An article in the 2/23/24 issue of Business Marketing Smart Brief states:
“The use of AI in creative work can never replace the fearlessness, humor, and silliness
necessary to connect with audiences on a human level.
The best advertising is able to tap into the human experience,
something AI by nature cannot do.”
Artificial Intelligence is shooting business owners in the foot and legitimate wordsmiths in the kneecaps.
Here are the details…
The written word is a soul-driven thing. AI has no soul, no ability to fact-check its sources, and no concern about the integrity of the businesses it serves, so its attempts at writing articles are utter failures.
That’s why at Upwork and other freelance platforms, there are scores of project descriptions saying “ABSOLUTELY NO AI PERMITTED” and “I need a real writer/editor/researcher/fact checker to come in and clean up this piece of crap AI article that I paid (almost nothing, or nothing) for.” But of course they don’t want to pay a real writer anywhere near what we’re worth even though they know that the AI version is only fit for lining the bottom of a bird cage.
AI gives people looking to get articles for free or low cost false hope
Now, I’m not saying that there aren’t legitimate uses for AI. AI is used very effectively in any number of business and creative endeavors. But the written word is not among them.
I know it’s fun (but imprudent) to fantasize that AI has grown so advanced that Data from StarTrek, who was featured in an episode called Measure of a Man, is today’s reality when it comes to artificial intelligence. That (science fiction) episode was incrediby touching and thought-provoking, but that’s because Brent Spiner is actually human and NOT AI and HIS humanity was measured in the way he portrayed Data.
We all wanted Data to be considered human. But he wasn’t.
He had no real emotions, no real soul, no real there-ness beyond the facade within which his wiring hid. He was like Pinocchio. He aspired to be a real boy, but he wasn’t. That’s the status of today’s AI programmers when it comes to the written word.
And Data was head and shoulders far MORE than what I recognize as being human-like when I read AI pieces. As a trained wordsmith, I can quickly see the tangled underlying wiring, because there is no soul.
And hiring professional wordsmiths to refine AI’s status quo won’t solve the problem, either, although AI creators are paying small sums of money to get real writers to “educate”AI so it can mirror them.
But here’s the thing: Any wordsmith willing to work for the peanuts they’re offering isn’t a successful wordsmith; they’re newbies and wannabes.
Most professional writers (folks able to make a secure living by stringing words together) get hundreds of dollars (sometimes thousands of dollars per hour) to produce great copy and content. And they aren’t likely to help AI creators replace them by helping them produce soul-like AI even if the companies were willing to pay their fees because why serve someone who wants to make your profession obsolete? Sheesh!
Who You Gonna Call? WordWhisperer Kris M Smith!
How can anyone be convinced of anything without connecting to their emotions, values, and souls? That’s like expecting a newborn infant to look at a string of letters separated by spaces (a sentence) and comprehending and embracing the message and emotion that’s held within it. “I love you” written on paper and presented to an infant would not come across as an adoring smile and a warm embrace.
It takes a SOUL to deliver the message in a meaningful way
AI-based writing comes across bereft of soul to me, and to many others who value the aliveness of words that are written by a human being for human beings.
Call me old-fashioned but — as Walter Cronkite would say — that’s the way it is. That’s the state of the art in AI and it’ll be a helluva long time (if ever) before AI figures out how to mimic a human soul well enough to pass muster or fool anyone but the simpletons among us. Certainly, I will never live long enough to see it.
I’m grateful for that. And not just because I’m a writer who strove my entire life since early grade school (a very long time ago!) to figure out the best ways to truly connect with others via the written word.
A good writer for hire is also a gatekeeper of sorts
Good writing is a skill, and it requires a living human being who embraces diversity, inclusion, and solid ethical values. I don’t write for everyone who waves money in my face. I have to feel good about the people I serve and their clients/customers/patients/guests. If their product or service, or they, are shoddy or shady, I steer clear. I’m NOT a shill for hire. I am a gatekeeper, encourager, and consummate wordsmith for hire.
Bottom Line: Don’t rely on AI — Pay What a Human Wordsmith is Worth
Don’t end up on Upwork looking for a wordsmith to redeem the pablum that AI delivered to you, as far too many others have. You usually get what you pay for. When you hire a professional wordsmith (especially a copy/sales writer), you get a lot more than you paid to have them do your bidding.
If you need more information, or more convincing, please enjoy the following four short videos. I wrote and produced them. Three of the four are well under 3 minutes long.
What do you want? Conversions?!
When do you want them? NOW!
Thanks to Dayton Ward for the above meme!!!
AI MAY REPLACE ME, BUT IT CANNOT SURPASS ME!
