I was listing to The Hanselminutes Podcast, Will ChatGPT help them write? with John Warner and their conversation somewhat echos why I started writing this blog. I needed a creative outlet and wanted a place to share my ideas while documenting them for myself later.
Some background on me as a writer; I never considered myself one. I did not like writing in school, even though I did well on papers, as long as I put the time into doing the assignment. In class writing brought on a feeling of dread in me, as I liked to take my time and would get caught up with spelling a word instead of just moving on to complete my thought. While I still stop to fix my spelling and grammar, at least I have a computer and Internet connection to fix it quickly; back when I was in school, we had to write with a pen and on paper.
Turns out that I do like to write, just not in a forced and contrived way that school normally has one write. I would get caught up with formatting, length and other structure concerns instead of putting all my ideas out on the medium. The free flowing nature of these blog posts makes me feel more at ease and allows me to get right down to the subject matter. I feel like I can be more creative and get a lot of practice completed with this medium.
On the subject of allowing or not allowing these AI tools to be used for writing, I am on the side of allowing them. Making it easier to construct a paper, letter or other written communication is only a good thing in my eyes. The way I see it, if computers were still as hard to configure and use as they were back in the 1990s, then we wouldn’t have seen so many advancements. People wouldn’t be able to communicate and learn as fast as they do. Take Youtube for example, when I needed to repair my kitchen sink, I just looked up a video about a plumber explaining what tools I needed and how to do it. I went to Home Depot, bought those tools and put in some physical work to fix my issue. I was able to get it done without needing to hire a professional, plus I learned something.
I don’t think these AI tools will make people lazy or affect their ability to learn. If anything, I think it will help people remove the boring and repetitive parts of writing, so that the creativity will flow from the person. Schools should refocus on what is important about learning and what should be taught. Learning is a lot of fun and doesn’t stop after schooling.
I recommend giving the podcast a listen and come to a conclusion for yourself. I would love to have a discussion about it, check my About Me page for ways of contacting me. God bless!