AI Writing Has Destroyed Language
Why there is no turning back.
With the invention of AI writing and tools like ChatGPT, the world of words has reached an inflection point.
Before AI writing, people influenced language, with human creativity reigning supreme.
Things changed.
Now, with the creation of writing tools that do the work for you, people rely less on human-created tools like dictionaries and thesauruses.
Why spend hours racking your brain when ChatGPT does everything for you?
It’s not that writing tools make people stupid. These aids do, however, facilitate laziness.
Anyone can be a writer if they know how to use an AI tool.
Somewhere, Shakespeare weeps.
While writing shouldn’t be an elite club that only some can join, there should, however, be actual human writing involved.
The Purpose of Language
Before exploring how AI writing has reached the point of no return, it’s important to discuss the purpose of language.
Language serves many purposes, including the primary function of communication.
All species utilize communication to create understanding and build connections; it is essential for survival.
Without communicating one’s needs, survival is impossible.
Another reason for language is self-expression.
Words help a person express their feelings, needs, wants, and desires.
Again, self-expression is necessary for survival, especially for humans.
How Language Evolves
Language evolves over time to serve people and needs.
According to an article by a linguistics course via U Penn, language changes over time through the following methods:
social differentiation
language contact
natural processes in usage
Each of these concepts is human-driven.
Humans are in the driver’s seat, creating words and determining their popularity.
Without humans, human language would not exist.
Shakespeare’s Influence on English
Think about Shakespeare, a writer who transformed the English language, and by extension, other languages, with his creativity and genius.
The influence of Shakespeare cannot be overstated — he contributed to the standardization of the English language.
Additionally, Shakespeare added an estimated 1,700 words to the English language. The prolific writer did so by combining Latin, French, and other roots to create new words.
A few words created by Shakespeare include birthplace and radiance.
Not only did Shakespeare contribute to the standardization of the English language while creating new words, but he also popularized adverbs, and he did so delightfully.
Enter ChatGPT.
How ChatGPT and Writing Tools Work
The problem with ChatGPT is that people type in a prompt and get a result.
The prompt might say, “Write me a 300-word news article about the ways in which language evolves.”
The result will be a beautiful article that is formulaic and uses a few pre-determined words.
Next, a (lazy) writer might ask their favorite AI tool to create a gripping headline that will captivate audiences and garner clicks.
That headline might include words like unleash, unveil, unravel, unmask, or unlock.
When it’s time to create a subhead, the words might include magic, navigate, dive, delve, and tapestry.
Millions of people will read that headline, absorb the information, and inevitably, incorporate those words into their daily vernacular.
Instead of a human creating words and constructing sentences à la Shakespeare, a computer program is calling the shots.
Sure, a human developed the AI writing tool, but the words from which the tool is derived are seemingly finite.
Plus, AI writing artificially makes words more popular based on the decisions of an unnamed programmer, who decides what language to use.
That is, until the next update, where a new set of words becomes trendy.
Humans have lost control of one of their primary tools of survival.
How AI Writing Messes With Language
For the first time in history, algorithms and machines are deciding the prevalence of words and phrases.
Human history books will be written with AI writing from the perspective of an algorithm.
This is incredibly dystopian.
How can an algorithm express your needs and feelings better than you can?
How can an AI writing tool know what words best communicate your thoughts?
In my opinion, it cannot.
Humans should influence the way language evolves, not machines.