There Are Pros and Cons to AI Writing Programs

Originality and quality are still essential elements of writing.

There are many pros and cons to AI writing programs. Many writers either praise these programs or deny that they have any value. The fact is that said programs have proved to be quite beneficial for some folks. But there are still plenty of writers who value originality that isn’t generated from a non-human source.

Calling these writers purists wouldn’t exactly be fair. Writing has been a method of communication used by humans for a very long time. It’s tough for a lot of people to give up control of something that has been practiced for so long. But asking writers to accept that a program can outdo them is tough. Writing isn’t easy for everyone and stands out as an accomplishment to many who worked hard to get where they are.

It can be stated that AI writing tools and programs are useful. Non-writers can cut down on costs and even use said programs to help productivity. Unfortunately, the limits of such programs are easy to see when it comes to creativity and originality. A program only knows how to create something within its parameters. At this time, an evolving AI sounds like a huge risk.

Not only that but there are plenty of people who could see this as a useful way to cheat the system when it comes to earning a living. It might sound like paranoia, but the technology doesn’t lie. In any case, let’s go into the few pros and cons that are most important when it comes to AI writing programs.

The Pros

An AI writing tool/program is meant to make life a little easier. Here are a few ways that happen.

1. It’s a time saver: Think about how much time it takes to write something. Essays, ad copy, novels, manuscripts, etc. All of it takes a while to think up and put down on paper in the right way. It’s tough to try and set time aside to write something when there are so many things to do during the day.
2. It does save money: The costs involved in writing vary, but one of the biggest costs are content writers. Yeah, the people who are writing the content do pull down various salaries depending on what organization they work with or for. Plus, an AI writing tool won’t talk back to an employer and won’t typically exhibit personal issues at the worst times. Hey, writers are people too.
3. The AI can continue learning: An AI tool will continue to learn as it’s allowed to evolve. The more input a tool has, the better it can function. Over time the AI will come to recognize different styles that will allow it to learn new ways to put ideas together.
4. It generates ideas: This is a debatable matter since an AI can only generate ideas that are given to it. But as mentioned above, an AI tool can take the input it’s been given and combine it in many different ways. This can give rise to new ideas that will generate more interest over time.
5. The AI will follow SEO standards: This is another great benefit for those that are utilizing AI tools since humans do tend to stray from SEO standards from time to time. An AI will follow the program that it’s been given. It will also stick to the parameters that are given when it comes to SEO. Humans have a bit of an issue with this at times since sticking to SEO can sound kind of dull.

The pros of these tools are kind of hard to get behind simply because they feel too easy. It’s not hard at all to figure out that it’s a time saver and can lower costs. But the cons should hopefully wake some folks up. If not, oh well.

The Cons

There are a few ethical concerns that come with these tools. Imagine that, humans using machines and causing ethics violations.

1. It still requires human interaction: It’s like people just forget about movies like Terminator where the AI takes over and begins to run rampant over humanity. But the truth is that AI writing tools still require a human presence to make them work and to give them the ideas that are needed to generate more. So in other words, it helps to write, but it still needs humans to help it.
2. The AI still makes errors: It’s looking less and less like writing tools such as this are a great idea. But make no mistake, people will still keep them around since they’re considered to be a good idea. It’s technology, so of course people are going to want to keep working on it. Anything that can make life easier is something that people will lean toward.
3. There’s no creativity/personality: Some folks are bound to argue until they’re blue in the face about this issue. AI can only be as creative as a human mind can make it. This goes back to the first con, since like it or not, a computer still can’t think like a human. This is something that people should be grateful for since a psychotic but orderly imagination is not something a machine needs to have. Again, do people not watch movies? Did anyone pay attention to The Matrix?
4. There’s a lot of room for personal bias: Think about who is building the AI and what they believe in. There’s no such thing as an unbiased system that is created by a human being. It doesn’t matter if the human creator has a lack of ego, they’re still putting their own mind and personality into the programming, even if they don’t know about it.
5. The ethics involved are easily breached: The fact is that people have written novels using these tools, and they’ve managed to get away with it. There are plenty of people who state that said people have been caught and punished, but I doubt it. The way our society views criminals these days, they might be lauded for innovative thinking instead of outright plagiarism.

One thing that anyone using an AI writing tool should think of is if what they’re doing is ethical. Barring that, they might need to wonder at their own lack of creativity and time management skills. So long as they get paid, a lot of people don’t care.

Here are a few of the tools that are out there

A lot of writers might be curious, or simply want to use these tools to see if they work. There are a few that you might want to check out, such as Jasper, Ryter, Sudowrite, and several others. There is a cost to each service and there are pros and cons to each service.

Many claim that they’re able to help without plagiarizing, and many claim that they can help a writer create a project with ease. Seriously, using AI to help write feels like a giant cheat, but people are going to do it.

Some writers are firmly against this.

Why? Do you really need to ask? The fact that AI is being used to do a job that humans have done for so long is reason enough. So, yes, humans have continually created machines to help make life easier, and it’s been a good idea.

But there are instances when making life easier is downright lazy and seriously lacking in ethics. If AI had already come to a point where machines were considered as living beings that could learn and think like human beings, this discussion would be different. As of now, such a thing hasn’t happened. The fact is that AI writing tools are an easy dodge, even if they’re useful from time to time.

WTR? (Why’s That Radass?)

Artificial Intelligence is interesting, that much is obvious. But it’s not a substitute for creativity and originality. What it does appear to do is make people believe that it’s okay to be lazy and unimaginative. I’ll be honest, as a storyteller, it’s annoying to hear of people passing themselves off as authors when they use AI tools to help them. Call me old school, but that’s NOT Radass.