Having Ideas Is Easy. Writing Is Hard. That’s Why People Use AI.

I saw this post going viral, “Why You Should Almost Never Use AI to Write Anything Substantive.” I’ve defended the use of AI in writing here and here. My reasoning is that writing competently is hard for the vast majority of people, and although AI-generated writing is still obvious or inferior, (despite rapid progress at AI-produced math), if given a choice between no writing and clunky AI-generated writing, I think the latter, despite its flaws, is a worthwhile trade-off. AI writing is thus analogous to false teeth. They have less bite force and can come loose, but are preferable to having no teeth. It’s a trade-off between not writing at all and producing an inferior imitation that, in certain situations, gets the job done. When I watch an Instagram reel or other short-form content, even if I know the text summary underneath is AI-generated, it can still provide useful context. Bland AI prose is preferable to no context, so it works for this purpose. Most viewers do not care…