Hi there
Debate is raging right now about whether AI writing is better than the efforts of real flesh-and-blood humans.
On one side, you have the never-AI naysayers, who think that real writing can only be done by humans. On the other, the AI evangelists, who leave ChatGPT and its rivals to do the writing while they get on with the 'real work'. (Never mind that writing often is the real work. That's a topic for another day.)
But are these arguments missing the point? What if it weren't a choice between one or the other? What if a machine could help us become better human writers?
This is exactly how I think we should approach the technology.
AI is lightning quick, never gets tired and is ready around the clock. It can do an incredible amount of heavy lifting, crunching data and spitting out answers at a dizzying pace. So it can free us up to do the real communication part - the human stuff, if you like.
Helping you be human
Yet it's not all about offloading the grunt work. It can actually help us be more human.
A bot is not blinded by emotion, so it can see past the things that block us from connecting with our audience. It's not panicking about a deadline. It's not hungry or having a bad day. It's reliably, relentlessly logical.
And that's how it can really help. Because there is a surprisingly easy way to use AI to overcome one of the biggest obstacles to successful writing at work: seeing things from the reader's perspective.
Good writing is centred on the audience. But stepping into the reader's shoes is a lot easier said than done.
When writing goes wrong, a lack of human empathy is often to blame. Believe it or not, AI can help you get it back.
It's surprisingly easy to do (even if you're a beginner). Find out how in this quick guide.
