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The Washington Post is exploring the use of an AI writing coach, internally dubbed ‘Ember,’ to empower amateur writers and diversify its opinion content. The ‘Ripple’ initiative seeks to incorporate perspectives from non-professional writers, Substack authors, and contributors from other platforms. Ember’s potential features include a ‘story strength’ tracker and an AI assistant providing writing prompts and developmental questions, streamlining the editorial process. While AI would provide support, human editors would retain final review authority before publication. The Post aims to establish partnerships this summer and potentially integrate AI tools starting this fall. This move reflects a broader strategy to expand beyond its traditional opinion section and cater to readers seeking a wider range of viewpoints.