When not to use AI
Why you should resist the temptation to use an AI writing tool, the beauty of nothing, Adobe's LAST DAY offer, and a new job opportunity telling important scientific stories
Artificial intelligence can nowadays author reports, presentations, emails and much, much more. But there’s a very good reason why you shouldn’t use AI to write for you. And the clue is in the name.
By using another intelligence to write your work, you’re forgoing one of the most important functions of writing - the role it plays in shaping your thinking.
The primary role of writing is to communicate. And when you need to say something quickly, or you’re unsure how best to say it, there is an ever growing temptation to use an AI tool to produce your work.
Such tools are becoming ubiquitous, becoming embedded in text editors, writing and content production programs such as Microsoft’s Word and Powerpoint, Apple’s Pages and Keynote, and Adobe’s InCopy and InDesign tools (see offer below), as well as web browsers such as Microsoft Edge.
Commercial programs, such as Jasper, Copy.ai and Anyword offer to produce web copy, social media captions, product descriptions, marketing materials, blogs etc, utilising large language models such as GPT-4, Claude 2, PaLM 2 and others for their output.
But use them to check your writing and thinking, not to generate it.
The danger of using AI to generate written content, is that you miss the most crucial step of all when writing and communicating. The act of thinking. About the message you want to convey, how you want to communicate it, and to whom.
When you use an artificial intelligence, you are directly subcontracting out your own thought process. Your own intelligence.
By relying too much on tools that can be harnessed to improve your communication, you may end up communicating less well.
And people who don’t write at all, but instead get an AI tool to write for them, don’t think at all.
Both should matter to you at work.
There are, of course, many highly intelligent people, working across a range of disciplines, who write little, or not particularly well. Or whom work with learning differences, such as dysgraphia, dyslexia and others which create writing difficulties. Yet who think brilliantly, and achieve much, personally and professionally.
However, it is also true that people who write poorly, have often thought poorly about what they are writing - poor writing often reflects poor thinking. And that really should matter to you and your company.
If you or your staff are continually creating or receiving clunky messages from colleagues, sending obtuse emails or confusing replies to customers, it can be a sign that people in your organisation aren’t thinking clearly and critically about their work.
The reason why is simple. Language and thought are inextricably linked. One tends not to exist without the other.
According to Steven Pinker, a prominent psychologist, linguist and professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, “language is a window to the human mind”. The language you use reveals your thinking.
And Pinker and other experts believe that not only does your thinking brain drive the expression of your thoughts, but the use of language to express yourself can actually drive and influence your thinking.
Many people don’t realise or recognise this. They assume that writing is simply the act of capturing their thoughts in written words. That’s a mistake.
It’s important to realise the act of writing actually helps you formulate those thoughts. And the act of editing helps you reorder, reorganise and refine your thinking. The result is not just an idea better expressed, but the writing and editing of your thoughts usually leads to a better idea, better expressed.
Conversely, poorly worded communications can reflect poor formulated ideas. If you write badly, incoherently, or lazily, that is usually a reflection of your thoughts, as much as your ability to express them.
Pinker cites two other reasons you should endeavour to write clearly.
First, as we’ve referenced above, because your writing is designed to convey a message to your audience.
Second, and less obvious, it helps you create and negotiate a relationship with that audience. So how you write, and what you write, will shape that relationship. Which is something you need to think about, and carefully consider.
Which is another reason not to subcontract out negotiating that audience relationship to an AI.
Remember, writing clearly, requires thinking clearly. When you write well, it’s a sign you’ve a clear understanding of your work and what you want to say.
And when your writing lacks clarity, whether that be within a presentation, report or simple email, it’s a warning that you shouldn’t yet share your thoughts with an audience. Because it’s as likely those thoughts aren’t yet ready to be shared, not the way you’ve expressed them.
Instead, go back and edit your words. Because to rewrite your content, is to rethink it, to challenge your previous assumptions, the coherence of your arguments, and the logic, flow, structure, and style of your message.
You’ll be improving how you think about your work, your understanding of it, as much as how well you communicate it.
Source: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, Steven Pinker.
The beauty of nothing
A simple image that elegantly reminds us of the power of using negative space, and leading lines, in your designs.
If you and your colleagues want to learn more about design fundamentals, enrol at The Factual Storytelling School, where you can explore the course module Good Design And Why It Matters, covering topics such as:
1. APPRECIATE DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS
2. CREATE COMPELLING ENTRY POINTS
3. LEAD THE EYE
4. WHY LAYOUT MATTERS
5. USE COLOUR THEORY
6. THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTRAST
7. THE RULES OF TYPOGRAPHY
8. STYLE GUIDES MATTER
If you’d like to enrol and coach employees at your company, get in touch.
Huge discount on Adobe’s Creative Cloud content production tools
Today is Black Friday, and Adobe are promoting a 50% discount on its All Apps Creative Cloud plan, one of the most comprehensive and professional suites of content production tools available.
Individuals can get the 50% discount on Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and more plus generative AI tools powered by Adobe Firefly at Adobe’s Black Friday deal. The discounts apply for the first year only.
And hurry because the offer expires at the end of 24 November 2023.
Students and teachers can save an extra 18% on all Creative Cloud apps, while businesses can save over 30%.
Job opportunity!
Want to tell fantastic research stories?
One of the world’s leading universities, Imperial College London, is seeking an experienced and enthusiastic media officer or journalist to report on and promote the work of its world-leading medical researchers.
It’s a hybrid working role.
Read more, including details of the job offer, duties, responsibilities and salary, here.
Applications opened on the 23 November and close a week later on the 30 November 2023.