AI Writing Revolution – A Blessing or Curse?

Image description: Collection of some AI writing tools

AI writing tools have revolutionized the writing industry but not in a way, anyone would have thought.

When ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, it was the start  of a phenomenon that would disrupt the writing industry. In the months that followed, we witnessed the launch of several AI tools to create content. As expected, this led to a buzz, and social media was filled with noise about AI content generators.

Soon, the gospel of AI writing went into full swing with AI evangelists promoting the efficacy of tools such as Chat GPT, Jasper, and Fraser in creating quality content. You will hardly read through your social media feed without a post stating that writers will not be needed in near future.

Many people accepted the gospel and it led to an influx of AI written content. Small businesses saw it as a smart way to reduce their marketing budget, and they did.  “AI content experts” shared regular prompting strategies to get these AI tools to produce optimized content and everywhere got busy with how to tweak AI.

However, there were pushbacks.  The anti-AI advocated for minimal use of AI in content as AI-generated articles won’t have the human feel. They also argued that these tools can't conduct in-depth research like writers would, and using them will provide little to no new perspective to the topic.

The arguments from both sides went on, but the truth is, most people were in love with the new bride and no amount of argument seemed to be convincing. At some point, it looked as if the destiny of writers was set in stone and they were doomed to go into extinction. The pro-AIs were having the time of their life until Google happened.

The Nemesis

Google announced a round of its Helpful Content Update on 5th March 2024 (include date) and AI-written content was the scapegoat. While Google claims it is not totally against AI-written content, the reality seems to be different. According to Google, they care more about the quality of content rather than checking if it is AI or Human written.

One thing was clear, most of the AI-generated articles were below par. This update was welcomed with a festival of lamentations from small business owners. Many who have used AI to create most of their content suffered a serious hit, with many going from 100 to ground zero. How anyone could have thought of using AI alone to mass produce content that will meet the needs of human needs satisfactorily is beyond me.

Cannon Event for Writers

The swing, now in pro-human favor, caused a slight increase in the demand for human writers. But things are no longer the same. Every job ad  has an unusual emphasis - “content must be 100% human-written.” Businesses started spending money on software to detect  AI-written content.

Humans shouldn’t have problems creating human content, right? Well, I wish it was that easy but it is not as easy as it sounds. These AI detectors flag human-written content as AI-written, causing disputes between businesses and writers. This has led to another series of outbursts by writers who swore they never used AI but the clients aren’t having any of it.

Who then is wrong? The truth is they are both right. Two truths can co-exist. The machines used to train AI detectors were trained by humans. Common everyday words were registered in the database of these training models. So, when words were used in a certain way, the software would just flag it as AI content.

It’s really a painful development but also a necessary cannon event for writers. Now, to be a writer goes beyond your ability to combine words together. You must really be good at what you do. This will finally put an end to every Tom, Dick, and Harry claiming to be a writer. With AI detectors flagging some human-written content as AI-written and an increasing demand for human-written content by businesses, writers will have no other option than to step up their game. Every writer will have to hone their craft and improve their creativity to produce content that is above average. At least, the number of low-quality content on the internet will be reduced.

What the Future Holds?

AI is here to stay, that’s the truth in simplest terms. Another truth is that writers are going nowhere. At least, those who have honed their crafts. There will always be a need for that human feel. AI won’t go out to interview industry experts, AI cannot give such insight. In this war, there are no victors. AI tools will co-exist with competent writers. Smart writers are utilizing AI to make their work process easier and it will remain so. With the launch of ChatGPT 4o, the future looks even more exciting.