Mistrust and Accusations Incited by AI

The business of coordinating practitioner-written content for technology websites is under some scrutiny. Some of this scrutiny comes across as accusations of cheating and cutting corners; i.e., using ChatGPT and the like to create content for customers.?

These suspicions are not wholly irrational. You can’t go a day, or even an hour, without hearing about the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) and everything it can potentially do. This doesn’t only apply to the content creation business but to almost every knowledge-based business you can think of.

The AI maelstrom we’ve found ourselves in since about November 2022 has me both excited and devastated.? Excited because I am a huge proponent of working smarter, not harder, and AI is certainly an answer to that call.?

I am devastated because since joining Fixate IO several years ago, I have seen the efforts of brilliant minds that create technical content, meet our customers' expectations, and fulfill the objectives of their content strategies. I know these brilliant minds are human beings with vast experience and expertise in their respective fields.?

It has been and will remain our policy and practice at Fixate to produce only content that is unique and written from the perspective of an experienced practitioner in the DevOps industry. It is the foundation of practitioner marketing to which we are dedicated.

Now, though, almost everyone in our industry – content contributors and customers alike – has heard the deafening message that AI will write content for you, potentially eliminating the need for technical content writers. Whether true or not, this message has all but paralyzed people in their efforts to conceive and create content for their business websites.

Everyone seems hyper-aware of AI’s capabilities and also extremely wary of how it is being used. Caught between the diametrically opposed awareness and wariness, people seem unable to make a move forward.

I, like many, am watching in both fascination and fear to see where this takes us. In my research, I come across answers that seem convincing; but within a few clicks, I find conflicting yet equally compelling answers. I have determined that when it comes to AI and how it will impact business operations, there are no answers at this point. Rather, there are only lots of questions and opinions.?

Some of the best advice I’ve come across is to learn how to adapt to using AI as a tool. That advice has merit, particularly when it comes to repetitive tasks, formulating ideas, and doing research. It's definitely a good start.

When it comes to content creation, however, my newsfeed is burgeoning with articles warning of catastrophe, almost outnumbering the claims of AI’s capabilities. These warnings are about potential issues related to ethics, accountability, ownership, etc.? All that liability seems to minimize if not negate the efficiencies AI affords us.

For now, I don't consider AI a viable option for creating content. AI-generated content is pretty easy to recognize because of its formulaic structure and lack of personality. If I were to suspect content I've paid for is the product of generative AI, I would simply run it through any of the many AI checkers that are available. And if someone is paying me for content, I would avoid the use of AI at all costs.