The Role of AI in Content

“Yeah, but robots don’t know how to feeeeel” I kept telling myself as I rocked back and forth watching Chat GPT write an 800-word article in about 8 seconds.  

The role of AI in content was one I wasn’t quite ready to discuss at the time, but I feel enough time has passed that I’m able to assess its role with less hostility. In fact, I’ve really come to embrace our new overlords truth be told.  

Hi, my name is Ayanam, and I’m a content writer. It’s more than a job to me, it’s what I love to do. I’ve been writing poetry since I was 16. My side hustle involves songwriting. I’ve spent decades honing my writing skills, and like a sommelier discussing the notes in a chardonnay, I always imagined my expertise would be my shield.  

AI wasn’t a welcome change for me, but it was a necessary one. For one, it’s made me a more efficient writer. It often gets me out of my writer’s block that little bit faster and I’m always sure to say “please” whenever I ask it to do a task just in case it does decide I’m surplus to requirement at some point.  

I really think we’ve come to understand each other and work well together as partners. We’ve proven we can co-exist.  

I think what I really love about AI though, is all its flaws.  

I can always tell when something has been written by AI because the language is extra descriptive – nothing is just lovely…it’s stupendous, exhilarating, wonderous.  

I then think, ok it needs a better prompt. Maybe ask it to use a tone of voice that’s a bit more youthful. That too can go a bit wrong. It gets a bit too casual. It uses language that’s slightly too hip. But bless it, it’s trying. It’s an overcaffeinated freelancer trying to work with what it’s got.  

I’ve also found that AI tends to panic when it runs out of things to say. Like, if I ask it for a list of the top 10 restaurants in Burnage, the first 5 are probably somewhere in Burnage but then once it gets to number 6, rather than disappoint me and say “mate, c’mon, just move to West Didsbury”, it starts finding places a half an hour drive away just to avoid being awkward.  

There’s something quite relatable about that. If anything, my experiences with AI have proven to me that robots do know how to feel. They are also people pleasers who are desperate to get it right even if they go off on a bit of a tangent in the process.  

I want to help AI. I’ve decided that when I do work with AI, to work on being a better friend. To work on being a better prompt engineer. I do think that’s what all the best creators will be going forward – prompt engineers.  

AI can’t solve all our problems, it needs partners who can guide it in the right direction, be patient with it, set manageable goals and realistic expectations. It’s learning too and it’s important to remember that.  

As content creators, I’d argue our role has never been more important. Because now, we’re not only responsible for creating great content that sounds even more human (to reassure the modern reader, cynical about the role of AI in content, that words are still worth reading), but we’re now also responsible for our new young assistants just trying to do their best to meet the lofty expectations we’ve set for them.  

Having said that, I’d still be wary of deepfakes, image generators and the like. They’re definitely out to get us!