Will AI replace writers? As bleak as it may sound, the question has filled many in digital publishing industry with anxiety and insecurity. And it should, there’s no reason not to feel that way if you belong to the industry and wish to remain at the forefront of technological advancement.
You can’t change the fact that the market is changing and you have no control over it. Just try to surf the wave instead of getting swept under it.
A story or a reminder, call it whatever you want to
When I was a kid, PCO booths were everywhere. We all needed them, and the business was booming for many. Near our home lived a man, let’s call him “Jogi”. He owned a grocery store that also had a PCO booth. His business was thriving, and it seemed like it would never end.
But then, mobile phones became more common, and Jogi’s PCO booth shut down. A few years later, Amazon came to India. Digital India was growing rapidly, and city folks loved the convenience of buying things online at discounted prices. Jogi’s once-thriving grocery store began to weaken gradually until he eventually had to close it down.
Years later, when I was an adult making my own way in the world, I saw Jogi delivering orders in a nearby apartment complex. I waved at him, and he stopped. I felt a pang of sadness for him and asked if he recognized me. He did, and he told me how the big giants like Amazon and Flipkart had taken away his business.
This experience was a stark reminder for me. Every few years, a technological shift comes along that changes the world. We are in the midst of such a shift right now with AI. If you want to ride the waves of technology, you must embrace change and adapt. Holding onto the past will only leave you behind.
We can learn a lot from Jogi’s story. To survive and thrive, we need to be forward-thinking and flexible. Embrace the future, learn new skills, and stay ahead of the curve.
According to the latest available data, ChatGPT has approximately 180.5 million users, with Indian youth being the predominant user group. 80% of Fortune 500 companies have chosen ChatGPT Enterprise for a variety of applications.
openai.com
What makes you think writers will be the exception?
If you’re here for the truth and not for assurance, I will tell all content writers, UX writers, and copy writers to buck up.
Although for now, the work produced by AI can still contain errors, biases, or simplistic writing and storytelling, don’t think that right now the job of generative AI is to create content. It’s not, not for now. It’s collating data and mimicking common patterns than actual creation, it’s not unreasonable to believe that as artificial intelligence continues to amass more data to learn from, its writing capabilities will improve at an astonishing rate. You won’t know what hit you if you continue to live in the state of delusion!
I was also a little delusion until a few months ago. I thought no AI could create content with human-touch, after all human touch is important in storytelling (I still believe it is, but..). Then I began experimenting with generative AI of all kinds, Perplexity, ChatGPT etc. These months of experimenting with tools have taught me what AI can actually do.
The days are not far off when the digital publishing industry will heavily rely on AI to create content. Humans will most certainly be there to moderate and generate new ideas, rather than creating content like traditional writers.
From Hollywood writers going on strike, people publishing their AI-generated books on Amazon, to producers using AI to generate movie plots, it’s all happening right now.
The future for human content writers
I can say with 100% conviction that it will become a hybrid model. Organizations will retain good writers, and they will be required to collaborate with AI to create content and strategy. AI will reduce turnaround times and provide a foundational structure for various types of content, including blogs, articles, and ad copies. As the digital ecosystem evolves, the synergy between AI tools like ChatGPT and human creativity will drive the future of content creation.
A piece of advice for content writers
I urge you not be fooled by those who say “AI will not replace writers”, because it most certainly will replace the mediocre ones.
Work on building more skills like deep understanding of sales funnels, learning to understand consumer behavior, learning at least the basics of search engine marketing, and some data analysis. Mostly importantly, learn generative AI. Try to get familiar with it, not like a brain dead person relying on generative AI to churn content. Do your own thing with it and you’ll most certainly be here to live the change!