EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY
The artificial intelligence (AI) boom over the last 2-3 years has ingrained itself in our everyday lives and become an increasingly popular shortcut for content creation. From generating college essays to drafting marketing copy, AI seems promising for revolutionizing the writing process. However, while AI can be a valuable asset, it is not yet capable of replacing humans in the creative writing process.
It’s Not That Good, Yet
Repeat After Me (and Everyone Else)
AI-generated content often tends to be superficial. Sure, it can quickly produce large volumes of text, but it typically lacks the depth and nuance that “good writers” bring to the table. This is because AI relies on patterns and data from existing content, trying to produce similar outputs. This isn’t to say that human writers are all that original either.
Who Are You
Another significant limitation of AI writing is its tendency to produce content that all sort of reads the same. Whether it’s generating a lighthearted social media post or a serious news article, it lacks the ability to automatically adjust its tone in different contexts. This can lead to a feeling of inauthenticity and monotony in the content it generates.
Toxic Positivity
Under the hood, AI is more or less programmed to favor positive or neutral responses, often avoiding negative or controversial topics. This bias skews how AI presents information, making it challenging to address certain issues that require a critical or balanced perspective.
So What Is It Good For
Mini Me
To leverage AI effectively for content generation, providing it with a detailed outline of the topic and key talking points is essential. Writers should provide as much context as possible to guide the AI toward achieving specific goals and avoiding generic, mediocre outputs.
Don’t Sugar Coat It
Another valuable use of AI is to provide feedback on human-generated content. It can help find inconsistencies, redundancies, and suggest areas of improvement, helping writers create more comprehensive and polished content.
Accessibility
AI can simplify complex information, helping make it more accessible to a broader audience. By adjusting the reading level to that of your audience, AI can better ensure that content is understandable to people with varying levels of expertise.
Proceed with Caution
It’s Not a Mind Reader
Effectively communicating what you want the AI to do is crucial. Writers must articulate their thoughts clearly and provide specific instructions to avoid generic, repetitive, or even irrelevant outputs. This requires a deep understanding of both the topic and the AI’s capabilities.
Getting Unstuck
AI can sometimes struggle to think outside the box, especially after generating some initial outputs. This one-track mindedness can limit creativity and the exploration of alternative perspectives. To overcome this, writers may need to rephrase their prompts or start a whole new session to reset the AI’s approach.
Memory of a Goldfish
AI often has difficulty retaining context over long conversations or documents. This can be frustrating as writers may need to repeatedly remind the AI of previous points. Iterative prompting and breaking down content into smaller sections can help manage this challenge.
It’s a New World
AI tools are becoming ubiquitous in the writing process, with many professionals integrating them into their workflows. While AI offers efficiency and convenience, the human touch remains irreplaceable, especially if writers want to retain the authenticity, creativity, and depth that resonates most with readers—at least for now.
Inevitably, the question will arise: Does anyone write without the assistance of AI? As AI technology evolves, it will be interesting to see how the balance between human and machine continues to shift.