AI vs. Writing: It’s a Tool, Not the Enemy

The Spreadsheet Analogy

As a writer and business communications consultant, I’m often asked these days whether I think artificial intelligence will replace me. Assuming that question is directed solely at my professional skills and not my ability to sort the recycling at home, the answer is a definite, “No.”

Clearly, AI will impact so many aspects of work life and writing is no different. But how that impact rolls out is key. While I don’t have a crystal ball, innovations of the past do provide a clue as to how the way we work is likely to change – and how it will not.

AI & Spreadsheets: Tools with a Shared Pedigree

The best analogy I’ve heard thus far is comparing AI to the advent of the spreadsheet (apologies, I don’t recall the source). When spreadsheet “technology” became readily available to the world, it did replace a great deal of work – mostly labor-intensive, repetitive calculations. Were some roles related to this kind of work eliminated as a result? Very likely.

But spreadsheets became a powerful tool for so many, from accountants and financial analysts to project managers and keepers of the household budget. It didn’t replace the user but instead enhanced their efforts.

Of course, those same spreadsheets were – and remain – only as useful and productive as the input, design and decision making used to deploy them. The same goes for AI.

While it’s too early in the lifecycle of AI to fully assess its impact, a few principles from the history of spreadsheets – what they are and what they are not – may help.

In short, the power of AI will come from the ideas behind it. This simple acronym, IDEA, might help.

The power of AI? It’s all about the I.D.E.A.

Input. AI will go where it’s told to go. Just as a spreadsheet is most effective in skilled hands, the more skilled the navigator (user) of AI providing clear input, the more valuable the output.

Direction. Part of the magic of a spreadsheet is its power to harness massive amounts of data, build ever-more-complex models, and provide greater insight over time. Similarly, a strength of AI is its iterative property; it learns and improves as you engage with it and provide more refined instruction, yielding more insightful output.

Evaluation. The output produced by a spreadsheet requires review and analysis to derive its full value. Similarly, the output of AI is only as valuable as the critical eye that reviews it to ensure its relevance and accuracy, then draws appropriate conclusions.

Action. There is insight and there is actionable insight. What do you do with the information you’ve derived? While spreadsheets can produce rich troves of data and complex calculations, their ultimate value – and Achilles heel – is how that data is utilized to take action.

As we continue to explore the powerful capability of AI, keep in mind that the skill and judgment of the user determines the ultimate success of any tool, whether digital or analog.

Tom White is a business communications consultant, content writer and President & Creative Director at The White Agency, Inc. A copywriter by training, he assists clients in all aspects of creating a better message, from strategy to copy to speechwriting. "I say what you'd say, only better."