Should Robots Do Your Writing?

Here at The International Writer, words are our business. After years of developing meaningful content for top-level executives, accomplished business owners, and cutting-edge entrepreneurs on LinkedIn, we wanted to share some of the wisdom we’ve gleaned from our successes (and failures) on this powerful and constantly evolving platform.?

Welcome to The Content Connection, our new bi-weekly newsletter where we’ll be leveraging our experience and expertise to share insights and pointers designed to help you, as business leaders, amplify your online presence and achieve LinkedIn excellence.

Our first topic is one that was sparked during recent conversations with our community of content writing professionals and discusses the notion of replacing business writers with AI bots.

New advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are prevalent in many fields, including writing. Bots are now creating content which, on the surface, look like perfectly worthy pieces that could fill any leader’s unique content needs. The content makes sense, it's well structured, arguments are cleverly articulated, and the finished piece looks pleasing to the eye.

But is it a compelling replacement for human-crafted writing? As a business leader, should you be turning to AI bots to help fill your evolving content needs.

Bot Versus Human

It's a tricky one but we feel that the short answer is no. The long answer is a more complicated query into the core of written expression.

What makes a human’s words resonate with others? Can a machine do it for us? Or do humans contain something that can’t be replicated by… well… a replicant?

AI generates beautifully written pieces based on the pooled knowledge of hundreds of thousands of human minds, which is both exhilarating and intimidating.

But as a business writer and content creator, the idea of removing the human element from the process of reporting information, cultivating insights, authentically delivering a point of view, and building (and nurturing) relationships through our online personas scares me. Turns out, I’m not the only one.

The Rise of the AI Writer

Back in 2020, OpenAI launched GPT-3, an open language learning AI. The model was mind-blowing—able to explain string theory or compose an original poem in seconds. Its vast operational archive drew on data amassed from hundreds of years of human learning.

Recently, Chat GPT opened the door to AI even wider, allowing regular people to engage with the AI using a simple search field (think Google on performance-enhancing drugs). Currently, the model is in its testing phase, which means it’s available for free.

Being a professional writer, I rely on solid sources for my pieces. What better source to ask than Chat GPT itself then? When I asked my robot buddy if I should let AI write for me, it provided a gracious and humble answer.

“AI can certainly help with the writing process, but it's important to keep in mind that it is not a replacement for human creativity and critical thinking. AI can assist with grammar, spelling, and even suggest alternative phrases or ways to structure a piece of writing, but it cannot fully replace the unique perspective and ideas that a human can bring to their writing.”

~ Chat GPT, 1/4/2023

We Need the Human Touch

The chances are you'll know good writing when you read it and AI gives us elegant phrases, immaculate construction, and a depth of knowledge that will always surpass any writer's sleep-deprived brain.

In other words, AI writing is flawless… but therein lies the problem. There are no quirky turns of phrase, no unique word pairings, no original thought that makes you laugh or pause. Everything AI gives you has been done before. The lack of original thought is baked into the sequence. It's robotic.

And isn’t originality what really makes us turn the page or share a link? Doing something new is innately human. It’s the deliberate malapropisms, playful turns of phrase, the nuances, and the creative composition that make pieces sticky, interesting, quirky, and unique.

As? The New Yorker ’s cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff , once said, “machines in the end are idiots, or maybe idiot savants, that need humans to create content that’s going to be interesting to human beings.”

Perfection is dull. It’s your mistakes, your silliness, your perspective, and your insight that deeply resonates with others.

While AI can be a useful component of your content toolbox, using your own voice is surely the best way to make yourself matter.

Because humans matter and your voice needs to be heard. Not the voice of the AI writer bot.

Interested in developing that leadership voice of yours? Our next piece will focus on how to write pieces that are recognizably and authentically you.