Readers Already Hate AI Content So Don’t Worry

Summary

The article discusses the general dislike of AI-generated content among readers and the varying perspectives of writers on AI's impact on writing.

Abstract

The article presents a snapshot of the current sentiment towards AI in the writing community, which is divided into those who fear its impact, those who dismiss it as a fad, and those who see it as a tool to be used with adaptation. It emphasizes that readers are increasingly disenchanted with AI-generated content, finding it inferior to human writing in terms of relatability, conversation, and usefulness. The author, who belongs to the group that finds AI interesting but not a replacement for human creativity, points out that even the best AI tools struggle with producing factual and engaging content. The article suggests that AI can assist in certain tasks like finding synonyms or researching, but it should not replace the human element in writing. The author advocates for human writers to continue honing their craft and engaging readers, as this is what will ensure their survival in the age of AI.

Opinions

The author is skeptical of AI's ability to produce content that is both factual and engaging, believing that AI-generated content often falls short of human writing.
AI-generated content is seen as less relatable and useful compared to content written by humans.
The author finds entertainment in writers' attempts to manipulate AI tools to produce desired content, but also pities those who rely heavily on AI for writing.
AI can be a useful tool for writers in overcoming writer's block, creating outlines, and conducting research, as exemplified by the Brave browser's AI summarizer.
The author strongly opposes the idea of AI writing content on behalf of human writers, citing a personal experience where editing AI-generated content was more time-consuming than writing from scratch.
There is a growing trend of readers rejecting AI-generated content in favor of content that is more engaging and human-written.
The author encourages writers to focus on improving their skills and not to depend on AI, suggesting that this is key to thriving as a writer in the era of AI.

Readers Already Hate AI Content So Don’t Worry

Writers are divided into three main groups right now when it comes to AI.

It’s the end of the world! Writing is done for and there’s nothing we can do about.

I don’t care. It’s just another trend that’ll fade away soon enough.

It’s worth paying attention to, but it can’t replace human writers completely, especially if you’re willing to adapt.

But, readers are quickly going from two groups to one — the “we’re sick of inane AI-generated content.”

Just for reference, I’m in the third group of writers. I find AI interesting, but I’m not impressed with AI-generated content overall. Even some of the best tools aren’t capable of producing factual, well-researched content. And, even the entertaining content falls short.

The only AI content I enjoy is writers posting their conversations trying to get AI tools to tattle about where their content comes from or just attempting to get the type of content they want.

Those conversations are just real writers playing around and making fun of AI tools. I do feel truly sorry for wannabe writers who spend hours trying to come up with the right prompts to get AI to create something amazing. Just imagine what they could accomplish if they just went ahead and wrote the content themselves.

As it turns out, readers would prefer if human writers did the actual writing. It’s more relatable, conversational, and useful.

I like to think about AI-written content in terms of bedtime stories. Sure, it can bore a child to the point they fall asleep just to make it stop. But, it doesn’t entertain them or engage their imaginations. It’s the same with adults. Be bored or engaged? I think we can all agree as readers, we want to feel engaged, not bored to tears.

Now, I’m not saying AI can’t be useful for writers. It’s a nice way to quickly find a better way of saying something when your mind goes blank or coming up with a simple outline. My favorite use — research. I like using the Brave browser with the built-in Brave search engine. It has an AI summarizer that gives me snippets from the results and even credits the sources. It’s cut research time in half.

But, I’d never let AI write content for me. I had to test this out for my main writing job. A simple tutorial about formatting a hard drive took over 30 minutes to edit. I could’ve wrote the same content in less than 15 minutes. Not only were part of the steps wrong, but I’ve read whitepapers that were more engaging.

More and more, readers are turning away from AI-generated content. So, if you want to survive as a writer in the age of AI, keep working hard to improve as a writer and please don’t rely on AI to do it for you.