AI’s Impact on Human Writing: Resource or Replacement?
“While AI can be a powerful tool for aiding and augmenting the writing process, it is not a direct replacement for the unique qualities that human writers bring to the table.”
- OpenAi’s Artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT
During my first semester of college, a close friend of mine asked me if I felt threatened by the growing popularity of AI writing since I am a writing major. My immediate response was “no.” I responded this way for two reasons. First, I was too prideful to even consider that AI could replace humans in the field of writing. Second, I did not know what AI was capable of. Now, as AI writing programs such as Jasper, Copy.ai, Chat GPT, and Sudowrite have grown in popularity, I do feel threatened and worried about the increasing usage of AI writing and its potential impact on human writers.
AI Is Growing at Rapid Speed
Valued at $196 billion in 2023 and estimated to be worth over $1.8 trillion by 2030, the artificial intelligence industry is growing at a rapid pace. 77% of businesses have already adopted artificial intelligence or have an adoption plan, and by 2024, it is estimated that over 50% of large enterprises will utilize artificial intelligence in some shape or form. A study by McKinsey Global Institute predicts that as AI continues to evolve, 400 million workers could lose their jobs worldwide. It is also estimated that over 80% of U.S. workers will lose at least 10% of their daily tasks to AI. Americans are aware of this potential threat to the job industry. A survey conducted by Forbes Advisor determined that 77% of respondents are concerned that AI will cause job loss within the next 12 months.
AI Is Changing Our World
Artificial intelligence has and will continue to impact the industries of healthcare, customer service, finance, retail, cybersecurity, marketing, technology, and e-commerce. Writing is a field deeply connected to all of these industries — a connection far from unknown to the public. As I write this, a simple search on Google for “News on AI” results in hundreds of articles such as “AI’s Threat to Writing,” “The Risk of Losing Unique Voices: What Is The Impact Of AI On Writing?” and “The Only Way to Deal With the Threat From AI? Shut It Down.” AI’s impact on writing has caused many to believe that human writers might someday be replaced by AI writing, or at the very least, devalued by AI writing; this idea is believed for good reason.
AI Has Many Benefits
AI writing is extremely efficient. It might take a human 30 minutes to write 500 words of quality content, but an AI writing generator can write 500 words of quality content in a matter of seconds. This speed of production provides potential for AI to create drafts for writers to edit and revise until perfection. Second, AI can assist writers in both their creativity and innovation. AI has access to more information than a human mind could ever hold, allowing for plenty of content and substance for the writer to draw inspiration from. Third, AI can assist writers in research. AI’s access to information can help with creativity and innovation, but it can also provide research from its seemingly limitless resources.
Despite these significant features, I believe that human writers should not be devalued or replaced due to AI’s capabilities. Here is why:
AI Destroys Creativity
Even though AI can help boost creativity and inspiration for writers, it can also destroy it. The concepts and ideas that AI generates might be new to the writer, but nothing it produces will be a new or original thought. All the information that AI produces is from something that already exists. The intelligence that AI holds is artificial — a product of human beings. AI tools cannot create anything outside of what they have been programmed to do. Furthermore, because AI can produce incredible work incredibly fast, writers can fall into both dependency and discouragement regarding their own creative work. The day that creativity dies will be the day that creators believe they cannot create any more.
AI Constructs Ethical Dilemmas.
Additionally, lacking in original thought means that AI will inevitably exhibit bias. Bias is not only often unethical, but it can also hinder persuasive ability. For instance, if marketers want to successfully cater to an audience, they need to adopt certain biases. Using AI, a specific bias cannot be chosen since AI is pulling from thousands of sources that carry predetermined biases, which can ultimately make AI’s persuasive tactics weak, ineffective, and ethically insensitive. Plagiarism, attributed authorship, and data privacy are other important ideas to consider when evaluating the ethicality of AI writing. When using AI to publish work, individuals must ask themselves questions such as “Is the content I am releasing reliable and trustworthy?” or “Who should I credit for this writing?” or even “Has this data been stolen by someone who owns the rights to it?”
AI Produces Inaccurate Results.
AI’s accuracy cannot be trusted. AI is unable to accurately determine what is true based on its own judgment because it lacks the evaluative ability that humans possess. AI can only generate what humans think to be true, and we know that while one individual might hold an opinion or belief on a subject, another individual might believe a completely different view to be true on that same particular subject. We also know that what humans believe to be true can change over time as we continue to learn, so relying on AI to consistently provide accurate information should be approached cautiously. Ju Yoen Lee, a professor at Hanyang University School of Law, asserts that “AI chatbots can be competent but dangerous research assistants, and the authenticity of any AI-generated text must be verified. Researchers should always remember that although using AI chatbots is exciting and full of potential, it also comes with heavy responsibilities.”
AI Lacks Emotional Intelligence.
AI writing lacks emotional intelligence. “EI” is the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you. AI lacks in EI because AI cannot practice or experience emotions, and since AI cannot experience the emotions that humans do, it often cannot create writing that evokes emotion from its human readers. Because of this, feelings such as joy, sadness, and pain and tools such as sarcasm, persuasion, and personal anecdotes cannot be effectively conveyed by AI to its readers.
Why does this Matter?
AI’s imperfections should be important to three groups of people: the writers, the employers of writers, and everybody else. For the writers, they should be encouraged to continue writing. The glaring flaws of artificial intelligence should embolden writers to find value in their craft — whether they are a college sophomore like me, or a writer with thirty years of experience under their belt. The second group — the employers of writers — should recognize the necessity of having human writers. Human writers are able to evoke emotion, market, persuade, and captivate in ways that AI cannot. Last but certainly not least, the third group: everybody else. There’s a good chance that you fall into this category. Learn the extent of AI’s capabilities and recognize that it falls short in more ways than most people realize.
While AI might pose significant threats to much of the job industry, traits such as originality, reliability, and emotional intelligence are highly valued in nearly every profession — all characteristics that AI so often fails to generate. If these three groups of people fail to see AI’s flaws, the value of human writers will certainly be lowered.
A Resource, not a Replacement.
AI provides many benefits — efficiency, inspiration, and research — for the industry of writing. However, its benefits should not be great enough to devalue or replace human writers. Lacking in original thought, emotional intelligence, and consistent reliability, artificial intelligence has too many weaknesses to overrule the priceless attributes human writers can provide. Perhaps as AI continues to advance, these issues will be improved and eventually eliminated, but for now, AI writing should be used as a resource, not a replacement.
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Bughin, Jacques, et al. “Skill Shift: Automation and the Future of the Workforce.” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 23 May 2018, www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/skill-shift-automation-and-the-future-of-the-workforce.
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Haan, Kathy. “Over 75% of Consumers Are Concerned about Misinformation from Artificial Intelligence.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 July 2023, www.forbes.com/advisor/business/artificial-intelligence-consumer-sentiment/.
IBM Global AI Adoption Index 2022, www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/GVAGA3JP. Accessed 13 Oct. 2023.
Lee, Ju Yoen. “Can an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Be the Author of a Scholarly Article?” Science Editing, Korean Council of Science Editors, 16 Feb. 2023, doi.org/10.6087/kcse.292.
