Thank you for this. (BTW, Lost & Found is one of my favorite books!)
I worry about the way exposure to AI writing could be influencing my own writing (I think the NYT did a piece about this recently). It's unnerving and a little depressing!
And I also don't want people falsely concluding I'm using one of these tools. As a longtime em-dash user, I was already worried people might think I was using ChatGPT when that was the original "tell." Now I am anxious that some of those pat cadences might be sneaking in!
Thank you for your insights. Valuable piece. I have been thinking a lot about generative AI recently as my students use AI for everything. I try to tell them that AI is not without errors and that they need to learn to write and read to spot the flaws of AI. And at the same time, they need to learn how to use AI with a critcal mindset. I use AI for work purposes. However, never for my personal writing.
My goodness, thank you for writing about this! I get much more frustrated and annoyed at this ChatGPT rhetorical thinking than I care to admit. Like you said so well, it creates oppositions instead of encouraging you to do one of the things I think humans do best when nudged - thinking with nuance. I wrote down that Philip Roth quote in my notebook - it is so powerful.
I find it incredibly sad when writers whose voices I adore tell me they feel pressured to compete with AI-generated content and ask ChatGPT to "improve" their writing. It does the opposite of improving a voice. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but on a broad scale - which it currently is, we can see that "it's not this -- it's that" everywhere - it is a loss for the world. Your singing analogy was beautiful.
Ultimately, I think these platforms cannot teach you what you don't know that you don't know... And that is why we need humans with lived experience and a complex understanding of their domain to turn the light on for those of us who don't. I would much rather pay someone to teach me things even though ChatGPT could do it for a tenth of the price. Human knowledge is worth preserving.
Thank you, Ely! I’m glad the piece resonated with you. I agree with what you said, and I especially appreciate that last line. Human knowledge — and writing — are most definitely worth preserving!
Very much agree with this. Loved the inclusion of "and-" its import in everyday life. When almost half of all writing on Substack alone uses AI, it becomes even more important to use our own voices. It becomes easier and easier to pick out Chat's writing patterns, too, across authors. I stand firmly, writing messily and on my own steam, with you!
Thank you for this. (BTW, Lost & Found is one of my favorite books!)
I worry about the way exposure to AI writing could be influencing my own writing (I think the NYT did a piece about this recently). It's unnerving and a little depressing!
And I also don't want people falsely concluding I'm using one of these tools. As a longtime em-dash user, I was already worried people might think I was using ChatGPT when that was the original "tell." Now I am anxious that some of those pat cadences might be sneaking in!
I remember you saying that Lost & Found is one of your favorites! It’s one of mine too.
And I hear you. I share your concerns as a fellow fan of the em-dash!
I’ll have to check out that NYT piece you mentioned.
Thank you for your insights. Valuable piece. I have been thinking a lot about generative AI recently as my students use AI for everything. I try to tell them that AI is not without errors and that they need to learn to write and read to spot the flaws of AI. And at the same time, they need to learn how to use AI with a critcal mindset. I use AI for work purposes. However, never for my personal writing.
Thank you! Glad you liked the post. It sounds like you’re approaching AI use in smart ways. My students use it for so much too!
My goodness, thank you for writing about this! I get much more frustrated and annoyed at this ChatGPT rhetorical thinking than I care to admit. Like you said so well, it creates oppositions instead of encouraging you to do one of the things I think humans do best when nudged - thinking with nuance. I wrote down that Philip Roth quote in my notebook - it is so powerful.
I find it incredibly sad when writers whose voices I adore tell me they feel pressured to compete with AI-generated content and ask ChatGPT to "improve" their writing. It does the opposite of improving a voice. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but on a broad scale - which it currently is, we can see that "it's not this -- it's that" everywhere - it is a loss for the world. Your singing analogy was beautiful.
Ultimately, I think these platforms cannot teach you what you don't know that you don't know... And that is why we need humans with lived experience and a complex understanding of their domain to turn the light on for those of us who don't. I would much rather pay someone to teach me things even though ChatGPT could do it for a tenth of the price. Human knowledge is worth preserving.
Thank you, Ely! I’m glad the piece resonated with you. I agree with what you said, and I especially appreciate that last line. Human knowledge — and writing — are most definitely worth preserving!
Very much agree with this. Loved the inclusion of "and-" its import in everyday life. When almost half of all writing on Substack alone uses AI, it becomes even more important to use our own voices. It becomes easier and easier to pick out Chat's writing patterns, too, across authors. I stand firmly, writing messily and on my own steam, with you!
Yes! I feel as though I’m seeing AI writing everywhere too. Here’s to preserving our voices and embracing originality.