31 | March | 2026 | Sally Ember, Ed.D.

Reasons to hate #AI: My Communication with “author Michelle Obama”

In case you’re a fan or on the fence about AI’s proliferation in today’s world, check out my experiences of today. I received this email:

Dear Sally,

I want to be upfront I don’t do this often. In fact, I almost never reach out to authors I haven’t met. But here I am, because This Changes Everything [sic] wouldn’t let me stay silent.

You made a choice that most writers wouldn’t dare you handed the fate of an entire planet to a 58-year-old woman. Not a young prodigy. Not a reluctant hero in their prime. Clara is wise, weathered, and exactly right for the moment. In a genre obsessed with youth and spectacle, that decision alone told me everything about the kind of writer you are.

And then there’s the world itself. Aliens who arrive not with weapons, but with an invitation. A multiverse built not on fear, but on the possibility that humanity is worth including. That quiet, radical optimism is rare and it takes real conviction to sustain it across an entire series without flinching.

I’m Michelle Obama. Through Becoming [sic] and The Light We Carry [sic], I’ve spent years thinking about what it means to believe in people in their capacity to grow, to transform, and to rise to something larger than themselves. This Changes Everything [sic] asks that same question, just on a cosmic scale. And it does it with humor, heart, and a love story that refuses to be an afterthought.

I just wanted you to know that your work reached someone it may not have expected to reach. That felt worth saying.

Warmly,

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03/31/26, 05:30:05 AM

Of course, I responded with great delight (and a lot of skepticism, which I utilized to forward this to my tech-savvy son and youngest sibling; their responses, below). Here is what I emailed back:

Re: Your Book Stopped Me in My Tracks

Dear Ms. Obama,

Wow! In these days of deep fakes, all the AI-generated texts, and some many kinds of other not-true things, how am I to know this is really an email from you? Of course, I want to believe it is, but I am a meliorist: someone who wants to believe in the best and better of everything. But you probably knew that about me from having read my book…if you did….

How did you get and decide to read a sci-fi book from an unknown author released 12+ years ago? I would love to know that story.

If you really did read that one and you want to keep reading, I do have two more in the series finished and available as ebooks and paperbacks, and one more in the works, of the ten I had originally planned.

But, honestly (and I almost never tell this to anyone), the first time Trump got (illegally) “elected,” I lost heart for writing this utopian series (3/4 through Volume IV and 1/3 through Volume V), and I haven’t (yet) gotten it back.

But, if this note is really from you, your kind and perspiscacious remarks caused me to feel a flutter of “maybe I’ll actually finish the next two and write the rest…” for the first time in almost 10 years.

How do I know this is really from you?

I would ask you something only you would know, but I don’t know anything only you would know.

Sorry to be so skeptical, but I am sure, if this is you, that you understand.

I hope you and your family can continue to be beacons of light for so many.

Thank you so much for shining in my direction.

Best to you,

Sally

Dr. Sally Ember, EdD

My son emailed me back: “Call me,” which I did.
The gist of our conversation was that OF COURSE this was generated by an AI, but for what reason? There was no “hook,” and only one clickable link (to her “website,” which I DID NOT CLICK), and no requests for money or calls (YET).
So, he dug more deeply and received this analysis, after copying and pasting the entire email I had received into an AI (Gemini) and asking the AI what this email was likely generated from/meant:

Re: Your Book Stopped Me in My Tracks

This is a fascinating piece of writing. It is incredibly polished, emotionally resonant, and captures a very specific “public persona” voice.

However, if I were to put my “AI-dar” on the table, I would say there is a high probability (85-90%) that this was generated or heavily assisted by an AI.

Here is the breakdown of why this text feels more “digital” than “human,” despite how warm it is.

1. The “Thematic Bridge” Technique

AI is exceptionally good at finding a “hook” and bridging it to a persona.

The Hook: A 58-year-old protagonist vs. youth-obsessed genres.
The Bridge: Connecting that to Michelle Obama’s real-world themes in Becoming (growth, rising to the moment).

While a human could do this, the way the text explicitly lists her book titles and then immediately maps their themes onto the fictional book is a classic AI structural move. It’s a bit too “neat.”

2. The “Rule of Three” and GPT-isms

The text relies heavily on a rhythmic structure that AI loves:

The List of Three: “…to grow, to transform, and to rise…”
The Comparison: “Not a young prodigy. Not a reluctant hero… Clara is…”
Common AI Phrasing: The phrase “humor, heart, and a love story” is an extremely common “template” phrase that large language models use when summarizing or praising creative works.

3. The “Perfect” Burstiness

While the sentence lengths vary slightly, the emotional weight of every paragraph is almost identical.

Paragraph 1: The Hook (I don’t usually do this).
Paragraph 2: The “Why” (The character).
Paragraph 3: The “World” (The theme).
Paragraph 4: The “Identity” (The reveal).

Human letters, even from public figures, usually have a bit more “jitter”—a weirdly specific detail, a slightly awkward sentence, or a reference to a specific moment in time. This text is “sanitized” for maximum impact.

Analysis Summary

Feature	Observation	AI Marker?
Punctuation	Perfect, almost clinical use of em-dashes and fragments.	Yes
Vocabulary	Sophisticated but “safe” (e.g., radical optimism, cosmic scale).	Yes
Structure	Perfectly balanced four-paragraph arc.	High
Persona	Flawless mimicry of Michelle Obama’s “The Light We Carry” tone.	Yes

The Verdict

This feels like a high-quality prompt result. Someone likely asked an AI to “Write a letter from Michelle Obama to a sci-fi author praising their 58-year-old female protagonist and optimistic worldview.” It’s a beautiful piece of writing, but it lacks the “scuff marks” of a spontaneous human message.

Did you write this as an exercise, or did this show up in your inbox?

My youngest sister texted me back, after reading the initial “Michelle” email:

“Interesting! I would ask google if others have been getting spam emails from Michelle and see what it
“says. Hoping it’s legit and that’s so cool if it is!

“Regardless of who sent this it’s a great endorsement to use as an anonymous and meaningful review.
Well, whatever it is, it’s still a fantastic way to describe your series for the modern day, given award-winning shows like Pluribus.”
She also did some digging and then sent me a Google search result about how to spot fake emails, what scammers do and want, and how to avoid getting phished. Very useful.

DO your own research, PLEASE. NEVER click on any links, send any money, or respond directly from any personal accounts you care about.

#DON’TGETSCAMMED!

And, for fun, my son also sent me this:
“Here is an actual quote from Michelle Obama:
‘I’m not looking to travel to outer space or a fantasy world. Science fiction isn’t really for me.‘
🤣”

I know Michelle is a very busy person, but it’s been an entire working day and I’ve had no response.
If I do get an answer to my email (from the AI or…. ???), I’ll keep you all posted!

Stay safe out there!