No, I don’t think a robot is replacing me…

At least for now. 

ChatGPT has given many people access to a truly advanced chatbot. Siri? Google? Who’s that? ChatGPT is getting the world closer to virtual assistance on par with JARVIS of Iron Man. It’s not there yet, but even when it comes, I see A.I. as something that can support rather than replace me. 

As I write this piece, Grammarly’s algorithm scans my page for errors and tells me how to improve my writing. I pay for Grammarly’s services, so naturally, when I saw ChatGPT, I saw a potential alternative to my monthly subscription. 

But, honestly, Grammarly and ChatGPT don’t function similarly. Grammarly can run on top of most word processors like Google Docs and only gives me suggestions on what can change. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is fed a copy of the writing and then spits out some sort of alternative based on the prompts. While what comes out on the other end isn’t always bad and sometimes quite helpful, it requires another round of editing to remove any roboticism from the work. ChatGPT doesn’t sound very human. AI has yet to get to the point where it can mimic human writing. There is a shallowness to most of what comes out of it. 

I actually asked ChatGPT if it thinks it could replace writers, and its response was pretty close to my own impression.

Me: Do you think AI will replace writers?

ChatGPT: As an AI language model, I can generate text to some extent, but I don’t believe that AI will completely replace human writers anytime soon. While AI can generate text based on certain rules and patterns, it still lacks the creativity, emotions, and experiences that make human writing unique and compelling.

AI-generated text is often formulaic and lacks the depth and complexity of human writing. Moreover, writing is not just about producing words on a page, but it is also about conveying meaning, emotion, and nuance to readers. This requires a level of understanding and empathy that AI is not yet capable of.

That being said, AI can certainly be a useful tool for writers. It can help with tasks like generating ideas, providing research assistance, and even suggesting phrasing or word choices. But ultimately, human writers bring a level of creativity and insight that AI cannot replicate, making them an irreplaceable part of the writing process.

ChatGPT and I share a common belief; AI isn’t here to replace humanity, but rather to support it. But if we imagine that at some point, AI does advance to a level where it can write like a human, why should we stop it or be upset? If an AI could write like a human, talk like a human, and think like a human, how far away would that be from being actually human? I’m not here to argue about what human consciousness really is or what it means to be human, although I will say if an AI could feel sadness and choose to write a poem about it, I would genuinely love to read it. I wouldn’t be afraid of it replacing me or writing better articles than me; I would welcome it into the literary community and then tell them to prepare for the many waves of rejections. 

For now, and probably for a while, AI will be there as an assistant, helping writers develop ideas or brainstorm some outlines for the next novel. You won’t be able to rely on it to do the actual writing, unless you’re okay with soulless sentences, but I’m definitely planning to use it to polish and critique my work. Because why shouldn’t writers take advantage of an AI assistant, even if it gets things wrong sometimes and sound a bit robotic?

While I mention using Grammarly and ChatGPT to help edit my writing, I would hate not to remind you that both of these tools are closed-source and are able to collect and sell your data to third parties. Please read through their privacy agreements before using their services for your own work.