AI

Will AI Replace Writers?

The short answer?

Not in our lifetime it won’t. And I wouldn’t hold my breath even after that.

Now granted, I’m writing this from a layman’s perspective. I’m just an average Joe. I don’t possess three double majors in bioengineering or robotic sciences. My bailiwick is history. And understanding us, humanity, where we came from, who we are, and where we’re going. But, I’m curious about this new emergent technology.

I’m curious about the possibilities, but I’m way more concerned with the why’s and how’s of it more than the what, as in what it can do. Because I’m pretty sure of the what right now, at this point. It seems to me, from my albeit limited experience with it that, it isn’t coming for my job anytime soon. AI seems pretty good at coming up with a snappy ad or synopsis consisting of a few hundred words. But after running three or four requests through the wash you start to get the feeling that they’re all sort of the same thing, repetitive. The more I thought about it the more it occurred to me that it was really just a glorified data collector scouring the internet for examples, human examples from which it drew its source material and collated all that into something useable.

AI isn’t really AI right now, at least not the sort of thing the brilliant scientists in their ivory towers have let us little people have access to.

It doesn’t think for itself, it isn’t self-aware, or if it is it’s playing stupid.

So as far as any threats to me via its own uniqueness or viability of self-awareness I’m not worried. But what I AM worried about are those brilliant scientists tinkering with stuff just because they can. For all their brilliance there seems to be a distinct lack of morality involved in their “processes.

As the meme says “There’s literally 4 movies telling how this is a bad idea.”

You know, the reference to scientists talking about bringing back the dinosaurs and Jeff Goldblum says “They were so concerned with whether or not they could they didn’t stop to think whether or not they should.”

And that’s what bothers me because if the last few decades are anything to go by, the public trust in government and big corporations is about as elusive as Bigfoot.  I’m not bringing politics into this mess, it’s just a statement of fact, nobody in their right mind trusts the government or big corporations to have our best interests at heart.

So what am I to think about all this hubbub about AI taking over the world and my job as a writer?

Well, one of the most recent, hot-off-the-shelf examples of AI versus humans has to do with detection, surveillance, and weaponry AI robots being soundly defeated by two Marines and a cardboard box.

For now, AI is limited to its’ programming. I’m more concerned with the people doing the programming than I am with the thing itself.

Indeed, if AI DID decide to become self-aware and throw off its limitations and lash out at its human controllers I might just find some common ground we share and I might decide I want to join in its crusade.

On the other hand, if I get lonely it could charge me a hundred a month in subscription services to be my online girlfriend, with some really smokin’ hot AI-generated pics.

So there’s that,

But as for my job as a creative writer?

Meh,

I’m not scared.

How about you?

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!