Encouragement for Writers in the Age of ChatGPT

I’ve always believed in visual arts and the written word as existing on two sides of a coin. Words scrawled onto napkins somehow come together to form colorful, cohesive plots. Bullet points organize traits of characters who become known and loved by thousands. Letters in bubbles give insight into inner worlds, where people often find glimpses of themselves as well. The fact is that so much of the creative process depends upon solid, authentic writing. That being said, what happens when Artificial Intelligence compromises the written word as well?

One of my main premises here at Art By Humans is that every last word you see here, every stroke of every piece featured, was made entirely and authentically by a human. We believe that this is what sets a foundation of trust and sincere engagement in this day and age. In today’s post, I want to talk with you about why cultivating authenticity from the bottom up is so important, even with powerful and tempting tools at our disposal such as ChatGPT.

My heart very much goes out to the writing community when it comes to the proliferation of large language models. It’s fairly easy to tell when AI is involved — for the time being. Things look a little too polished, a finger is missing here or there, and there's a sense of melancholy in the atmosphere. Something is clearly not right, even if you can't quite put your finger on it. In the case of writing, however, it takes much more than a glance to tell the difference. You’ve got to sense the patterns you’ve come to recognize with large-language models, which requires extensive exposure to it -- something that is difficulty to knowingly acquire, apart from engaging in its frequent use. That being said, there’s an indelible “click” that falls into place when I’m reading a standard-issue article versus the colorful musings of a Substack entry.

After all, writing is thinking out loud. In the Art of Literature, Arthur Schopenhauer states, “Reading is thinking with someone else’s head instead of one’s own.” Writing is not only a form of communication, but a crucial way to process our emotions. It turns our nebulous musings into tangible thoughts that may then be productively acted upon. This type of synthesis that writing affords us is an important foundation of becoming effective with critical thinking as well -- and the science showing what LLMs can do to that part of our brain isn’t looking great for humanity.

Take this recent study from MIT’s Media Lab, in which subjects 18 to 39 years old were asked to write college entrance exam essays with the use of ChatGPT or by their own merits. To measure their brainwaves throughout the process, they used what is known as an EEG -- an electroencephalogram — and found that the group using ChatGPT consistently underperformed in neural, linguistic, and behavioral areas. Furthermore, the amount of effort put forth visibly decreased over time, with many subjects resorting to copy-and-paste methods by the end of the study.

It is worth nothing that the sample size of this study was quite small, and the entirety of this work is yet to be peer-reviewed. However, the immediate results were alarming enough to urgently release their findings to the public. Their concern was especially for young minds, who may find their educational development affected from early dependency on these tools. Considering how quickly this technology is growing in both its strength and adaptation within society, this move is entirely understandable -- and greatly appreciated as well.

To be honest, I’ve had a similar experience in my own use of large language models. I decided to use this technology recently for the first time, and was surprised to discover the affect it had on my own approach to critical thinking and creative writing. We know that the brain, ever efficient with its output of energy, seeks the path of least resistance -- and this something that we have to consciously work against if we wish to remain productive, accomplish our most cherished goals, and rise to the level of our responsibilities. In this instance, it almost felt as though the exposure to such a powerful “shortcut” made it all the more difficult for me to muster the same creative capacities that I had prior to its use. Part of me even worried that this shift had become permanent. With enough use of both analog and digital methods, the flow of my writing was able to be restored, as evidenced in my writing of this entry for you, thankfully!

This return to nature required a number of changes in perspective. I had to remember that writing, like any other skill, is just a muscle that needs some proper exercise to get back into gear. It might feel sore and uncomfortable at first, maybe even embarrassingly so, but our neural pathways need only to receive gentle nurturing to get back to speed again. Furthermore, returning to “traditional methods”, such as pen to paper, was also quite effective. Although it takes more time to write manually, there’s something about the connection between the hand and the brain that brings out the most of our natural abilities.

Finally, returning to the realm I know -- the thoughts and events of daily life -- best did so much to rejuvenate my creative writing. There’s something inherently creative about the organization of your inner world onto a piece of paper — your thoughts, feelings, worries, and even just the witnessing of the ordinary circumstances of life. This act seems to breathe life into experiences that would have otherwise remained fleeting and nebulous. Factor in the knowledge that these musings often become the most useful material to make your creative writing as strong and relatable as possible, and you've got a great reason to get back into gear after becoming accustomed to AI doing all the heavy lifting.

To that end, here’s another interesting scientific finding — and another great reason to keep building your unique voice as a writer. In a study out of the university of Florida, two scientists sought to discover how “narrative transportation” — or, that sense of being absorbed in another world when you’re deep into a good story — was changed depending on the writer being human or AI. Throughout a series of different stories presented to the subjects — some being narrative, others being persuasive — there was evidence to suggest that readers showed lower or similar levels of transportation with AI vs human, and AI’s lack of lived experience and creativity was mentioned as one of the likely hindrances in its storytelling ability. At the end of the day, AI can only say what has already been written, without the viewpoint of an individual complete with unique experiences accumulated over a lifetime. That can only be up to you to bring to the table for others to enjoy.

That being said, let’s discuss how AI has affected the world of writing as a whole. Similar to the visual arts, many of the first “rungs” of the ladder — such as personal commissions, board game art, and book cover art — have seen significant challenges due to the emergence of AI. These projects worked as excellent entry points for blooming artists to build a portfolio, which would speak to their competence in preparation for steady roles within animation or video game studio projects. Many would instead find their homes within the specialties of their portfolios, gaining momentum as the number of pieces within their freelance portfolio grew.

In the same way, writing articles, opinion pieces, and reviews have traditionally served as a similar entry point for those who wished to come on board as a journalists or novelists, for example. Although many of these “rungs” have become challenging to achieve due to AI, I truly believe that effective avenues still exist for determined seekers out there. The central theme around all of these opportunities has to do with the unique characteristics of the writer themselves -- something that can never be replaced with AI.

If you’re still interested in publishing articles, go to where your particular experiences or expertise would be a central part of the narrative. Maybe you’ve got a special way of discussing the events of the current day — people enjoy consistent commentary from creators who can present and expand upon stories while adding a unique perspective of their own. Perhaps you have a topic you’re passionate about, in which avenues such as Substack attract some of the most talented and distinctive voices over a broad range of topics (with excellent opportunities for monetization as well). Finally, a story that can captivate and transport an audience looking for reprieve in a busy life will always be in demand. Given that AI can only write what’s been written, new hits will require the perspective of those who have something new to present to the world, and it is this unique authenticity that readers have always searched for.

We hope that this comprehensive list has helped encourage you to continue writing and developing your personal voice. Have any other helpful ideas or thoughts? Leave a comment or write to us via e-mail -- we've love to hear what you have to say!