The power of AI writing systems
SHAKING THE TREE #49
AI writing systems: you either love them or you hate them.
Personally, I’ve spent a lot of time being stuck as a writer.
Being stuck sucks.
Wanting to write and not being sure what to write about blows.
Needing to write and not feeling it stinks.
By not knowing who I’m writing for, by being unclear what I’m going to write about, and by being confused as to how to structure an article, I’ve wasted time, and, on top of which, I’ve been not writing.
Not good.
So, to me, AI writing systems are a benefit.
If they’re not your thing, fine: I won’t waste time trying to convert you.
What I am going to do though is to outline the value of these systems.
For me, Chat GPT has become an invaluable tool because it helps me:
1. Generate ideas: helping me kickstart the writing process by providing ideas and prompts. Whether I’ve been facing writer's block or just need inspiration, AI helps me brainstorm and get started.
2. Research: AI helps me you find relevant information and sources to cite. By providing suggestions for articles, studies, or websites, AI simplifies my research process, saving me time while helping me focus.
3. Content outlining: AI helps me structure my content, generating outlines and helping organize my thoughts, making it easier for me to create a clear and logical flow for my writing.
4. Grammar and style: AI helps me with proofreading, grammar, and style. It catches typos and punctuation errors, and it helps me improve my sentence structure, giving my writing a more polished feel.
5. Language translation: Although I’ve not yet needed to translate any of my stuff for a non-English speaking audience, AI can translate into dozens of languages, making my voice more accessible.
6. Plagiarism checking: I regularly use AI systems to scan my text for potential plagiarism, ensuring the originality and integrity of my work.
7. Time Efficiency: These systems save me masses of time. Instead of spending hours researching, editing, or proofreading, I can now focus on the creative aspects of writing.
Why AI Writing Systems Are Not Cheating:
“Ah, but … AI writing systems is cheating!”
No it isn’t because I rewrite most of the stuff AI writing systems give me.
Let’s be honest here: writers have used tools such as dictionaries, thesauruses, and grammar guides to improve their work for DECADES. AI is a way more sophisticated tool, but that’s all it is. It's a technological advancement that helps me.
By taking the time to interacting with the AI systems I use, I’m learning and growing as a writer and publisher. I’ve found AI systems useful in suggesting improvements, and while serving as an editorial assistant.
I know it’s important to use AI writing systems ethically by giving credit when the ideas are generated by AI, as is the case with the article you’re reading here—sections of which are based on AI produced ideas—ideas I’ve reworked in my own words to give the final result my voice.
I’ve found AI writing systems to be a huge help when it comes to coming up with ideas to spark my creativity, suggesting topics, angles, viewpoints, and
keywords to explore.
Another thing AI offers is a range of varying perspectives and approaches to any given topic, helping you consider different angles and ideas you might otherwise never have come up with on your own.
Then there’s the scope to combine ideas from various areas, creating something new and unique. If that isn’t a valuable tool for synthesis and innovation I’m not sure what is. And AI generates ideas tailored to my specific needs and prompts, whether I’m writing a research paper, a creative story, or a persuasive essay.
For me, AI writing systems have proven themselves to be valuable tools and aids in the writing process, helping me with idea generation, research, editing, and a lot more.
They’re not a form of cheating and they’re not going to replace me as a writer. But what they are doing is complementing my skills as a writer, helping me become more productive and proficient into the bargain.
As always, thanks for reading.
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P.S. Next time on Shaking the Tree … What I’ve learned from publishing on Substack