Will voice replace typing the way typing replaced pen and paper?
I started using an AI tool called Wispr Flow a couple of months ago. It was a slow start, because I type fast and typing is how I naturally work. Where this new tool is helping me the most is when I’m giving AI context for a problem I want to work through. That’s when the work with AI is less about a good prompt and more about providing detailed information about the problem, what’s surrounding it, and what the desired outcome is.
Wispr Flow lets me speak inside any app on my device (laptop/phone) and transcribes with near-zero errors.
Moving to voice as a primary input in my work every day has me thinking about how we communicate. Will voice become primary for input to all things tech? Pen to paper has taken a back seat to typing. Will typing take a backseat to speaking due to AI’s ability to transcribe?
I still write daily for visioning, journaling, and thinking about solutions. I think differently with a pen than a keyboard. Science backs that up!
I still type during my work day because it’s a habit and it allows me to be more intentional with my words and think through them deciding what deserves to stay and what should go.
The advantage to voice is getting all of my thoughts out which leads me to clarity. In college when I was working on computer programs and would get stuck, I would call Gerald (I was in the lab) and he was home, and say, can I talk this out with you? He would listen and I would find my answer through talking it out. He rarely had to say anything. He was and still is my sounding board for problem solving. AI has become a thought partner in a similar way. It’s available, patient, and never tired of my words. I have to pause and wonder if introverts around the world are saying hallelujah! But talking things out is where relationships are built.
AI gives me thought partners with intelligence and knowledge bases across all sectors of business and life. That’s a super power. But, they aren’t human. Knowing when to lean into AI and when to stay with the people in your life is a balance we’re all going to have to learn. That may be the most important skill of this generation.
Gerald was my sounding board before AI was. Now I get to be yours. If you want a weekly thought partner in your inbox — one who writes about AI with both feet on the ground and the human side always in view — join my newsletter. You belong here.