AI for creative writing? Not quite yet...

Here at Navigator, we are a lovely bunch of linguists and word nerds who work on formulating creative ideas and messages in text. As a self-proclaimed representative of the copy gang, I would like to say in this post that we have a shared passion for writing as a craft. All probably founded in an early interest in reading.

An extension of reading

To read is to travel. To learn about stories and other worlds. Other people's perspectives. In fact, you could say that writing is an extension of reading, with the difference that you control the plot yourself. For a writer, it's a great feeling to find the flow in storytelling, to chisel out the perfect phrases like a word sculptor. Sentences that can clearly convey a message, while doing so with the right tone and emotion.

Generic and stumbling AI texts

So why is it interesting to talk about the writing man? Well, because today everyone is talking about the writing machine. AI. The pundits say that soon AI will take over. Writers, journalists and copywriters will be out of a job, because AI can do their job just as well, and for free.

I am equally surprised every time AI is portrayed as a writer. Have people even read the texts that AI produces? I've had AI generate hundreds of texts myself, but each time I've been thoroughly disappointed. Yes, it comes out with jumbled words that at a glance can be mistaken for a story. But after just a few sentences, AI always reveals itself to be the anemic text generator it really is.

AI texts are generic, linguistically stilted, and completely lacking in character and emotion. Is this really what everyone is jumping on and thinking is the future?

AI lacks experiences and emotions

I get it. Not everyone cares about linguistic finesse. In some cases, it's enough to get the message across, it doesn't have to be worded so uniquely or cleverly. This can be the case if you're writing a weather forecast, or a short summary of a football match. AI can work when information is more important than emotion.

But the moment we need a text that moves, AI fails. Totally.

AI is a machine that spits out text, without having the ability to weigh the words on a golden scale. It copies other people's texts and generates something that, according to the algorithms, should work. Furthermore, AI lacks human experience, it has not experienced the beauty of a sunrise, or heard a seven-year-old singing Ida's summer song. Furthermore, AI doesn't care, because AI lacks its own emotions. AI is not passionate. And the lyrics will be accordingly.

Nurture the brand - let a passionate person write

Perhaps in the near future AI will become better at expressing itself. Perhaps language models will evolve to make texts more believable. It is likely that AI will learn from its early mistakes and will soon be able to generate texts that are perceived as perfectly acceptable, in the right context. Factual texts. Reports. Information.

But when it comes to creative writing, I believe that AI is far from being able to compete with a passionate writer, who uses a lifetime of human experience and linguistic timing to create vivid texts. A good text shouldn't just contain the right information, it should be felt. At best, right into the heart.

So why any company would want to put even the creation of a Facebook post in the hands of a soulless text generator is beyond me. Surely a brand is worth more than that?

Warm greetings from your writing friends at Navigator.