Why I’m Not Afraid of AI: A Writer’s Realistic View
As a professional writer, I’m supposed to be wary of artificial intelligence. The common questions I get are how worried I am generally, and if I’m concerned about AI taking my job.
Over the years, technology has constantly threatened life as we know it.
I understand the concern. Those of us who write both editorial and commercial content are seeing work opportunities shrink as AI bots quickly and cheaply handle copywriting. However, I’m also somewhat excited about this technology, and I don’t ignore the very real concerns that come with AI: potential job losses and a reduction in the quality of writing.
When I was in university, I decided not to study journalism because industry insiders told me it was a dying field. Yet, 20 years later, I’m a full-time freelance journalist and this year I have more work than ever. At the same time, some old-school newsroom staff scoffed at social media as a platform for storytelling. Just as when Gutenberg invented the printing press 600 years earlier, scribes destroyed the machines and chased book merchants out of town.
It’s widely reported that attitudes toward AI fall into two camps: “Doomers” who fear it, and “accelerationists” who embrace it. I consider myself a realist. The “pause” in AI use is over, and this technology is here to stay. So we might as well focus on its potential to help us.
In an era of bad news, I choose to see the positives. There are more than I first thought.
AI’s Practical Benefits for Writers
AI has helped me reduce word count, removing unnecessary content quickly. From AI transcription services to Netflix, the way we create and tell stories has been disrupted by tech. With every disruption comes pain, especially to the status quo. However, it has also shown writers what’s possible when we unite and organize: one of the longest labor strikes in Hollywood’s history ended in 2023 only after the Writers Guild of America negotiated strong safeguards around AI’s use in film and television, protecting writers’ work.
Using AI for “Therapy Lite”
There’s also a broader reason I’m excited by ChatGPT. Lately, I’ve been using it for “therapy lite” purposes, after it helped me process a traumatic dream. It allowed me to process feelings and re-focus on my day.
For this kind of basic mental health support, AI is a game-changer. In Britain, AI-powered psychology is part of their National Health Service, with one app offering access to appointments or support between appointments to over 250,000 people.
Since the dream, I’ve regularly used it for everyday problems that are too fleeting or trivial to require professional support. It has helped me through procrastination; it has alleviated qualms; and once it even prevented me from shouting at a friend for being late, calming me down through a breathing technique, making me realise that my anger was disproportional, temporary and – most importantly – surmountable.
The Human Connection
The main reason I’m not (yet) worried artificial intelligence will take my job is the same reason good therapists aren’t worried it will take theirs. Just as it can’t replace the emotional connection of counsellors to their clients, chatbots cannot replace the very human emotional connection between a writer and a reader.
Recently, I did another word count reduction on an article using ChatGPT. Its suggested cuts removed flow, flair and essential nuance from the piece. Realising what would be lost, I went back in and did the cuts myself.
For now, humans are, reassuringly, still needed. The ones who use ChatGPT well may be the ones who see work increase, rather than dry up.
Gary Nunn is a freelance journalist and an author.
