Artificial intelligence is continuously being ridiculed and glamorized at the same time. It is supposed to change the world as we know it yet also be the invention that impedes our efforts wherever we go. Now, we’re all faced with the question of whether or not to use AI — especially writers.
When AI, specifically ChatGBT, emerged in 2022, it was what everyone could talk about. Professors had sections in the syllabus dedicated to prohibiting the use of AI in any shape or form while spending time in class ridiculing the invention in its entirety. Classmates were already familiarizing themselves with it and raving about the help it has given them in and out of the classroom. To put it another way, it was like the forbidden fruit in this digital age.
At the time, I could not have imagined myself using AI to write anything. It was quickly labeled as an enemy to writers— but things changed.
AI as a tool
The further along I got in my English and Gender studies, the more AI began to be embraced in the classroom or rather, taught to be used as a tool. Of course I had my hesitations. After months of hearing how AI could take any future job I could want and could risk my academic future, all I could think was how could I possibly use AI in my writing process?
Just like most writers, I have a writing process that I have relied on for everything I write. Research, draft, revise, and repeat. Because of this, incorporating AI in that process was not just difficult but felt nearly impossible.
The first real experience I had with using AI in my writing process was in a global women’s writing course. On the first day of class my professor explained how to ethically use AI and how the course was going to give us the opportunity to understand how AI could work as a writing tool. Our assignments consisted of AI prompts that connected to the readings that the professor developed and using the track changes feature on Microsoft Word to change nearly everything AI “wrote.” At the end of every paper we had to reflect on our use of AI.
As the assignments continued and I grew more familiarized with AI, my thoughts on AI began to shift. Though I don’t think AI could replace human writing, it can serve as a brainstorming tool. The AI responses I received were way below expectations but the main ideas did guide my writing process. It vaguely mentioned points in the reading that I did not consider thoroughly which pushed me to further research into the topics.
AI as a risk
Despite there being more openness with writers exploring AI and using it in their writing process, the potential risks of doing so can’t go unmentioned.
The most critical one being that we risk growing dependency on AI to help us through writer’s block. It is frustrating, to say the least, to go through a writer’s block that we end up trying everything to get out of it. The more we resort to AI to help us get out of it, the quicker we will form a habit of using AI every time.
Admittedly, AI does seem like a quick fix to a continuous problem and it is always one of the first pieces of advice I get when I tell others that I am having a writer’s block. It can help us feel more productive in a constantly changing world. But despite how harmless it seems at first, we do risk our creative thinking.
Personally, I depend on human interaction to come up with ideas. Talking to friends or classmates helps me think about what people are talking about now and how we absorb media— AI can’t do that for me.
Bottom line is that AI can’t replace the vital steps in a writer’s writing process nor can it be a solution to a creative block because AI has no original thought.
so, what can writers do?
To use or not to use AI as a writer can create an internal dilemma for many of us. It seems like the traditional way of writing is becoming a thing of the past as AI paves the way for a potentially new writing process. Whatever our decision may be as to how of if we should use AI, understanding the potential benefits and consequences of doing so should be considered.