AI is not a magic pill to cure all writing ills
It is impossible to offer advice in business these days without addressing the robot elephant in the room. With the head of the IMF predicting that up to 40% of all jobs in developed nations will be adversely affected by artificial intelligence, it behoves us to wonder just how intelligent it is to entrust so much to machines.
For me, a journalist and writer, the ability to prompt a computer to create a bespoke piece of writing in seconds is depressingly akin to the news that a wonder drug is imminent that promises to replicate the effects of exercise without ever leaving your sofa. Just as popping a pill to excite a dopamine rush ignores the mental and social benefits bestowed by exercise, so too does the convenience of AI diminish the creative element that allows writing to express our unique identity.
At the push of a button, you can now generate anything from short stories about Barbie marrying Bilbo Baggins in the style of Roald Dahl (who satirised the automation of writing as far back as 1953 in his short story The Great Automatic Grammatizator) to essays on ergonomics adapted from the lyrics of Lady Gaga, ready to tweak and tailor to whatever purpose you desire.
However, while software such as ChatGPT can trawl the internet for extant copy to cannibalise, how adept it is at birthing something original is questionable. The process still relies on a human creator at the point of origin, which makes fully AI-crafted content the antithesis of creativity.
But you may well ask, what of its benefit to those in business or finance who have neither the skills nor the inclination to create their own content? Isn’t the ability to churn out social media articles with one click equivalent to email superseding fax machines?
Let us look at the evidence. As a professional writer, my attitude towards AI is similar to how a 19th century lamplighter must have felt about the advent of electricity. However, for the purpose of this article, I decided to engage the enemy like a resistance soldier in a Terminator movie and judge for myself if I had anything to fear from the rise of the machines. So, I took the previous paragraph, fed it to an AI chatbot, and asked it for a rewrite. Here is what it produced:
As a professional writer, I've always been skeptical about the role of Artificial Intelligence in my field. It's somewhat similar to how a lamplighter from the 19th century might have felt when electricity was first introduced. However, for this article, I decided to confront my doubts head-on and evaluate the situation like a resistance fighter in a Terminator film. It was time to determine whether the rise of machines was something I should be concerned about.
Well, it did a serviceable job of paraphrasing the original, although ironically it failed to grasp the Terminator reference (although that is exactly what a computer network trying to eradicate humankind would want you to think). What is interesting, though, is what it presented when I asked it to continue writing:
After conducting thorough research and experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that AI does not pose a threat to the future of writing. In fact, it has the potential to greatly enhance it.
Woah there, HAL! Such presumption certainly does not assuage my concerns that we can trust AI to tell the truth! To be fair, it did go on to acknowledge the following:
However, it is important to note that AI should never replace human creativity and individuality in writing... AI can assist in the technical aspects of writing, but it cannot replace the human touch.
Well, on that point we agree, although it must be noted that I have read remarkably similar efforts by other AI software models when such prompts were used. Therein lies the deficiency of the algorithm, as by dint of fishing from the common waters, the same pond life is caught and stewed up to a generic chowder. While AI can be employed as a tool to smooth out the rough edges, a human hand is needed to draft a piece of writing. Without that personal input, what is lacking is personality.
Since the jelly of our animal brains first wobbled with ripples of self-reflection, humans have sought to stamp their personality on the world. What were primitive man’s pictographs of mammoths daubed on cave walls if not the very first Instagram posts of what someone was having for dinner? Businesses need to be seen as more than just bricks and mortar, which is why you need to put your personality into your promotional material.
Now, it’s all very well encouraging you to scribble from scratch rather than switching on The Great Automatic Grammatizator, but first you need the tools for the job. So here, adhering to the principle of not wasting words, is a mini workshop on the writing process that can be applied as readily to financial articles as to fictional flights of fancy.
Clarity is key
The aim of writing is communication, and you need to be clear in your message. When it comes to choosing words, remember that you can tell a complete story using just nouns (the names of people or things) and verbs (action words), because "people doing things" is the essence of every story.
Simplicity of style
If nouns and verbs are the meat and veg of language, adjectives and adverbs are the garnish. If you find yourself having to sprinkle too much seasoning, chances are your base ingredients are bland to begin with. Always aim for strong nouns and verbs that require less enhancement, and never use two words where one will suffice.
Research and development
First, identify your theme or subject matter. Conduct research to familiarise yourself with recent developments, and then jot down the key components: if, say, you are writing about internet banking, you might itemise the types of services offered or list the various providers.
Outline and draft
Figure out what your angle will be, then sketch an outline before you begin work on your first draft. It can be useful to help you get to the end of your first draft by adopting a stepping stones approach, writing chunks of text that you later tie together with bridging lines or paragraphs.
Cut and review
Once that rough draft is finished, the editing process begins. The structure of the piece may need to be changed to move important points up higher in the copy or to put companion paragraphs together. You cut the flab, removing unnecessary words or lines to tighten up the flow. Only when the body of the article is written do you work on the opening paragraph and conclusion.
Proof is in the pudding
The last step is proofreading, reading back over what you have written for mistakes. Good spelling and grammar make it easier to read, but you also need to check for factual errors, inconsistencies, or repetition. Read it line by line, then word by word. Read it aloud, take a break - then read it again.
I practise what I preach, so the above approach was the one employed for this article: I identified the theme (human hand vs AI invention), worked out an outline, researched the topic, typed swathes of text that I later stitched together, produced a baggy first draft, and finally sharpened the prose with an editorial scalpel. I could have taken the final step and surrendered the entire article to the chatbot for a mechanised makeover, but I prefer to present it in all its imperfect glory for your perusal, every strained simile left proudly on display like thumbprints in a clay model of a monkey. (See?)
While a useful tool, AI is better employed to do the things humans cannot, such as developing cures for cancer or predicting protein structures, than make things we can do a tad easier just for the sake of convenience. Certainly, embrace the benefits of AI as an aid in your business writing, but just as you are better off breaking a sweat instead of swallowing a tablet to get fit, take the time to toil over your content first and your personality will shine from every line.
