AI Takes the Pen: Is This the End For Authors?
The insane potential of AI in the writing world.
“Hey, Nicole,” my former boss once messaged me, “Try this cool tool for your writing.” And he sent me a link with it.
“Okay, sure,” I clicked the link and gave it a go.
It directed me to a website that displayed two boxes, and the website was called Quilbott.
“So, what’s this?” I asked.
“It’s a paraphrasing website,” he said, “This would definitely help your content writing.”
And it did. The website helped me a lot, and it left me with two impressions:
Happiness and Fearful.
Writing Jobs May Be At Risk
We used to hear that AI can never understand creativity and that we have nothing to worry about so long as we can be original.
But in 2022 now, that answer is probably becoming a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
In 2021, there has been a lot of writers who introduced me to many different AIs writing tools. I remember Jarvis was a thing. I tried it too, paid a couple of bucks, and did my writing with the AI.
But over time, the more I write about something personal, I found that the AI is mostly finding things that they can find on the internet. And most of the things that are written online are too informative rather than humane.
Well, of course, it’s a robot, after all.
Over time, I stopped using Jarvis and decided not to trust any other AIs.
A year later, in 2022, when I got my copywriting job, I was introduced to another AI writing tool. And that’s when it blew me away.
The AIs are improving.
It helped my writing job a lot. It helped me paraphrase a paragraph, shortened my work, and finished its tasks for me in a snap. It was a delightful website.
Here’s an example.
It was really handy. Sometimes I wish I had this app when I was doing my thesis.
But after playing around with the website, more and more people introduced me to more AI writing tools, which I used, and I began to fear my job.
That the AIs can eliminate copy and content writers entirely.
Businesses would definitely find ways to cut costs, and cutting those kinds of jobs could be one of them.
AI writing tools are very handy for everyone
No puns intended, but in 2022, the AIs are getting craftier than I expected.
I have friends who are non-writers who also use the tools. There is a chance that they still hire writers to check on the wording and all, but I doubt that they’ll make more available positions now that AIs are here to stay. Heck, they even know about SEOs!
AIs can do everything.
When I discovered these AIs, I felt like my job could be taken over by robots. And here I thought that creativity is something AI can’t do.
But sadly, we writers are going to have to up our games if we are to differentiate ourselves from these robots.
And there is something that AI can’t do that we can.
AIs are still robots
Robots can’t feel. They don’t know hurt or happiness.
Thus, they don’t know how to describe joy or depression.
If I read a novel or a non-fiction book, I would expect to be on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Sometimes, the stories can be so overwhelming to the point I’d feel empty thinking about them. I’d be super pissed if I found words that read do not project any human emotions.
And that’s what AIs can’t do.
They don’t know your life story, which your readers would want to know.
Most AIs still give a rigid description, something you’d see in a news article about information such as “why you should drink more water”. They tell you detailed information, but leave out stories.
Here is another example:
Now, compare this answer to Billie Eilish’s answer about depression:
“It sent me down a hole. I went through a whole self-harming phase — we don’t have to go into it. But the gist of it was, I felt like I deserved to be in pain. All I can think of is how miserable I was. How completely distraught and confused. Thirteen to 16 was pretty rough.”
Which is something you’d want to read?
I definitely liked how Billie described it. I can feel the pain that she went through in her tough times as an artist, and it’s why I admire her more when she said about this.
Anyways, you see where I’m going here, right?
I think if companies want to interact more with their audience, they’re going to want to sound humane. Business Insider is heading in this direction; it’s why it’s fun to read their articles because we’re reading informative stories. Plus, they described their stories and emotions beautifully put into words.
AI can’t describe human things, and I hope they won’t be able to in the future.
Only we human beings can.
The future of writing
Now, what does this mean to all of us writers?
Do we still have a chance in the writing world?
Yea, I still think we do.
But we’re just going to have to up our game if we are to survive with these coming robots. They work super fast and are super handy for us writers too.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t write this article with the help of the AIs. But to be specific, the AI wrote my headline. The rest of the words are written by me. For the quality of the writing, I’ll let you be the judge (I do hope you liked it).
But the point is that even writers like me use these tools. If I’m going to get my work done fast and with great quality, especially for my professional jobs, I’ll swipe the websites up and get it to work.
As I switched my job position now into a Marketing Specialist, I know I’m going to need these AIs more than ever. But then again, I still want to connect with my audience with stories and emotions.
So far, here are the things I could think of for us writers. Focus on:
- The story
- The emotions
Bob Iger was recently brought back to Disney, and he emailed this to all of his staff:
“Without question, elements of DMED will remain, but I fundamentally believe that storytelling is what fuels this company, and it belongs at the center of how we organize our businesses.”
Well, thank God for this. Because my brother and I recently finished watching Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and honestly, we were slightly disappointed about the movie.
Great visuals, and great actors, but the story lacked development.
Although, to be fair to them, they shot it during the pandemic, so there must be limitations as they were shooting.
But then again, storytelling is the most important thing to everything.
And AI can’t do that.
At least, from what I see, I don’t think they can, and I hope that they stay and can’t.
