Rewinding 2024 and winding up for 2025

What my 2024 Year-End 'Rewind' from AI-based coauthor.studio did and didn't show me

Jan 03, 2025

If you’re active on LinkedIn, you may have seen a flurry of year-end posts from people sharing their “LinkedIn Rewind” from a company called Coauthor Studio. I looked into it. It uses AI to analyze the content of someone’s posts and comments. Since it required only public access to my LinkedIn account, I let it fly. Here’s what it came up with for my 2024 ‘highlight card’ and suggested post.

The tool did a decent job on the highlight card.

Those statistics won’t impress anyone, but the numbers look about right, so that’s reality. I’m simply not a heavy LinkedIn user or ‘influencer’.
The “Superpower” (“humanizing AI through diverse perspectives”) is a pretty good summary.
The “Top Quote” (“Everyone’s experience with AI matters, not just the elite few!”) also sounds like an accurate reflection of what I think and write about. I don’t honestly remember if I ever said those exact words in a post or comment in 2024, though.

The Rewind tool didn’t do such a great job on the suggested post content, though. Here’s what it gave me.

2024 was the year AI conversations finally started including voices beyond the usual Silicon Valley echo chamber. Through the "AI, Software, & Wetware" interview series, I discovered something profound: meaningful technology isn't built in isolation, but through diverse human experiences. This year, I committed to breaking down barriers: • Interviewed 36 incredible people from 14 countries, capturing AI's impact across industries and lives • Published a groundbreaking 8-part series exploring ethical dimensions of generative AI in music • Secured two US patents demonstrating responsible innovation in industrial analytics and cybersecurity • Expanded platforms to amplify underrepresented voices in tech Three posts that captured our collective journey: 1. "Curating #WomenInSTEM Writing About AI" Grew a list from 34 to 51 writers across 14 countries, proving that innovation knows no boundaries. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7276460534135177218/ 2. "Congratulations on Our New Patent" Showcased how collaborative, ethical machine learning can drive cybersecurity innovation. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7237656023849734145/ 3. "Don't Regret Growing Older" Challenged tech's youth-obsessed culture, reminding us that wisdom and perspective are invaluable. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7180992292843851776/ In 2025, the "AI, Software, & Wetware" series will dive deeper. We're not just documenting AI's evolution—we're ensuring it evolves responsibly, inclusively, and with genuine human understanding. To every person who shared their AI story this year: your voice isn't just heard, it's essential. Together, we're rewriting technology's narrative. #EthicalAI #DiversityInTech #ResponsibleAI #AISW #DataPrivacy #LinkedInRewind #Coauthor #2024wrapped

My main quibbles:

🙄 I didn’t “discover” that “profound” insight as a result of doing my interview series. I started the series because I already knew it.
❌ The number of people interviewed in 2024 is correct, but it’s only 8 countries, not 14. And I didn’t publish all 8 parts of the music series in 2024; I published 3 of the 8.
⁉️ I have no idea what the 4th bullet, “Expanded platforms to amplify underrepresented voices in tech”, means. What platforms does it think I “expanded” in 2024?
🤔 Posts 1 and 3 are fine, but I don’t think my 2024 patent awards belong on this list. They represent innovations I made several years ago. A post about the interview series - maybe the August announcement or year-end summary in December - seems like it would have been a better choice.

That final line’s not bad, though:

“To every person who shared their AI story this year: your voice isn't just heard, it's essential. Together, we're rewriting technology's narrative.”

That IS pretty much what I am trying to do with the “AI, Software, and Wetware” interview series, and why.

Bottom line: Trying this tool didn’t tell me anything new. And my experience with it did nothing to change my perspective on avoiding use of AI-based tools for summarization or for helping me write.