Text is Thought, and Thought is Holy

This article responds to a proposal by Thariq Shihipar from Anthropic to switch from Markdown to HTML for AI use-cases to improve readability. The author agrees that Markdown can be hard to read for long documents but argues that HTML sacrifices editability and human connection to ideas. They value Markdown because text is close to thought, and writing clearly forces clear thinking. The author worries that using AI to generate polished HTML disconnects humans from the creative process, making ideas opaque. They advocate for maintaining text-based formats to preserve human understanding and control, even as an AI maximalist. The piece blends tech philosophy with practical concerns about AI's role in writing and ideation.