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120 sats \ 2 replies \ @cryotosensei 1 Feb \ on: Do you think less of people who use AI to help them write? culture
Hi @SimpleStacker
I am a teacher (and English, at that!) myself and use AI to help me write haha.
So before I question the way my students use AI in their educational journey, I gotta examine my own attitudes, right?
I typically write my first drafts before submitting it to ChatGPT (though I increasingly think ChatGPT is shit and lean on Google Bard more). This is especially so when I need to send an email to the entire school. I don’t want people to think that my emails are not formal and professional enough.
Of course, I think about my audience. My colleagues may not be English-trained, so sometimes I remove the fluff from these AI chat bots so that I can say more with less.
I do write a freelance article monthly for a Japanese travel website. Similarly, I submit my first drafts to ChatGPT/Bard and edit the responses they churn out. I think doing so just shows respect for my editor because I’m using AI to submit the best work I can. I think the key thing to note is to be self-aware. These LLMs have their biases in choosing the next frequently used word from my text. I have noticed that they love using “entranced”, “captivated”, “enchanted” etc as recommendations to improve my work. However, do I really want to use “enchanted” in this sentence? AI opens up possibilities in the variety of words I can use - but I need to make the final call because I take pride in my work.
When it comes to writing for SN, well I type on the go. No AI involved. Sometimes I think our imperfections as writers are the secret ingredient that makes our writing resonate with others. Beneath the text, I hope that my reader know that there is a spunky spirit within me, eager to share my unique POV. That’s all.
If my students use AI as judiciously as I do, I will give them two thumbs up haha 👍 👍
Your point about words like "entranced", "captivated", and "enchanted" is super interesting, because this year I was on our hiring committee and I had to read a lot of cover letters. You have no idea how often I felt like I was reading carbon copies of the same phrases over and over again, like "your esteemed institution" and "renowned faculty".
I think AI will lead us to an interesting equilibrium, where you will actually be penalized if you sound too much like a bot. I know from reading these cover letters that when I saw these overused words I already had a lower impression of the candidate. Perhaps this is unfair, but it's how I feel.
That being said, I have no problem with people using AI as an assistant as long as the thoughts are their own and they try to at least retain some personality of their own.
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Oh my goodness, esteemed institution is cringe. Who speaks like this in real life?
You know what the scary thing is? The general public thinks that such formulaic phrases are considered instances of good writing.
I edited my Hospitality colleague’s school graduation certificates last year. It was obvious that he had relied on ChatGPT a bit too much. I made life difficult for myself by streamlining his bombastic and empty-sounding sentences haha. I was sympathetic though because I understand that reliance on AI might be due to a lack of confidence in one’s writing. So, later this month, I’m going to conduct a mini workshop for my colleagues on how to use ChatGPT to write one’s graduating certificates while retaining their unique inner voices.
After all, the simplest words say the most sometimes.
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