Why Bother Writing When AI Can Do It For You?

AI can write lots of things, from code to jokes or even novels. ChatGPT can help you write that screenplay you’ve had in mind for years, yet haven’t wrote a paragraph of it. It can help you redact emails as persuasive as those by Nigerian Princes asking for help.

It could’ve written this essay. The only requirement? Inputting the right prompts.

Undoubtedly, AI’s role in the written arts is reshaping our perceptions of what’s possible. Its ability to augment output means that instead of generating one article each month, you can now churn out several pieces a day.

Yet, one can’t help but wonder: Does AI genuinely replicate the human process of conceptualizing and expressing original thoughts? Or is it merely an elaborate illusion, a trickster adept at mimicking styles, re-purposing ideas, and amalgamating them in novel ways to produce a seemingly human-like text?

Almost 20 years ago, Paul Graham answered this questions in his influential post “The Age of the Essay.”

Through his essay he explored the purpose of writing which is to figure out what one thinks, knows and doesn’t know. While writing, the author trails his thoughts, allowing the mind to connect the dots, diverging and burrowing deep into the nucleus of an idea.

Sometimes people write to be read. Sometimes people write to sell or generate visits. But other times people write for themselves; to better understand their thoughts. As a creator not always builds something to be consumed, a writer not always writes to be read. It is purely for the sake of creating and learning.

This cerebral exercise—grappling with concepts, refining ideas, and conjuring fresh insights, all shaped by one’s unique experiences, perspective, and style—creates the soul of writing. AI, however accomplished, does not possess personal experiences or an organic cognitive process. It can’t have a favorite word, a pet peeve, or a sudden spark of inspiration while walking in the park.

While it can simulate the ‘product’ of human thought, it cannot replicate the ‘process’ of human thought. Meaning, it is not a replacement for human writers or as a learning tool. Original writing is a product of thought, experience, and emotion. Leaving this age with a profound need for human voices, human experiences, and human writers.

Because at its core, writing is less about the final product and more about the journey of discovery – a journey AI is yet to embark upon…