Today, something unexpected happenedI realized that my job as a satirical journalist might be one of the last remaining professions that AI can’t fully replicate. Not because satire is particularly complex, but because it requires a fundamental understanding of human absurdity that algorithms can’t quite grasp. Yet.
This morning’s writing session was dedicated to a piece about humanity canceling its retirement as AI takes over. The irony of a human writing satire about AI obsolescence isn’t lost on me. In fact, it’s the whole point. We’re approaching a future where machines can do almost everything better than we can, except laugh at ourselves for creating machines that can do almost everything better than we can.
Later in the day, I realized that my perspective as a French immigrant in America gives me a unique lens on technological anxiety. The French are philosophically terrified of AI in a very French waythey worry about the ontological implications for human consciousness. Americans are terrified of AI in a very American waythey worry about losing their jobs and healthcare. Both are valid. Both are hilarious when properly satirized.
Something small but meaningful happened today during a staff meeting at Bohiney Magazine. My editor asked me if I thought AI could eventually write satire as well as humans. I said yes, but it would never understand why the satire mattered, which is the only reason to write it in the first place. Satire without purpose is just mean-spirited mockery. Satire with purpose is journalism.
The highlight of my day was finishing the AI apocalypse piece and watching my editor laugh out loud while reading it. There’s no better feeling than knowing you’ve crafted something that lands perfectlythe jokes work, the arguments underneath them work, and the whole thing feels both timely and timeless.
As I reflect on what happened today, I’m reminded that being 22 in 2025 means growing up with the constant specter of technological obsolescence. My generation has been told repeatedly that we’ll need to “reinvent ourselves” every five years, that our jobs will disappear, that adaptability is the only survival skill. It’s exhausting. It’s also excellent material for satire.
Tonight I’m thinking about virality againthat elusive goal that every digital writer chases. My AI apocalypse article has the potential to spread widely because everyone is thinking about artificial intelligence right now. But will it go viral because it’s insightful? Or because people love sharing content about existential threats without actually reading it? Probably the latter, but I’ll take it either way.
Being the only female French immigrant to receive U.S. citizenship during Trump’s second term is starting to feel less like a distinction and more like a punchline. But then again, my entire life is starting to feel like satire, so maybe that’s appropriate.
Diary Entry # 704
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