If you have watched the films The Matrix (1999), A Space Odyssey (1968) and I, Robot (2004), you would see that for a period in time, in the mid 1900s to early 2000s, philosophers, scientists and the public have all seriously confronted the possibility of artificial intelligence (A.I.) becoming sentient and taking over the world. As chilling as that sounds, A.I. has indeed already begun their take-over one job at a time. With 1.7 million jobs being lost to technology since 2000 in the manufacturing industry alone, is A.I. after your job next? Inspired by Priya Krishna’s ‘Can A.I. Generate the Perfect Thanksgiving?’ I am going to explore if A.I. can replace writers and maybe become the newest member at Her Campus Nanyang Tech.
While there isn’t an accessible designated A.I. program to write articles, I found an app called Captions that writes video scripts for advertisements, TikToks and sales pitches. As these scripts have to be engaging and creative, this would be the closest gauge to article writing. To start, the user has to input a short description of the content they want the A.I. to write about, include some keywords and choose a tone of voice. Let’s see how well A.I. can produce content by comparing them to my already published articles.
Round 1: Gift Ideas for Christmas
“As the holidays approach, it can be tough to decide what to get your loved ones. But don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Here are some amazing Christmas gift ideas for all budgets and types of people.
For the fashionista in your life, why not get them a stylish new handbag or piece of jewellery? Or for the foodie, how about a gourmet cooking set or a subscription to a foodie magazine?
If you’re looking for something a little more unique, how about a personalised mug or T-shirt with a funny saying on it? Or for the more eco-conscious, how about a bamboo toothbrush or a solar-powered phone charger?
Whatever your budget, there’s sure to be a perfect gift out there for your loved ones. So don’t wait – start your Christmas shopping today!”
For this round I set the tone of voice to “professional”, hoping to achieve an editorial writing style from magazines and websites that do gift guides. Looking at the gift suggestions, the A.I. does a great job in grouping types of people to get gifts for such as the fashionista, foodie and eco-conscious. The ideas given aren’t too bad either and I can see how they relate to the type of person identified. Also, the introduction and conclusion sound eerily like how gift guides are written as it captures a sense of liveliness and personal engagement with the reader.
However, when compared to my own article the suggestions feel incomplete as it fails to provide specific products and brands a reader can look for a purchase. Suggesting to buy a trendy handbag would require knowledge about which handbags are in style and worth purchasing which takes some research. The A.I. also did not write about the different budgets that it mentions in the introduction.
For this round, I would say that the A.I. can’t completely replace writers but it does provide good ideas as a starting point for an article.
Round 2: Making Cafe-Level Coffee at Home
“Making a great cup of coffee at home doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, using a French press is one of the easiest ways to make a delicious cup of coffee. All you need is freshly ground coffee and hot water.
Here’s how to make a perfect cup of coffee with a French press:
- Start by heating up some water. You’ll need about one cup of water for every two tablespoons of coffee.
- While the water is heating up, grind your coffee. You’ll want to use a coarser grind for a French press.
- Once the water is hot, add it to your French press. Then, add the ground coffee and give it a stir.
- Put the lid on your French press and let the coffee steep for four minutes.
- After four minutes, press down on the plunger and pour yourself a cup of coffee. Enjoy!”
For the above, I set the tone of choice to “casual” to emulate my writing style and am impressed. The recipe is easy to follow and contains details that I know will produce a good French press coffee such as stirring the coffee and waiting for four minutes.
When comparing it to my own article it does lack nuanced knowledge of making coffee such as coffee blooming where ground beans need time to absorb water and open up for maximum flavour extraction. However, the introduction is engaging and once again scarily similar to something I would write which is why the A.I. wins this round.
Where the A.I. falters in producing content is understanding different tones of voice. I set the tone of voice to “funny” and just like the thought of my examination results, I was not laughing. Have a look yourself:
“Hey everyone, in this video we’re going to be making a great cup of coffee at home using the French press and pour-over method.
First, we’ll start with the French press. You’ll need a coarsely ground coffee for this, so make sure your grinder is set accordingly. Once you have your coffee ground, put it in the French press and add water that’s just off the boil. Stir it gently and then put the lid on, leaving the plunger up. After four minutes, slowly press down on the plunger until it reaches the bottom of the press.”
I think that the A.I.’s understanding of “funny” is to be less structured and more casual which is why the steps are not numbered. What is funny is the fact that this introduction reads colder than the previous one set to “casual”. Well, at least we know that A.I. will not be hosting comedy nights anytime soon.
Overall, it seems like A.I. still has a long way to go before they take over creative jobs such as writing and content creation. Whenever I write a script or an article, the hardest part is always starting on it. Moving forwards, I can see A.I. helping writers generate ideas or giving them a head start on an article. From this article, A.I. still needs human help to achieve certain tones of voice and knowledge on trends before it writes a helpful article. At least the jobs of writers are safe. For now, at least.