CHAT GPT is the End of Creativity?

Disclaimer: Parts of the story you will read is AI assisted. Are you able to pick out which parts are “mine” and which are from the AI? I’ll reveal the answer at the bottom. See you there!

I needed to use the final creative bone in my body to make this meme

We’re all somewhat aware of the rise of automated manufacturing, self-serve machines, and self-driving transportation. But now, with the recent infamy of AI tools such as ChatGPT, it seems like even creative jobs are not safe from automation. Will AI be the end of the skill of creativity?

Well, this isn’t the first time a controversial creativity tool has emerged to envelop our zeitgeist. Let’s take a look at some past innovations.

Pen and Paper

Students today depend on paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?
- A School Principal’s Publication (1815)

I’ve always found the quote above fascinating. Paper has made memorization a less valuable skill when it became standard in scholastic use two centuries ago. Now, not only is paper becoming less and less necessary, but we also now often carry, rather than paper, the sum total of human knowledge in our pockets.

Pen and Paper vs ChatGPT

Many would agree that the widespread use of paper (and the printing press, especially) has been a net positive towards human civilization and our creativity as a society. This is because of how accessible it helped make sharing and consuming written content.

On the other hand, ChatGPT and other such AI writing assistants may help make the creation of content more accessible.

But at what point is all this just plagiarism?

Anything you write on paper is your work — plain and simple. But whose work is it really, when you exploit AI assistance?

Cameras

Photographs have put portrait paintings out of fashion ever since its popularization in the Industrial Revolution. Although nowadays, paintings and photographs are largely considered to be different art forms.

For this section, I wanted to focus on the principle of originality.

The case of the monkey selfie dispute is a good example of the principle of originality in copyright law. Back in 2008, photographer David Slater travelled to Indonesia to take photographs of monkeys such as the one below.

I can legally use this funky selfie without permission. Should that be so?

As you can see above, some photos were taken by the monkeys themselves and not by Slater. Legal experts have argued that because of this technicality, the copyright ownership of the monkey selfies cannot be attributed to the photographer. The photo above is in the public domain.

Cameras vs ChatGPT

ChatGPT can be seen like a camera. The owner/creator of ChatGPT does not receive ownership of the generated text. The generated text is in fact attributed to whoever generated it (more information on the next section). In fact, similar to how cameras caused media differentiation between photographs and paintings, AI assisted vs organic writing may also become a future genre distinction inspired by all the novel tools.

But ChatGPT is a different class of a “creativity tool”! The ideas don’t even seem to come from the “author” anymore.

If we let ChatGPT think for us, we won’t be able to think originally anymore. What will we do when we run out of … bandwidth?

Ghostwriting

Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl may be one of the most well known autobiographies. It contains some of her innermost thoughts and most personal feelings, all set in her life during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

Many other autobiographies, however, aren’t quite as personal as this. It takes a lot of time and energy to write a full and compelling life story, even if you are the one living it. And many “important” people writing their autobiography often do not have the requisite time and writing skill to write about their own life story. This is where ghostwriters can come in.

How ghostwriting works

According to contemporary Western intellectual property principles, the authorship of a piece of writing ultimately depends on who generated the ideas behind it. This means that another person, the ghostwriter, may be the one physically clicking on the keyboard, but if they were commissioned by you, then you are the author of “their” work.

Ghostwriters often conduct interviews, review speeches, and submit work for multiple reviews in order to achieve the final product. Naturally, more input from the official author would provide a more personal and authentic story.

One of the most popular self-help books, authored by an influential figure in the genre, was written with the assistance of a ghost writer.

Ghostwriting vs ChatGPT

ChatGPT, as with the previously covered technologies, is a lot like the “innovation” of ghostwriting. The AI generates text according to your prompt or topic, which you can then edit and revise as you wish. This is a lot like the ghostwriting process.

AI writing assistants can in fact act as innovation by levelling the playing field. Smaller businesses or individuals may not have the resources to hire a dedicated ghostwriter (or a skilled copywriter), but AI assistance allows them access to higher-quality written content.

Nevertheless, it’s important to note that AI writing assistants are not a replacement for human writers. There will still be concerns on accuracy, style, ethics, and other risks which can only be minimized through human oversight.

Speaking of ethics… just like you’re not supposed to use a ghostwriter for schoolwork, please do not use AI assistance unless specifically given the green light to do. Either method may be considered plagiarism!

Takeaways

• AI assisted writing is an innovation in creativity similar to many previous others.
• Paper (and the printing press) helped make sharing and consuming content more accessible, while AI may help make creating content more accessible.
• Cameras helped to create a completely new art form (photography) distinct from its predecessor (portrait painting), while AI may help create a similar genre differentiation (organic vs AI assisted writing).
• AI may help “level the playing field” for those with inadequate access to the “innovation” of ghostwriting.

Personally, I have found AI as a great help in getting over certain sticking points. I enjoy using my own words and tone, but getting stuck at a certain phrase or idea is very frustrating. I’m glad to have AI assistance available at those times. What are your thoughts on the topic?

“Cameras” paragraphs 2 and 3, “How ghostwriting works” paragraph 2, and “Ghostwriting vs ChatGPT” paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 are AI assisted.