Writing in the age of AI
A short reflection on writing with AI assistance as a non-native English speaker and how writing assistants can help translate thoughts into text while developing one's own style.
A note on authorship: A writing assistant was only used to check for syntax and grammar issues. All words, ideas, reflections and personal experiences expressed in this post are entirely my own.
After quite some time spent reading different blogs and mailing lists, I decided it was finally time to put into words what was on my mind, especially since, in such a short time, we've seen so many advances in the fields I have been working in for the last 10 years: tech and AI.
I remember vividly when the first GPT and DALL-E came out. They didn't go as mainstream as ChatGPT is now, but in the tech world, they made quite a noise. DALL-E could generate images from pure semantics, and GPT could translate instructions into command lines. This was "only" 5 years ago, and we are now witnessing how fast models are improving. It is almost a full-time job just to track those advancements.
People are terrified that AI might replace their jobs, which is justified when you see the level of performance we have already reached. As a software engineer, I rarely see anyone who isn't using one of the multiple coding agents on the market right now.
Now that I am writing again, it was obvious to see how writing assistants can help translate thoughts into text. I decided to check how good the output could be if I gave one a topic and some guidance. I was baffled by how good it was. Actually, I told a friend it almost stopped me from writing again, since I knew I would never match the quality it demonstrated. As a non-native English speaker, it can be daunting to even try.
He answered that readers can still differentiate AI-generated content from original content because people distinguish themselves with their style. I don't think I have a particular writing style, though I surely have a French accent no AI could help me erase.
When I went over the content it generated, it was hard to conclude that avoiding it for the sake of "professional fairness" was a good idea. In the end, writing in the age of AI is probably the best time for us; non-native English speakers get to write and translate their thoughts in a stylized and elevated way. With proper guidance, I see it as a tool that will help me define my own style and become a better writer over time.