I’m Rodolfo Delgado, an NYC-based Mexican tech nerd and Founder & CEO of Replay Listings. I use AI to mindfully tackle everyday challenges.
While on a recent flight, I decided I wanted to write an article about social media and how we’re stepping into a technology era in which we are being divided rather than united. Do you remember the early mission of social media? To connect people. These days, it does everything but connect us. In fact, I’d argue that social media is pretty divisive.
Anyway, my article was heavily opinionated and beautifully written, of course. Crafted to make you feel. But I decided that I wanted to polish it even more with the help of artificial intelligence, so I copied all my text and threw it into ChatGPT to see what I got.
The result left me astounded. The text was seamless and grammatically perfect, but it lacked the touch of humanity that was inherently mine. My unique voice, my essence, my humanity seemed to have been brushed aside. It was then that I decided to pivot my article’s focus to a more pressing issue: the effect of AI on our writings and its implications for businesses.
Publishing AI texts is bad for business.
There is no denying that the adoption of artificial intelligence in digital communication is revolutionizing how we connect. And don’t get me wrong, anyone who knows me or follows me on Instagram knows I am the biggest tech enthusiast. I am absolutely fascinated by technology and its capabilities. I write this text not to criticize technology but to highlight our need to use it mindfully and wisely.
In the business world, publishing a multitude of blogs can, indeed, bolster your SEO. However, I’ve found that in the long run, what truly captivates readers is the presence of genuine emotion. In a digital landscape saturated with grammatically impeccable articles, it is crucial to remember that our audience comprises humans, and we can relate to them better through the one thing artificial intelligence will hopefully never be able to have: emotions.
Authenticity is king.
As writers, our distinct voices and authenticity are what draw people in. Reflect upon the individuals you follow or enjoy reading about. More often than not, you’re drawn to them because you resonate with their thoughts, their persona. As a writer, if you heavily rely on AI to improve your grammar or refine your ideas, you risk losing yourself in the process. Consequently, you stand to lose your readers and followers.
Drawing from my own experience, I advocated for adopting AI in our company blog when ChatGPT was still brand new. However, I noticed a pattern pretty quickly: Articles written by humans received significantly more views.
In truth, I believe that a large part of the allure of a text lies in its imperfections. It’s the quirks, the unique expressions and the occasional grammatical slip-ups that make our text human. They bring a certain warmth to the writing, a personal touch that makes the reader feel more connected to us. AI-generated texts, while flawless, lack this personal charm.
As a writer, I understand the value of growing and improving through feedback. AI tools, while excellent for quick edits and grammar checks, cannot provide the nuanced feedback that a human editor can. They don’t understand the subtleties of tone, the art of storytelling or the emotions that tie a piece together.
Instead of using AI for content creation, I recommend businesses use it for brainstorming sessions—AI can be a great tool for that. It can help you generate a range of ideas and provide the initial structure for your articles. However, it’s important that a human undertakes the content creation and refinement process to maintain the personal touch.
Another way business leaders can leverage AI is by using it for proofreading and final edits. AI can be an excellent tool for checking grammar, punctuation and style. However, the final edit should always be done by a human. AI may miss subtle nuances in language, tone and context that could make a significant difference to the reader’s perception.
While AI has its place in the world of writing and publishing, it should be used judiciously. We must strive to maintain the human touch in our writings, for it is our imperfections that make us relatable. In the face of rapidly advancing technology, let us not forget the power of authenticity and the impact of genuine emotions in writing.
It’s not just about what we write; but how we make our readers feel.
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