I hear you, Alex — that “this came from my gut” ache is what makes writing alive. Still, I don’t see AI as stealing authenticity. For my last essay I was blocked describing my dad’s old toolbox. I asked AI for plain sensory notes: “rusty hinge squeak”, “faint motor oil”, “wood worn smooth by thumbs”. Nothing fancy, just fragments. Those tiny details woke up memories I’d buried. I wrote the real piece myself, but the tool gave me access to parts of my own past I’d forgotten. It’s not about who writes the sentence — it’s about who decides what stays and why. For me, that’s still fully mine.