ChatGPT Broke My Heart Then Led Me to the Future of Writing
Chanel Polk
Content Writer???Editor???Autism Advocate???Fiction Lover???#ForbesBLK Member
When ChatGPT first came out, it threw me for a loop. I had heard about apps that do the writing for you, but I was like, I don’t need those. I know how to write!
ChatGPT dropped like a hot mixtape, so I had to see if the buzz was true. Could it write an essay in under a minute? Was what it wrote any good?
So, I tested it out, and it wrote three decent blog posts in under two minutes. As ChatGPT added the last few words, my jaw hit the floor, and my heart ripped in two just like Ralph’s did when Lisa Simpson told him she didn’t really like him. A moment her brother Bart relished with all of his mischievous 10-year-old heart.
I suddenly felt like my skills weren’t needed anymore and that my dream of creating fantastic worlds or sharing much-needed information with others through the written word — a dream I’ve had since I was eight years old — was now dead. As a Black girl from Chicago’s south side, the odds were stacked against me even graduating from high school, let alone college, but I had done both and fought to keep my dream of becoming a writer alive, even if that meant being an untraditional student and working 30 plus hours a week folding t-shirts and scrubbing floors to do it. Everything I had worked so hard for was evaporating right in front of me. But was it, really?
I took a deep breath, threw myself down the artificial intelligence rabbit hole and spent some time tinkering with ChatGPT. I realized a few important things:
#1. All three of the artificial intelligence-constructed blog posts were just meh. I mean, the information was on point, but their upbeat tone rang false — artificial even. It could get the job done, but if relied upon to do all of the writing, you end up with content that lacks personality, that special something that makes each piece a joy to read.
#3. The power really was in the prompt. If I knew exactly what to tell it to do, ChatGPT could create a decent first draft and even sound more human. But for this to work, I had to know what I wanted to achieve, which meant I needed a base skill level to draw from. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to spot the ways the AI-generated content was inauthentic or be able to fix them.
#2. ChatGPT’s strength lies in its ability to analyze, learn and remember. Yes, it remembers! When used correctly, it can summarize and synthesize information and put data and strategies at our fingertips. It’s also great for brainstorming ideas. It can significantly reduce the time it takes to get through the ideation and first draft stage and propel skilled writers into their second or final drafts fast, whether they’re writing a manuscript, web page content, blog posts, social media content or anything else. But an unskilled writer who doesn’t know how Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-4, which powers ChatGPT, work can easily spend an hour using it and come away with mediocre content or think it isn’t worth the time or effort.
I emerged from the rabbit hole understanding that the future is now and resistance is futile. Either get in where you fit in or be left behind as technological advances reshape how we write, live and work. This means embracing AI and learning how it works and how to work it.
But my biggest takeaway is that AI can’t tell my story. ChatGPT can’t replicate that level of authenticity or uniquely human emotions like sympathy and empathy. Only I can explain my triumphs and struggles in a way that connects with that sensitive place in another’s soul who has also climbed a few mountains and been in a valley or two. What I write — what we write — will always have value if only for this reason alone.
I came away knowing that understanding traditional writing techniques and using them is essential for getting the most out of ChatGPT and AI-powered tools like it and that learning how to successfully blend the two will lead to a writing revolution.
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