Iām experimenting with being more transparent about AI usage on this site. I use AI tools differently across different posts, and the AIL label tells you exactly what kind of reading youāre doing.
Iām trying out the AI Influence Level (AIL) framework created by Daniel Miessler. Itās a simple 0-5 scale that rates how much AI touched a piece of content:
- AIL 0: No AI involved at all, handwritten, typed from scratch, pure human
- AIL 1: Minor AI help, grammar fixes, sentence cleanup
- AIL 2: Major AI augmentation, significant edits or expansions
- AIL 3: AI created from full human structure and outline
- AIL 4: AI created from basic human idea
- AIL 5: Almost entirely AI-generated with minimal human input
What This Looks Like Here (Right Now)
Most posts on this site are AIL 0 or AIL 1. I write them myself, sometimes run them through Claude for grammar cleanup or to make sure my explanations are clear. Thatās it.
This post? AIL 2. I outlined what I wanted to say, Claude helped fill in sections and smooth out the writing, and I edited it to match my voice. The structure and ideas are mine, but AI did meaningful work on the prose.
When I write technical posts that include code snippets, I often use AI to add verbose comments, stuff I wouldnāt naturally write but that makes the code more understandable for readers. Thatās usually AIL 1.
Iāll update this section as my patterns change. Check the lastModified date to see when I last revised it. (November 2025: most posts are AIL 0 or 1. This post is AIL 2: I outlined it, Claude helped with prose, I edited to match my voice.)
Why Iām Trying This
Because when AI does meaningful work on the prose, thatās worth knowing. The framework might feel too granular, or not granular enough. I might find better ways to communicate this. This is an experiment.
I use Claude Code to build my deployment system and CLI tools. I use regular Claude to help explain technical concepts or add documentation comments. GitHub Copilot autocompletes code Iām already typing about 25% of the time. These are useful tools that make me more productive.
But thereās a difference between āKeith wrote this and AI cleaned up the grammarā and āKeith gave AI an outline and it wrote most of the prose.ā Both are legitimate uses of AI, but theyāre different, and I want to be clear about which is which.
How This Might Change
AI tools are genuinely useful for specific tasks and also being oversold as magic solutions to everything. The social safety net work Iām doing at Propel uses AI for parsing messy government websites and identifying error patterns, practical applications that make peopleās lives better.
My relationship with these tools will evolve. Maybe Iāll use AI more. Maybe less. Maybe the framework itself will feel wrong after a few months of practice. Iāll update this post as my thinking changes.
When you see an AIL badge on a post, youāll know AI touched it. When you donāt, thatās me writing from scratch.