Name: Strategies for Leveling Up Your Technical Writing Skills
Start: 2025-11-11T18:30:00-08:00
End: 2025-11-11T21:00:00-08:00
Location: WRITER HQ

**How Today's Technical Writers Stay Ahead in the age of AI?**

Knowledge professionals are already working in an era shaped by artificial intelligence. From natural language generation to content summarization and analysis, AI is transforming how we create, manage, and deliver documentation.

A recent McKinsey report estimates that up to 50% of today’s work activities could be automated between 2030 and 2060, with a midpoint around 2045. Rather than replacing professionals, this shift underscores the need for technical writers to adapt—by learning new tools, refining workflows, and staying ahead of emerging trends.

That's why continuous learning and intentional growth matter more than ever. Whether you’re improving your writing process, experimenting with automation, or exploring new tools, this meetup is designed to help you grow as a modern technical writer.

At Write the Docs Bay Area, our goal is to create a space where you can learn practical strategies, discover new tools, and connect with peers who are shaping the future of documentation.

**What You'll Learn**

You’ll hear from five speakers with diverse experience—from seasoned content leaders and developer advocates to early-career writers entering the field. Their perspectives will spark ideas and inspire you to rethink how you approach your work.

**Speaker Lineup**

**Priya Ayyar – Senior Manager, Content Experience, Salesforce**
**Talk title**: The Human Edge: Leading Technical Teams in an AI World
**Talk description**: TBD

**Elvis Kahoro - Developer Advocate, Chalk**
**Talk title**: KSON - A JSON compatible human friendly configuration language
**Talk description**: We seem to be approaching the very problem of configuration from a flawed starting point, setting way too low expectations for our tools. We are failing to see that configuration files are actually user interfaces, and that they should be treated as such. Once you start thinking of configuration files as user interfaces, it suddenly makes sense to demand an excellent user experience for working with them. The whole point of a user interface is to make the software accessible, with mechanisms that prevent human error and guide the user down the pit of success. We all recognize bad UX when it feels like you are fighting the computer to achieve a specific goal. In an ideal world, the computer would enhance you without getting in the way, like a bicycle for the mind. What would configuring software look like if our tools were rooted in the “configuration is UI” paradigm? Can we realistically dream of an ecosystem in which configuration is a joy to write and maintain?

**Ethan Palm – Technical Writer, Mintlify**
**Talk title**: What does AI-native even mean?
**Talk description**: AI buzzwords abound. How do we go from ideas to something actionable? I'll share how my team aligned on why and when we use AI tools; what we achieved; and ways to navigate AI ambiguity—whether you're facing broad mandates to 'use more AI' or trying to identify valuable use cases.

**Sreya Dutta – Technical Writer, Oracle**
**Talk title**: Key Human Skills in the Age of AI
**Talk description**: Will AI will take human jobs or will certain human skills which were undermined in the past become more valuable? I'll share my take on which human skills will make technical writers more valuable.

**Shivangi Dua – Technical Writer & AI Corpus Builder, Student (prev. Oracle)**
**Talk title:** The New Role of Technical Writers: Teaching AI Not to Hallucinate
**Talk description**: At Oracle, I curated developer content to increase adoption. Now, building an AI corpus for Spark&Nudge, I write documentation that serves two audiences: humans who need answers today and AI systems that will help users tomorrow. Here's what I've learned: AI hallucinations often start with unclear docs. As an early-career writer who integrated AI into my workflow from day one, I use it to brainstorm, bridge disconnected ideas, and polish drafts. But I also test every piece of documentation with one question: could an AI trained only on this give an accurate response? In this talk, I'll share my workflow and two practical strategies you can use immediately: the AI Training Test and how to use AI as your first reviewer. Technical writers aren't being replaced. We're becoming the people who teach AI not to lie.

**Getting There**

* BART: Closest station is Montgomery (598 Market St)
* Muni: Closest stop is Market St & Sansome St (approximately 0.5 miles away)
* Driving: Use SpotHero for parking, or consider Uber or Lyft for convenience

**Source**: [McKinsey – The Economic Potential of Generative AI](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-economic-potential-of-generative-ai-the-next-productivity-frontier)

Sponsored by [Writer](https://writer.com) and organized by [Words n Logic](https://wordsnlogic.com/newsletter).

Doug Purcell

Write the Docs Bay Area

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