Who Says it Best? Intentionally Partnering with AI When Writing for Digital Media 

*This post is 100% human-made*

Generative AI is whatever it’s prompted to be. It’s a thinking partner and a seasoned writer, and its use, what tools and how much, is a preference. Some writers apply an 80/20 rule, 80% human and 20% AI, and others avoid it entirely.

It’s the writer’s responsibility to understand the nuances, benefits, and pitfalls when deciding to use AI. Knowing how and when to use it leads to informed decisions, human-centered collaborations, and arguably better writers, not their replacements.

Encouraging Better Writing

The worry that AI is replacing humans is pervasive but reframing it as a partner is comparable to collaborating with a colleague. It’s valuable for brainstorming ideas, giving feedback, and according to Medium contributor, Alex Kantrowitz, improving writing skills. He claims AI will teach writers how to be better rather than replace them. He praises Grammarly, an AI tool that catches mistakes while teaching writers how to fix them, saying he can now anticipate the improvements before receiving them. 

Additionally, these tools improve clarity, provide time-saving suggestions, and assist with core writing principles like unity. According to author William Zinsser in his book On Writing Well, unity is a fundamental element of good writing and calls for consistency in pronouns, tense, mood, and topic. Using AI as another set of eyes helps keep those “unities” in check and the story intact.

Staying Human and Intentional

Only humans have empathy and wisdom making it critical to closely review and edit AI generated content. And since AI is not human and humans think and feel, there’s a risk of generating content without originality and emotion. A writer’s original voice is irreplaceable and over-reliance on AI can muddy creativity and authenticity. 

Other considerations when using AI are its hallucinations, which are inaccurate or false information, and the risk of producing biased and discriminatory content. Because AI is trained on large amounts of information, it increases the risks of generating potentially harmful and incorrect results, making the human paramount in the partnership. Being firmly planted in the driver’s seat reduces the chances of unintended harm, mis and disinformation, and flimsy credibility.

Finding a Balance

AI’s ubiquity and rapid evolution encourage finding a balance. With its help, writers can focus on creativity and authenticity, while partnering on ideating, proofreading, and improving their writing skills. Having an openness to exploring the edges of its worth and knowing what’s best saved for humans, creates an opportunity for safe, responsible, and credible use.

While highlighting noteworthy benefits and pitfalls, this is not an exhaustive assessment of AI. There are plenty of resources detailing even more advantages as well as environmental and ethical considerations that are worth exploring. 

How do you use AI in your writing process, if it all? This piece is 100% human-made, however, I do enjoy the time-saving and collaborative benefits of an intentional partnership.