Working Strategies: Making the case for real human writers

Amy Lindgren Second Sunday Series Editor s Note This is the ninth of columns on AI and work appearing the second Sunday of each month from September through August Last month s column described AI tools for organizing or conducting the job search while previous columns looked at interview prep r sum s and cover letters best practices for companies using AI tips for using ChatGPT work opportunities with artificial intelligence AI use in the hiring process and an overview of artificial intelligence in general We re three quarters of the way through this series about artificial intelligence and careers and it s still not clear to me whether AI is a worker s friend or foe It s simplistic to say Both as if that closes the scenario Of unit it s both but how much of both What s the balance of friend vs foe and is it shifting Since I understand the writing profession more than any other because it s been part of my career path for decades I m going to consider the question from that lens and I can say already the picture isn t rosy We ve all seen the articles about artificial intelligence taking over jobs in the event of writers the threat is distressingly real Already I ve received press releases clearly written by AI Is the campaign being masterminded by a press agent or was that person laid off How about novels Particular authors have been bragging for years about writing several novels a week by turning the process over to artificial intelligence What happens when publishers learn that trick too voting to eliminate authors altogether Journalists technical writers advertising copywriters textbook authors song writers I could name a dozen or more types of writers and they d all be vulnerable to the threat of artificial intelligence taking their jobs Which brings me to ask Does it matter Assuming these individuals can find other work does it really matter who writes the press release or novel As long as the recipient is informed or entertained or both what s the difference how it was produced As a society we d likely never come to agreement on the answer But while we were and are arguing the point AI would still be marching forward Perhaps the real question is whether we want to march along or resist and take the jeopardy of being marched over With reluctance I ll vote for the first choice but only with this caveat I still want to know that writers are being trained to write regardless of how they ll integrate their work with device I have any number of reasons for this ranging from the need to keep unique human voices in the writing lexicon to the acknowledgment that without the unique voices AI will become nothing but a loop feeding on itself For me however the the greater part convincing reason for humans to continue writing is the neural pathway argument Science suggests that writing strengthens cognitive function and critical thinking and even increases dopamine And because writing uses so plenty of aspects of our brain function memory empathy logic it may helps us stay lucid longer in our lives This chain of thinking inevitably reminds me of Wax on wax off from the Karate Kid movies The phrase comes from karate master Mr Miyagi actor Pat Morita training young Daniel Ralph Macchio by making him repeatedly wax and unwax a car As Daniel learns later the motions are teaching him muscle memory not to mention patience which become critical assets in his karate practice I ve seen the same thing happen with writing students I ve taught Writers who try a variety of exercises eventually develop confidence and muscle memory of their own They write fast develop a voice that sounds like them and learn to anticipate responses from their readers Nothing I ve experienced with AI so far tells me that it builds that kind of foundation for the person using it I don t think this gap occurs only in the writing profession Anyone may find that their job can be conducted by artificial intelligence or robots or both We won t be able to out-run this trend or legislate it away But that doesn t mean we should forget how to do those jobs either Wax on wax off Becoming better at core skills such as writing isn t ignoring the inevitable it s preparing for it Come back next month and I ll continue this discussion with a look at how the pairing of AI with core skills can be a winning alternative in the workplace and in life overall Related Articles Working Strategies Communicating more powerfully at work Working Strategies The Power of Yes in job search Working Strategies Random thoughts Stretching job titles and happy places Working Strategies Using AI to organize or even conduct your job search Working Strategies Particular survival tools for uncertain times Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St Paul She can be reached at alindgren prototypecareerservice com