Giles Turnbull has some thoughts on AI-generated writing:
First of all, I’ll come clean about where I stand, generally speaking: I’m an AI sceptic, especially on using AI for writing. I can see it being useful for other things – but that’s because I’m a writer, right?
I see AI generated text and most of the time, I think it’s rubbish. It’s dull, it’s derivative, it always sounds like a thousand other things I’ve read before. Because the AI has been trained on those thousands of things, all now easy to find on the internet.
But: do I think AI is quite good at making simple software, or basic web tools? Well, yeah, I have tried it for that, and I thought: “Hmm yeah this isn’t too shabby.”
And of course I would think that, wouldn’t I? I don’t know better. I’m not a software engineer.
I have a feeling that everyone likes using AI tools to try doing someone else’s profession. They’re much less keen when someone else uses it for their profession. I fall into the same trap as everyone else. I recognise, and admit to, my own bias.
Yes, using AI to do a job someone else does is fun. Ultimately, generative AI is an efficiency tool. Writing a first draft, especially for students who don’t have a lot of experience, is absolutely something AI can do for you. It will give you structure. It will help you overcome the blank page.
Should you then take up the writing task on your own? Sure. The only way to get better at writing is to write, whether it’s a human or AI.
Write more. Use whatever tools you have to get it done.