Can AI Help Technical Writers? How AI Will Revolutionize Content Production

Technology is supposed to reduce our burden of labor. If it streamlines a process, reduces the amount of time it takes to complete a task, or takes human suffering out of the equation, it is generally seen as a good thing.

There are various ways advancements in technology make our lives easier. Thinking back on humanity’s big picture, several revolutionary paradigm shifts significantly impacted our lives.

Technological Paradigm Shifts

The ability to harness fire extended the length of time we could be productive, enhanced our ability to ward off predators, made our food safer to eat, and allowed us to manipulate natural resources into more useful items.

Agriculture changed the way human societies organized themselves. Its widespread adoption led to a surplus of resources, which helped the human population grow to levels previously not possible. 

Agriculture led to the creation of ownership, property, and commerce. It was the system the first states were built around. The first written documents—cuneiform tablets—tracked the exchange of commodities like grain, cattle and pigs.

The New Revolution 

Over the past century, we’ve been experiencing another technological revolution—one that will likely result in competent and—for all intents and purposes—intelligent AI. DeepMind, a company owned by Alphabet (Google’s parent company), is right on the cusp of achieving human-level artificial intelligence.

We still don’t know how exactly the development and integration of AI will alter our society. However, scientists can predict how AI will affect human society down the line based on the AI currently in use. 

This leads us to our next point—AI is already in use and will only continue to see adoption in nearly every industry. How will AI affect writing? Will AI replace the need for real, human writers?

That’s what we will explore next.

The State of AI In Writing

It’s tempting to fall into the trap of catastrophizing the future—a future where writers are boxed out of the job market, unable to compete with their new AI replacements. As enticing as it is to believe that this dystopian portent of the future is inevitable, it doesn’t accurately capture how AI works.

Soft AI vs. Hard AI

The “nightmare” version of AI as seen in the Matrix movies or as represented by the Borg in Star Trek are extreme examples of hard AI, which is artificial intelligence that can pass the Turing test, can actively comprehend the meaning of words and phrases, and essentially has a will of its own.

Hard AI is basically what a human brain is—a self-aware network capable of symbolic thought. We are still a long way off from this. When we achieve it (if we achieve it) however, it will be one more brain among billions of others.

The tools that writers work with currently (like autosuggest or grammar tools) are examples of soft AI. Therefore, AI is a programmable tool. It operates within the bounds of its programming, which can be quite complex and impressive, but there are obvious and notable limitations.

In the way that the tractor made the lives of farmers easier, calculators made accountants’ lives easier, and computers made everyone’s lives easier, AI will make a writer’s job easier. Instead of falling prey to the fear of being replaced, recognize how AI will help writers become better at their job.

Think Of It This Way…

Did the dictionary put writers out of work? What about the thesaurus? What about spell check or grammar tools? AI is the next step in the evolution of human ability—we are the ones who will create it, after all.

If readers are concerned about a future where human beings are seamlessly integrated with AI—which is one of the aspirations of a futurism movement called transhumanism—consider that we are already basically there.

We use soft AI every day to work, play, shop, plan, remember and connect.

Automating The Parts Of Human Thought That Slow Us Down

Writing AI being developed today—like Jasper (formally known as Jarvis)—uses machine learning to anticipate and predict content. It’s pretty good at taking seed phrases and generating logical content that reads naturally.

In this sense, using writing AI is like having a writing assistant. It helps make your workflow easier. Instead of scrutinizing the particular order of words, writers can focus on the big picture behind the words. The AI makes suggestions, and most are good, but it’s far from perfect.

 Some ways AI writing tools will help writers:

●      Write more words

●      Write faster

●      Create drafts faster

●      Have an AI editor assist you

●      Focus on the big picture behind the words rather than the structure of sentences

Will AI Replace Technical Writers?

It’s hardly a zero-sum game. AI won’t replace human writers anytime soon. What’s more likely is that AI and humans will become more integrated across several fields.

Why wouldn’t you want to be a better writer?

About the Author

Roni Davis is a writer, blogger, and legal assistant operating out of the greater Philadelphia area. She writes for CMOX, which connects outsourced CMOs with small businesses that need marketing leadership.