If I need to pick a side, I believe AI writing tools ultimately aren’t good for writers. But not in the way you may think.
Many professionals fear the takeover of writing and editing jobs by artificial intelligence. My main concern, however, is people’s future reliance on these AI writing tools. Still, this reliance could fuel the self-fulfilling prophecy of the AI-generated content not being any better than what actual humans write…if it gets to the point where humans aren’t sufficiently writing.
Below, I’ve laid out some criticisms of AI writing tools as far as they apply to writers. I’m also including my take as a writer, editor, and organic digital marketer, with bonus advice for recent grads in my field – or those looking to make a career switch.
What are the Disadvantages of AI Writing?
As ChatGPT spells out for the user, AI writing comes with limitations. As of the time of the research for this post in August 2023, ChatGPT warns users before prompting that the tool:
- May produce information that is incorrect
- Could generate instructions that are “harmful” or content that is “biased”
- Possesses “limited knowledge of world and events after 2021”
The final point is obviously a blog killer. If I were to rely on ChatGPT to help me write my blog post about Apple Business Connect, I would have been out of luck.
And do I even need to say anything about harmful instructions, or incorrect or biased information sneaking into your content? Never mind the increased risks of plagiarism, as AI cannot generate new ideas and the same stuff eventually just gets recycled and used by multiple sources.
Along with the above limitations and disadvantages, content generated from AI writing tools lacks the same quality as content written by humans. AI writing tools do not understand tone or flow in the same way as an actual human writer. Further, search engines are catching onto the prevalence of AI writing tools in developing web content.
Is AI a Threat to Writers?
AI, like most things, is as much of a threat as you give it the power to be. Frankly, the biggest future threat to writers, editors, and marketers is laziness and being unwilling to continue to learn and grow.
So, don’t choose to ignore AI completely. Learn about new developments, how to optimize it, and embrace it as far as it can take you. Several web content writing jobs now require knowledge of AI tools or even ChatGPT command proficiency. It can also be helpful to know Google’s answer to ChatGPT, Bard, as the waitlist is over and the tool is available to everyone.
Make AI writing tools more of a friend than an enemy. At least keep the topic as close as a once-a-week Google Alert, so you can keep tabs on new developments.
There is no easy way to write well. Writers hone their talents and develop their styles over time. Unfortunately, AI writing tools are doing their own, digital (albeit more limited) version of this. And now they’re waiting for no one to catch up.
Still, we need to remember that these tools are just tools, and that’s how we should use them. AI writing tools like ChatGPT are great for idea generation and preliminary research (as long as you vet the output through other, primary sources). However, writers should obviously not choose the easiest route and use them as the ultimate shortcut.
As long as we continue to strengthen our abilities as writers, AI cannot compete. One thing AI will never have over us is the human experience.
We need to continue to perfect our craft around conveying that in words, showing and telling others why it’s important for them to care about our work. People care about what comes out on just about every TV streaming service, and the pandemic resulted in many people picking up reading again. Why give up the so-called pipe dream of being a bestselling author at this time?
AI Can’t Write Our Stories
As a writing and editing professional, I’m trying not to do what I did in the late ’00s/early ’10s and resist getting with the times. Back then, I was headed for college graduation with dreams of working in the magazine industry. Meanwhile, multiple publications were folding or going digital.
Digital was not how I imagined my career. I wanted the glossy pages, the hard copies, the layouts. It was how I envisioned and prepared things since I was five or six and started making my own magazines out of printer paper. I even designed and wrote copy for ads based on actual products.
As a soon-to-be grad with a bachelor’s in communication studies, I was tech-savvy and blogged in my free time. But I did not want to blog for work. Why? Maybe I’m just a stubborn Taurus moon but I also was unsure whether the new way would be sustainable.
Rather than diving into my long-chosen industry while waiting for the proof, I decided to recession-proof my career. The job market was a challenge and a position in financial services that didn’t use my degree felt secure. So financial services is where I stayed for over three years.
Since I graduated in the early ‘10s, I don’t think new grads with English writing, marketing, and communications degrees have faced a landscape as similar to what I experienced. Now, I get déjà vu to that time via today’s ever volatile tech developments, sluggish job market, and economic inflation. Here’s what I would have told my past self, that is also applicable today.
How to Get a Recession-Proof Writing Job
I’m here to tell you what took me ten years to fully discover. You don’t have to choose between your passion for writing and recession-proofing your career.
Below are my Dos and Don’ts for getting your first recession-proof writing job – whether you’re a new grad or switching careers.
Do: start by exploring recession-proof industries – rather than limiting your digital marketing job search to strictly agency positions. You can get the best of both worlds (stability and marketing experience) in-house. Regardless of the economy’s state, you can find more stability in healthcare, insurance, utility companies (HVAC, etc.), and stores/brands selling essential items. It’s also a bonus if you can transfer some of your knowledge or experience from your degree or a previous job, even if they are not related to writing.
Don’t: become a tech dinosaur in your early 20s (or ever) because you don’t believe in the tech yet…or for any other reason. Get used to being an eternal student instead – not necessarily always meaning within academic institutions. The tech will constantly change and you need to keep up if you want to be successful. Even if what you learn today is obsolete next month, you’ll have more knowledge to build on and you never know when it will benefit you in the future.
Do: Open your mind to other areas of digital marketing and start building your portfolio. If you have trouble qualifying for a writing job, try breaking into social media or email marketing. Find out what programs are in demand, and then learn them. Then, start building a copywriting portfolio to showcase your talent and transferrable skills.
Don’t: listen to anyone who says you can’t make a decent living writing. Of course, “a decent living” is subjective. But know that these same people wouldn’t have similar doubts if you held a position they deemed recession-proof yet paid the same as or less than your job writing web content. They just don’t know that secure jobs like these exist! So if they’re not in the industry, take what they say with a grain of salt – even if it’s well-meaning.