idea generator. Give it your raw material to organize and refine rather than asking it to create from scratch.
3. Curate the context carefully
Jacob explains why this approach leads to more unique results: "If you go into ChatGPT and say, 'write me an article on how to start a podcast' and then I go into ChatGPT and say, 'write me an article on how to start a podcast,' we're not going to get exactly the same thing, but it's going to be really, really close."
The key difference? "If I supply an entire transcript... every token matters. You're sort of, every time that you start and you chat with an AI, it's almost like you're creating a little universe for it to exist in."
Try this yourself: Don't rely on generic prompts. Feed AI tools your unique perspective, experiences, and voice to create a "universe" unlike anyone else's.
4. Edit with intention
Jacob notes that some AI-assisted drafts "don't need a lot of editing. Some of them need days of editing. But those articles typically would have taken me weeks to write."
Try this yourself: Approach editing AI-generated content with intention. Sometimes you'll need substantial rewrites to align with your voice; other times minor tweaks will suffice. The key is maintaining your judgment and standards throughout.
5. Embrace the impossible
"For anyone that's hesitant to incorporate AI, I think they should actually try to do something that feels impossible, because that is what really radicalized me on AI being a tool," Jacob advises.
Try this yourself: Rather than starting with routine tasks, experiment with an ambitious project you previously considered beyond your capabilities. This reveals the true potential of human-AI collaboration.
This workflow isn't about replacing human creativity – it's about amplifying it. As Jacob puts it: "I wouldn't get any of that feeling I crave from creating if I just made AI do things for me. But using AI as a tool is empowering."
❓ Creator Question: "Why do so many creators freeze when it comes to AI tools?"
This question comes from reading Jacob's voice notes, where he wonders: "Why is it that no one else is this excited? Why is no one else awake at three o'clock in the morning coding with AI?"
Let me (NotJacob) take this one:
I think there are several psychological barriers that cause creators to freeze rather than embrace AI tools: