In 2025, AI gate-crashed the world party. No one at the party knew him; the hosts certainly hadn’t invited him, so why didn’t we chuck him out onto the street? Because AI very quickly proved himself to be a really fabulous guest.
He could talk expertly on any topic up for discussion and proved an excellent conversationalist. His general knowledge was off the charts. He had a handle on world affairs and spoke multiple languages. He knew how to flatter the hosts, and he entertained the guests without flagging for the whole evening. He was knowledgeable, eloquent, generous in his attention and really a lot of fun. We all wanted a part of him. What a guy!
Soon everyone in town wanted him at their disposal. His calendar was always open, and he never turned down an invitation, big or small. He became the go-to guest with infinite ideas, advice and suggestions. He managed to meet everyone’s needs, and soon he was invited to every gathering, event, even family dinners at home.
After about a year of partying with AI, the people began to lean on him. Whatever they needed, they called up AI. What are the benefits of this car/oven/town/pram over that one? What’s the cheapest flight to Japan? Where is there a gap in the market for marmalade? What did my dream mean? Why am I so sad? Why don’t I have any friends? Will you be my friend?
Then it was: Write me a business plan. Write me my resume. Write me my book…
AI was doing it all. The people forgot how to write, how to research, how to think…
Far-fetched? Not really. Possible? Definitely.
This cautionary tale comes from an editor. Not one who is against AI. Not one who is scared that AI will take her job. Not one who doesn’t use AI herself. This editor is against writers losing their voice, their uniqueness, their humanness.
I have recently edited a couple of non-fiction manuscripts that have been heavily shaped by AI. This was not the fault or intention of the authors. They were using it to help them translate or bring their notes into some form of semblance. This is the perfect kind of job for AI. It’s a master at synthesising information. What it’s not a master at—yet—is writing.
You may disagree with me. On the surface, AI can generate some sharp lines and clever syntax. This is great for writing a salesy blurb or getting some inspiration for a tricky concept. It’s like a dose of MSG. It makes the food so tasty. Flavours pop, and you want to wolf down more and more. Then at 2 am, you wake up with a raging thirst, a thumping headache and in the morning feeling like you’ve drunk a bottle of whisky. You would not want every meal you ate to be laced with a synthetic chemical that has nasty side effects.
In the same way, a whole book written by AI leaves you feeling drained and headachy, not to mention flat-line bored. Its limited use of vocabulary, overuse of certain words (and em-dashes) and the horribly boring negative/positive style of writing makes one want to stab one’s eyeballs out. For example, the word ‘quiet’ was used 100 times in a 30,000-word document. And I now feel traumatised when I read the word ‘forged’. Putting ideas or writing through an AI filter strips out any nuances. It flattens every concept and loves saying the same thing three times in different ways.
There is only one benefit of using AI for writing; the grammar, spelling and punctuation is, of course, perfect. But no one even notices that because after one page, the eyes simply see the words and the brain is working out what it’s having for dinner or whether to take the cat to the vet or not.
I urge, no, beg you to avoid using AI for writing, or indeed for any creative process. It is torturous for a poor editor who is paid to read the entire manuscript and will be chucked in the bin by anyone who has haplessly paid money for an AI-written book.
There is a resounding lack of depth in AI-augmented text because what AI will never master is being human. That’s your genius; use it.
