If LLMs can't write, I doubt it can lead us to AGI

I tested every AI model the same way. Only one task got better

SubscribeSign in

Adlet Balzhanov Aug 16, 2026

I’ve been testing every new AI model the same way for a while now. I give it a real coding task, and more often than not it comes back with something solid, impressive results. Then I give it a pile of good writing samples and ask it to write an article or a design doc in that voice, and it fails. Doesn’t matter how strong, expensive the model is or how many examples I feed it. It always comes back sounding like AI. For a while I assumed it was on me. Bad prompting, not enough samples or wrong instructions. So I kept tweaking it for a while, and it never got better in any way that mattered. Software or code has a right, finite answer. It compiles or it doesn’t, the tests pass or they fail. And the model has something concrete to aim at and correct itself against. The best practices and patterns are actually what make good, maintainable software. However, repeatable patterns in writing are what make it slop and annoying. At its current stage, AI is good at anything with a checkable output. And at things where repeatable patterns are a sign of quality. Software and coding happen to be full of those. Most other work isn’t, especially writing. So if you want a decent result from AI for writing, the best approach right now is not to use it at all. Thanks for reading, Adlet Balzhanov 📌 FREE to join: a newsletter, helping 4,000+ Big Tech engineers level up fast. Read by engineers from Google, Meta, Amazon, Uber and more

Connect with me on LinkedIn, just use the button below. I read every message. Cheers! My LinkedIn

Discussion about this post CommentsRestacks

TopLatestDiscussions

No posts

Ready for more?

Substack is the home for great culture

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

If LLMs can't write, I doubt it can lead us to AGI

Related Articles

Incident with Github.com

(no title)

Scientists reverse brain aging, with a nasal spray

NHS apologises and admits Palantir have access to identifiable patient data

AI has torched the market for junior programmers