Thoughts About AI and Writing.
Will AI make our life easier, faster, smoother? Will it take our jobs away? Should writers switch to writing code?
Inspired by my friend Esther MK’s newsletter “Slow News Week” (just noticed she changed the name), I tried to prompt Chat GPT with taking over my weekly essay.
The results were really underwhelming.
I am not sure if it’s because I have yet to master the art of prompting, or if this AI model has yet to be given the tools to outsmart writers, but despite multiple trials, it just could not get my tone right.
I reworked my prompt at least 10 times before giving up.
I tried to suggest it wrote in the same style as authors in The Atlantic – informative, engaging and snappy. It failed.
I asked it to be less objective and employ a personal point of view, but it failed again.
I suggested it tried to be “more human”, but it gave me an error.
I felt quite bamboozled as for weeks I had been reading about how AI was here to make the job of writer easier, faster, smoother. TO STEAL IT EVEN.
I thanked it for its efforts, but it was time for him (she? It? They? Ze? Xi?) to go back to practicing.
The experience was interesting. It wasn’t the first time I used Chat GPT to support my writing process, however, it was the first time it completely failed me.
On the one hand, I guess its failure was a win for me. It meant that no artificial intelligence was smart enough to take my job away for now.
On the other, I felt disappointed by the technology as I would have loved to be able to use it to my advantage when in a rush.
It would be wonderful to appoint Chat GPT as my assistant on those days I do not feel like writing, have little time, or just want to experiment with the future.
I find machine learning and artificial intelligence deeply intriguing, even if I don’t think I necessarily have the tools to fully grasp the implications of their existence.
Actually, I’d say my knowledge of this field stops at surface level.
I like how services built on AI can read my mind, though.
One such platform is MyMind.
You’d think I am paid to talk about this software given the many times I praise their work. But no, my appraisal is entirely organic. I pay the yearly $119 fee without scuffing.
My public obsession with this Pinterest-like (it’s way better than Pinterest) visual braindump has led the marketing team of similar tools to reach out to me and offer extended trials of their beta MVPs (Minimum Viable Product).
Hey Day was the one that stood out the most, given its ability to store the memory of articles, tweets, and any copy you engaged with for you, so that you can go back to it at any time.
It’s a great product for researchers, journalists and writers as it helps with collating links and stuff that may be of service when writing articles or papers. Yet, after testing it out for a few weeks, I realized how unnecessary it was for me.
It did help me to go back to things I had read and didn’t quite remember the title, but as somebody who saves the URL in my note app whenever anything sparks ideas, I felt it was just another extension clogging my Safari tab.
I erased it off my computer within the first month.
But back to Chat GPT.
I had a thought-provoking interaction with Dan Shipper (whom I follow but have no idea why) on Twitter just a few days ago.
He posted a thread about the amazing opportunities the innovative system offers to writers.
Partially, I agreed with him.
I do think it’s a phenomenal tool for thought organization, outlines, and even an ally in the battle against writer’s block.
I have often used it that way. Yet, he mentioned that we could use it to “capture a style” based on the authors we love the most.
I immediately thought: isn’t that counter-productive to the essence of creative writing? Why would I want to write in somebody else’s style?
The interaction got me pondering on the art of literature and the process behind developing your own technique, but also about the position of writers in today’s society.
Would anyone ever tell a painter or a photographer to use Artificial Intelligence to create their work? Is writing considered more accessible because it’s something that everybody learns in school?
I think being a writer in 2023 has to be one of the most underrated forms of creativity available to humans.
We are underpaid, overexploited and underrated.
People pay thousands, sometimes millions, for a work of art, but why is writing expected to be cheap?
I was reminded of this now-deleted tweet by Derek Guy aka @dieworkwear where he asked how could people ask their followers/audience to pay for their Substacks and Patreons without shame.
He continued on saying something along the lines of “there used to be so much good writing done for free by a guy who was just really passionate about a topic”. And that’s true.
People used to share their research and hobbies online for free, just out of pure passion. I think we all have done it.
But these are people who most likely have a 9-5 job somewhere that pays them an assured salary at the end of every month.
Tumblr, Medium and Blogspot thrived off this need to share stuff with the world.
I think most of those who (try to) make a living as writers, journalists and commentators all started out that was; I know I am one of those.
But it’s become increasingly harder to be taken seriously as a writer, and even harder to be paid fair wages for our time.
And so, people who see writing as a form of artistic expression are almost forced to jump on these platforms for revenue.
By the way, only a very few selected people can make a living wage off a newsletter, and these people were most likely selected by the service itself to migrate their work on there.
Thus, they started with a huge advantage because they were given a lump sum advance.
As somebody with no formal education in the subject of writing – I only took one creative writing class in college and the rest just sort of unfolded from there – I often take time to evaluate the path it took to develop my own writing persona.
I believe my background in marketing and visual communications has a lot to do with it. But the primary source of inspiration comes from the final output itself.
What I am trying to achieve with this essay? That’s my driver.
As technology increasingly becomes synonymous with life, I am excited to explore the various ways in which it will make things easier. At the same time, though, I am curious to see how it will impact the (already low) quality of literature in media.
Things I think people should be aware of:
1. Kolam Paris — a delicious Sri Lankan Eatery in Paris
Lieu Migrante — an India-inspired lifestyle brand based between Milan and Delhi.
Federico Paviani’s work
This incredible book about football records
Ragazzi Fuori — a phenomenal (and extremely progressive) portrayal of Palermo in the 80s/90s.