I had a little time today so I decided to go explore the Internet. On my peregrinations I found out about Rytr. Do you know about it ? You probably heard about ChatGPT, the model created by OpenAI that is of so much interest to Microsoft. A model that answers your questions and can write your Master thesis, blog article or homework for you ! Rytr is an AI specialized in exactly this type of things. You write your key words and for free you can get up until 10 000 words written and organized in the way you need it. It seems magical ! Never at a loss for inspiration, Rytr can write the outline of your blog post for you, and if you ask, even the content of the article.
You are maybe asking yourself if what you are reading right now was written by an AI ; and to be honest, it could very easily have been. Of course, I tested Rytr for one of my blog posts, and who can blame me ? It’s intriguing and frightening at the same time ! It makes life much easier for so many different people, from the copywriter to the marketer or even the student ! And I include myself in that list. As a blogger, it is a real solution for never again being confronted with a writer’s block but instead, if you use it correctly, having an unending source of inspiration and organizational guide at hand.
But after a moment of hesitation, I have to admit I chose not to use Rytr for this article. Why ? Because, despite what I said earlier, it isn’t magical ; Rytr or ChatGPT are not miracle solutions for each of our problems. If you truly lack inspiration, up until the subject of the text you want to write, the AI cannot find it for you. You need key words to start the machine on its task. And there are still small mistakes that need to be rectified; small changes to be made for the text to be grammatically and orthographically correct.
However, the main reason why I do not think I will use Rytr for more than my amusement is that the text is produces is – I find no word to use other than shallow. It can be explained by the fact that the AI writes only what is the most likely to be said and found on the Internet with the keywords used. It depicts the most general opinion, the associations of ideas most probable. But it is without any real substance ; the AI writes only what everyone expects the most.
Honestly, I even think that it could be dangerous. Imagine that using the AI to write everything becomes common. Your Master’s thesis ? Rytr or ChatGPT develops your idea and redacts it for you ! An article you read in a newspaper ? Written by an AI ! Little by little we would become used to a certain way to organize and express our thoughts, and those thoughts become simpler and simpler. Like the Newspeak in 1984, those AI could deprive us of the way to have original ideas. After all, our thoughts are shaped by the language we use. Writing down our ideas allows us to articulate them, make them clearer both for the others and ourselves. Even if it is an effort, expressing ourselves via writing or speaking is a great way to develop our critical thinking skills. After all, once they left the realm of the unsaid, those ideas are confronted and shaped by their meeting with the reality of others’ points of view. And like a sieve, the back and forth exchange of opinions that takes place crystallizes those opinions until they become diamonds etched into the ever-growing constellation of our convictions.
That is why using AI such as ChatGPT and Rytr is such a great and alarming temptation. It is the temptation to be lazy and get used to a crutch up to a point that we could become unable to walk without it. Exactly like the humans in the Wall-E movie, made physically weak and obese by their extensive use of technology, we could cripple our minds until articulating our thoughts becomes almost too great of an effort. After all, the brain is like a muscle, it constantly needs to be trained : let’s not lose the habit of exercising it. What a sad world it would be, the one where thoughts formatting has become the norm because of our atrophied brains.
Of course, I’m probably exaggerating ; this is the worst-case scenario. Using an AI to write an article or a LinkedIn post is not going to make us into a Wall-E human. Even if using the AI to write everything becomes normal, it does not replace the oral debates we can have with one another. But it is still a frightening habit to have. That is why finding a balance is so important. It would be unrealistic of me to cry wolf and expect everyone to stop using Rytr, ChatGPT and who knows what other AI will appear in the years to come. AIs are here to stay, they are part of our new normal, and that will be even truer in the future. How can we make sure they will keep contributing to human progress and not hinder it then ?
To me, the answer is that it is up to us to regulate our use of them. Rytr or ChatGPT could be useful sources of inspiration, guidelines as to which structure one could adopt in a text that is to be written. This is also a possible answer to those that fear that their jobs could be taken over because of the AIs ; they could learn to incorporate them in a new routine, one that makes them more efficient at their work. However, that way a growing chasm is likely to appear between those who use AIs and those who did not follow the curve. This is also true for the general public, not only those whose jobs are transformed by the AIs : there will probably be an expanding contrast between people who know to use AIs sparingly, smartly, and those for whom it will become an addictive crutch. In the end, AIs like Rytr or ChatGPT seem to only broaden preexisting fractures in the general public, between those that had the chance to get an extensive education including the possible dangers posed by AIs, and those that didn’t. It is up to society to see if we can bridge the gap.
Lisa Zareff 