I am the author and editor of MrDowling.com. I use AI as one of several tools to help me research, brainstorm, check, and refine my work. I write what is published on the site, and I take personal responsibility for every word that appears here.
More than a Quarter Century Online
MrDowling.com has been online since 1997, long before today’s artificial intelligence existed. For a quarter century, the site ran well without AI because it had to. AI has since become another tool I can use to improve the site, but it has not replaced the experience, research, judgment, or writing behind it.
I retired in 2024 after 32 years in the classroom. AI does not decide what belongs on MrDowling.com, what students should learn, or how I explain history. Those decisions are mine, based on three decades of trial and error in front of real students.
Research and Accuracy
I research my lessons using books (remember them?) and other published sources. When information is new or still developing, I wait until it has been reported and examined by established publications such as The New York Times, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. I do not rely on AI as a source. AI sometimes gives me a useful lead, but I check that information against reliable published sources before I use it.
I have also spent enough time researching at the Palm Beach County Library that they will someday name a table after me.
I care deeply about the accuracy of this site, but I know that errors can slip through. I also strive for fairness and neutrality. If you spot a mistake or notice any bias in my writing, please use the contact button at the top of the page to offer your perspective. I have learned a lot over the years from the readers of these pages, and I am never too proud to make a correction.
AI-Generated Illustrations
Many of the illustrations on MrDowling.com are created with the help of AI. Historical images present a particular challenge. Traditional sources often leave teachers with the same familiar portraits, statues, and paintings, while I want an illustration to help explain the specific person, event, or idea being taught.
I take tremendous care with AI-generated illustrations. My instructions often run several paragraphs because I want the clothing, setting, objects, and other details to fit the history I am teaching. I reject at least three-fourths of the images AI generates. I choose images that I hope will be compelling enough to make a student pause and want to learn more.
When I create these images, I want students to see themselves in them. In the sidebar cartoons especially, I want readers to feel in on the joke.
These illustrations are not historical evidence. They are educational aids. The images that appear on MrDowling.com are the ones I believe best serve the lesson and remain true to the historical record.
A Word About AI Detectors
There is an irony in trying to prove that writing is human. I once ran a page I wrote in 2011 through an AI detector. It reported 78% confidence that the page had been written by AI. The page had actually been online for years before modern generative AI existed.
That experience is one reason I don’t put much faith in software that claims to determine whether a person or a machine wrote something. Instead, I can tell you something much simpler: MrDowling.com is my work. AI is one of the tools I use to make it better, but the decisions about what you see here are mine.