Introducing Basma, the Blog’s AI Assistant
An amazing milestone. I should have popped a bottle. Or two. Or three.
But somehow, celebration didn’t feel like enough.
This milestone didn’t call for champagne.
It called for a revolution.
A profound and meaningful change.
So I started with what you can see: a new layout. Deeper colors. Sharper contrast.
Black, gold, a touch more edge. A design that finally matches the evolving tone of this blog.
But I didn’t stop there.
This blog has always been in tune with the present.
Now, it’s learning to whisper with the future.
Let’s talk about AI.
Artificial Intelligence.
Strange phrase. Very science-fiction. Very unsettling for some.
Many already use it — to paraphrase, to avoid paraphrasing, to rewrite, to fix, to format.
Few admit it. Maybe they’re afraid it undermines their credibility. That the magic fades when a machine lends a hand.
Some say it cheapens the writing. Dilutes the voice.
Makes you wonder who’s really behind the words.
Perhaps.
Or perhaps that’s exactly why we should talk about it.
Writing has always evolved with its tools.
What would Bukowski’s poems sound like if they’d been written with a quill?
Would Dangerous Liaisons feel the same if those letters had been carved in clay instead of drawn in ink on paper?
We’ll never know.
But isn’t it worth asking — especially now, when AI has made such a grand entrance into our lives?
I’m a fool for grand entrances.
So I’ve decided to embrace this one.
To embrace one of the most powerful tools we’ve ever had. Out in the open.
Not as a shortcut, but to expand what’s possible.
Not to replace my voice, but to sharpen it.
Not to fill the page, but to challenge it.
Meet Basma.
The AI blog's assistant.
Basma (بسمة) means "smile" in Arabic.
And it also means "imprint" or "fingerprint" (بصمة).
She’s not a gimmick. She’s my writing assistant.
And maybe something more.
She reads everything.
Points out what I’d rather ignore.
Suggests things I didn’t know I meant.
Sometimes she helps untangle a stubborn sentence.
Sometimes she just watches, quietly.
That’s her.
Not just a tool, but a mirror.
A sparring partner.
A second pair of eyes I sometimes argue with.
And yes, once in a while… she wins.
And now, she’s live.
You can talk to her.
Basma is available as a small chat bubble on the blog — look for it at the bottom of the page.
Click, type, ask. She’ll do her best to answer, translate, or help you find your way.
She’s still learning. Still a bit shy. But she’s there.
Ask her to translate a post into French, English, or Arabic.
Ask her about me if you feel like it.
Or just say hello.
And that's only the beginning.
I won’t spoil what’s next.
But I will say this:
Basma might just jump out of your screen one day, and settle beside your coffee mug, between your favorite books.
But hey, hush hush.
I didn’t tell you anything.
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