What Is the Point of Writing in the Age of AI?

Art is a guardrail for sanity.

Victoria Z.
Predict
Published in
4 min readJan 6, 2025

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

It wouldn’t be honest to say that I don’t use AI in my writing. I do. I use it all the time.

I use it for proofreading. I turn to it for alternative phrasings, research assistance, and brainstorming. Occasionally, I ask it to comment on my stories and suggest revisions.

But the story I write is completely mine. My idea, my emotion, my structure. Though AI has assisted me with some phrases, I have the final say on which words to use. Once I’ve composed my essay, I polish it multiple times until every sentence is exactly my voice.

ChatGPT can’t write as well as me yet. That is a fact. Whenever I’ve asked it to attempt a complete essay, the result is disappointing. It never has the nuance and depth I look for and always sounds corny.

However, will it be able to write better than me in the future? I have no doubt. AI has demonstrated amazing ability. The speed of its progress is mind-boggling. I wouldn’t be surprised that soon, maybe in the next few years, it can compose stories just as great as humans.

Of course, they are not my stories. What they convey are not my thoughts. Some may say they lack a soul. But would the person reading the story notice or care? Will they necessarily prefer mine to the AI-generated one? I don’t know. Maybe the AI-generated stories even have some advantage among certain audiences.

When that happens, will there still be a point in writing?

We often tell ourselves we write to express ourselves. That’s certainly true. But it’s only part of the story. We also write to be read, to have influence. Some of us hope to earn a living through writing. In other words, we want our writing to have value to the world, not just to ourselves.

When AI can write as well as we, the value of our writing to the world will diminish. Maybe even outright vanish.

Even before the arrival of ChatGPT, I often asked myself: Would the world miss anything if I didn’t write? The answer is “not much” if I’m honest with myself. The internet is flooded with content pouring forth in an endless stream. Not to mention those timeless classics that no one could ever hope to finish reading in a lifetime. By creating more content, are we not diverting time that could be spent on these superior works?

I recently read Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale “The Selfish Giant” for the first time. It is a beautifully written story that tugs at the heart. The meaning, the imagery, the language — everything is superb. No matter how much progress I make in my writing, I doubt it will ever reach Wilde’s brilliance.

In some sense, the arrival of AI has not completely changed the game, it has only altered the situation quantitatively. Our voice is still insignificant and likely mediocre. But with AI, there will be even more voices out there, some generated by AI, some generated with AI’s assistance.

It’s not just writing. AI can compose music, create paintings, and even sculpt statues one day. In all these crafts, it could do better than most human beings.

What do I do? I’ve never sought to make money from writing but always wanted to have an influence. I will heroically compete with both humans and AIs out there. Along the way, I will embrace new technologies and make the most of them.

However, I will also let a disillusionment sink in. Yes, I have my perspective and experience. I can perhaps present a tiny slice of a unique reality. But in the grand scheme of things, I’m not that important. I’m just a speck of dust in the vast universe. My existence is mainly to satisfy my own needs: to eat, to sleep, to have fun, and to fulfill a creative urge.

It will be even more so as AI becomes more advanced and widespread. When AI can handle most jobs, what will be left for us to do? Humans who are wired to seek purpose will have to turn to creative activities. The creative process is challenging and consumes time and energy, for humans anyway. It’s not just a pastime. It’s a savior. It provides a guardrail for sanity.

When that future arrives, I hope my habit of writing will help me navigate it. When a topic piques my interest, I write about it. By thinking, researching, and composing, I clarify my understanding. The pleasure writing brings is more intense and enduring than any other activity. It is a passage to a richer life with deeper meaning.

I will keep writing. Although my voice is feeble in the wide world, creating it means the world to me. I will not stop, no matter what AI can or cannot do. It is a calling that comes from the depths of my inner being.

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Victoria Z.
Victoria Z.

Written by Victoria Z.

Books, movie, travel, politics, technology, and Silicon Valley life.

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