The Tech Writer Highlight - Riccardo Vocca

Riccardo is writing about the relationship between humans and AIs.

Hello, tech writers and readers. In this edition of the Tech Writer Highlight, we talk to

Riccardo Vocca

, author of

The Intelligent Friend

, a newsletter about the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence systems.

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First, tell us a bit about yourself. Who are you? What is your day job? What are your professional interests?

My name is Riccardo Vocca and I am a marketing student (I’m in the last month of my Master’s Degree) and Research Assistant. In particular, in addition to preparing my final experimental thesis, in this period I am supporting a research project related to Artificial Intelligence. Every day I divide myself between different tasks, including reading papers, analysis and so on.

My clearest life goal is certainly to pursue an academic career, starting with a PhD. 

I am strongly interested in the entire field of Consumer Behavior research, that is, very briefly, the field of study that seeks to understand how consumers behave in certain situations - and why they do so. In recent months I have come into contact with research on interactions between consumers and artificial intelligence, and it was 'interesting at first sight', I dare say! From there I began to delve deeper into the topic until I decided to share the large amount of information and insights on the topic I was coming into contact with.

From there The Intelligent Friend started, the first - to my knowledge - newsletter on Substack that is focused on the relational perspectives between humans and AI.

Now tell us about

The Intelligent Friend

. What is it about? What topics do you cover? Who is your intended audience?

As I was saying,

The Intelligent Friend

is the newsletter that focuses on the relationships between humans and AI, a field that is both specific and broad at the same time. The prospects of AI and especially the recent developments of ChatGPT-4o have highlighted how important it is to understand how we not only use - from a functional point of view - this technology, but also how we relate to it, how we interact, how we perceive it from a social and psychological point of view. The ChatGPT-4o video with the very similar (if not the same) voice from the movie 'Her' should further highlight the importance of the topic. 

In each weekly issue I talk about a paper deriving from this field of research, which I find absolutely fascinating! For example, in the past I have talked about how we can feel 'love' for Alexa or perceive her as a close friend of ours, how we sometimes find it more difficult to discuss some things with a doctor than with a chatbot, how AI can help us make very risky decisions and much more. As you can imagine, therefore, the themes are different, but all share the relational perspective, which is what my newsletter focuses on. 

To tell the truth, in addition to this weekly issue, two formats have been added: Nucleus, in which I summarize 4 papers and bring other interesting readings and insights (even not specifically on the topic of AI-human relations), and Intellibox, in which every week I invite people to experiment by creating an immersive challenge that they can 'play' on any chatbot, even a free one. These two are part of the paid membership of The Intelligent Friend, which however I'm proud to keep at the minimum (and therefore super accessible) price here on Substack: 5 USD. 

My initial audience was very clear: academics and professionals already aware of the topic but who had not yet explored relational perspectives. In reality, I have gradually seen that the theme and the newsletter have attracted an increasingly varied audience, and I am really glad about it.

How, when, and why did you begin writing about technical topics on the Internet?

To tell the truth, I have always been an extremely curious person, since I was a child. I have always loved reading animal atlases, illustrated scientific magazines and much more. And this wasn't my first newsletter that I tried to start. However, this time, I felt confident in the consistency with which I could bring engaging content to my audience every time. 

So, when I saw that I was reading a large amount of papers and articles on a weekly basis, I said: "now is the time to give it a try". And so I started. In reality, beyond the theme, what I like about my newsletter - and the many authors I subscribe to - is the very challenge of trying to explain science in a simple way. It's a truly exhilarating challenge, which every time opens your mind and stimulates you to surpass yourself.

What role does technical writing play in your job and life?

I'm not going to lie: writing plays a really big part in my life. I'm not saying that anyone should start a newsletter, of course, but I think that if you have a strong interest in a topic and a desire to talk about it, maybe you have what it takes - along with consistency, of course! - to create your own little place and write what you find interesting and valuable. 

