Did you know that AI can write a full-length novel that is completely polished, perfect, and complete in a matter of minutes?
It’s true. And what does that mean for we writers in the world? It means that now that AI is free for anybody to use, that anyone who knows what they’re doing can have a full book written for themselves in less time than it takes Xbox game to download. Someone who hasn’t ever worked on their writing, who hates books, and who may even never have written a day in their lives can make themselves a perfect story.
Isn’t that more than just annoying?
After all, how can an imperfect human with realistic limitations and responsibilities ever hope to compete with Artificial Intelligence, a being with no limitations and with all the world’s recorded information at their digital fingertips?
It seems like an impossible feat. But do you know what? I think it may be a realistic one. Here are four reasons for why I think human writers will always have an advantage over AI.
1. AI Will Never Be Genuine
The reason why AI is called Artificial Intelligence is because it’s artificial. There’s nothing real or solid about it. Although AI is now highly developed and very diverse, it has no feelings or personality. There is nothing genuine that AI will do or say. Everything it does it does because it’s commanded to.
As human writers, we have feelings. We have convictions. We have beliefs. AI doesn’t. So a story that AI writes will never have any of those things. Genuine feeling, conviction, and belief is what makes a story come alive. Sorry, AI.
2. AI Is Information
If AI has no feelings or convictions, that means that AI is only information. As Christians we know that there is much more to life than information; it does not take information for someone to become a Christian, it takes faith. The information of the gospel can help someone become a Christian, but in the end it will take them putting their trust in Jesus Christ.
Faith isn’t what the world would label “logical”. Feelings aren’t “logical” either. But they’re still real. As humans, we have these things. Again, AI doesn’t.
3. AI Is a Regurgitation
Ecclesiastes says that “There is nothing new under the sun”. That’s true for life, but even truer for AI. It’s literally taking everything it knows and says from what people have already put on the internet. It’s diverse enough to not be a direct copy and it mixes the old up to make something new, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s taking things from what others have said.
Since there’s nothing new under the sun, we know that as human writers what we write won’t be “a completely new thing” either. But what we are writing is still coming out of the originality of the mind God has given us.
4. AI Is Man-Made
Man has fallen. We sinned against God, and now we have a cursed world to show for it. AI is man-made, and nothing man ever makes or does will be perfect.
But you are an image-bearer of God. More than that, if you are a Christian you are his born-again child. You have worth in Christ. God has a mission for your life and words he wants you to say. You have the advantage as a human being and a child of God that AI will never have—you have a relationship with Christ.
Finally...
What can I say? The future is going to be weird. With AI made available to everyone, times will change. But I believe that your stories are better than anything AI will ever write. As imperfect as they are, with as many typos and mistakes as it may have, you, a human, and an image-bearer of God wrote them. He has a great plan for your life and a great plan for your words.
If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.
-Martin Luther
I love this post! This is something I’ve had many conversations with my Dad about. He has told me that AI will never take away from genuine art, instead it will become its own form of art (People coming up with prompts to create something). and just because a computer can do it doesn’t make our art any less valuable. Even as AI progresses we will never be obsolete because what God has given us to say, no one else can say.
One area humans are still way ahead of AI is the realm of free verse. I've tried to get Chat GPT to write me a free verse poem so many times, but it never works. It thinks a poem is four lines with regular meter and every single line rhymes, and it cannot conceive of anything else.
Granted, it'll probably get better over time. But as you said, it'll never have a heart.
This was a very well written and timely post. I liked (and agreed with) all your points; well done!
What??!! *gasps with horror* I had no idea this existed! That’s dreadful! (I have no idea how a computer can pull that off. 😝😳)