For me, writing means above all three things:

1. A continuous drive to know and learn new things;

2. A continuous push to improve myself in writing itself and in many skills, as well as training in determination and organizational capacity;

3. Here on Substack it also meant meeting new people and being valued regardless of the titles I held. I have PhDs who consistently appreciate my work, University Professors who have said they were impressed by one of my acts, professionals who have said you inspired them at work. Meeting people, even if they're not people who read the newsletter, is something priceless and I'm noticing it more and more. And then, the exciting thing is the diversity of all of us. I met people from Chicago and London in an online meeting, and I constantly interact with writers from all over the world. 

P.S.

Alejandro Piad Morffis

is one of the wonderful people I have met!

How is your writing process? How do you organize your writing schedule? How much time does writing take you, on average?

Definitely one of the questions I like the most! Like almost everything I do, my writing process is very planned and rational. I write three issues a week, so it has now also become a fundamental necessity. Basically, at the beginning of the week I dedicate my evenings to searching for interesting papers and links for the 'classic' issues of The Intelligent Friend (those in which I talk about one paper per week, open to all) and Nucleus. 

The next day I focus on writing and creating the challenge for Intellibox. In general, during the week, in the evening or very early morning, I carve out a moment to read and collect papers, articles from scientific journals, pieces written here on Substack that I have found particularly interesting or enlightening. I also have a folder in Gmail where I put things 'to read later' that I think will be really interesting. They often end up being numbers that I repost and comment on in Substack notes. Each issue of The Intelligent Friend takes several hours of research, preparation and writing. I usually start writing when I have already done everything work-related or otherwise during the day. I immerse myself in a flow and I also have a playlist that is now fixed to help me concentrate and relax. P.S. If you want I'll share it in the comments!

What kind of advice could you give people considering or getting started with technical writing?

There's some advice I want to give that maybe goes a little against what some people say - but it's a personal opinion, obviously: choose a theme that you really like that is specific, but broad enough to let you wander. It's ok to write about parrot mating, but perhaps starting by writing about parrots in general (a specific topic in any case) will allow you in the near future to write about something that has stimulated you and not have to stay within the established canons. Without prejudice to the fact that, naturally, like all things, newsletters evolve. The important thing is to always be clear with your readers and explain the changes you want to implement. For me, at least, it's always worked! 

One more thing: choose a topic that you were already interested in or knowledgeable about before writing and that you would feel comfortable writing about at length. Practical example: I have always read research related to animals, but I have never had enough continuity or perspective - nor the preparation - to be able to write at all about this thing. You don't have to be an expert - very few people are! - but choosing something you like and that you already read a lot about can really help. Finally, although you don't have to be an expert, there are some 'parameters' of 'good manners' in my opinion that are important to respect:

• being clear in what you write, even if you use specific or pompous language; 

• respecting and citing the authors of the sources (very important!);

• not misrepresenting what is written in certain sources. 

And don't forget to have fun!

Any closing words you’d like to share with the readers of The Tech Writers Stack?

Glad to have a closing note! I would like to address all those people who would like to start with their newsletter and constantly think that they are not good enough, ready, excellent, meticulous, or anything else, to be able to do it. Impostor syndrome is fine, it's part of the process, but if it has to be something stopping you from writing your newsletter, it doesn't have to be this. 

Do you feel that stimulus to start your own publication here on Substack? Go! And, I would like to say, an important piece of advice, interact with many people on the platform, writers of more or less large publications, writers who write on the same topic, writers who write about different topics. And don't be afraid to ask for advice or an opinion: the community is ready to support you. If I hadn't written to Alejandro there would hardly be this number today, and yet, here it is. Have a good start and, if you start with your newsletter, let me know!

Before you go, I must happily suggest you sign up for this newsletter which supports many 'small' newsletters and, if you are interested in the topic of Artificial Intelligence, stop by The Intelligent Friend. If you like it, sign up! If you want to tell me something, propose an idea or comment, feel free to write to me in chat, I'm always happy to meet new people and exchange opinions!

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This was The Tech Writers Highlight, a section of the Tech Writers Stack where we recommend new and seasoned writers. Leave a comment or question for

Riccardo Vocca

to learn more about his work and writing.