GPTs
Figuring out AI for writing
Despite everyone having an incredible camera, photographers still make money. Despite photography, painters still make money. Despite factory farms, organic farms still exist. We have unlimited music at our fingertips, and musicians are still in business.
Technology evolves art forms. AI is a tool for talented writers to be even better, productive, and enjoy their craft.
My favorite authors of 2023 were David Goggins, Mike Ma, Jed McKenna, and Kurt Vonnegut. I also enjoyed reading essays from
and .I didn’t read much purely AI-generated content, if any. At the end of the day, humans want other humans. I’ll never look to Claude, Gemini, or Grok as an inspirational role model. ChatGPT will not be my guru. Software programs cannot inspire me as a human can, because I am a human, not a software program. I like creators who I want to be like. Does anyone want to be ChatGPT? No.
Some of my favorite writers are using AI to assist them. I am too. Wielded well, tech is a useful tool that helps us write while preserving our humanity.
GPT as a Writing Tool
Tools I use for writing include Google Docs, Grammarly, the Internet, copy/paste, printers, journals, and pens. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with GPTs for ideation, re-writing, and editing. It can be useful. But so far, I don’t love collaborating with a GPT by copy/pasting text and prompting it, so I rarely do. I want it to feel seamless and make my process more enjoyable. For ideation and general feedback, I prefer to collaborate with humans.
But for proofreading and readability, silicon intelligence is serving me well. The AI tools I use the most (ones I’m using as I write this) are Chrome extensions: Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and LanguageTool. The integration into the workflow is effortless. While I write, they provide suggestions without being overbearing (ProWritingAid helped me re-write this sentence). It’s helpful and seamless, but its capabilities are limited. It’s not customized to my style.
I recently learned about Google Docs Extensions/Add-Ons. Click Extensions, Add-Ons, Get add-ons, then browse the “Google Workspace Marketplace”. I just started doing this today. I haven’t found anything particularly useful yet, but eventually I will, and I’ll keep you posted.
I see GPTs writing content exactly how I would not write it. Wordy, boring, cliché. Run-of-the-mill, devoid of unique personal experience and authenticity. This makes sense because a GPT is mathematics predicting which word is most likely to come next based on the large amount of text it’s trained on. Naturally, it’s average at best. Average is boring.
The next thing I will try is a GPT trained on my writing, preferences, and audience, seamlessly integrated into Google Docs. At the click of a button, it will drop thought-provoking comments and suggestions based on my favorite prompts/inquiries. No more copying and pasting.
My standard for writing is high. Relative to the total population, there are few great writers. I’m trying to be a great writer. It isn’t easy. We need all the help we can get.
Always More to Learn
I talked with
, a writer and high school English teacher who’s developing “AI-responsive instructional methods” for schools.Nick told me he worked on a writing piece for 7 hours, then collaborated with a GPT to finish it, saving him multiple hours of work that he didn’t want to do.
“Fill it with content,” he said. “Dump all your good stuff in. It can apply ten different finishes. It increases efficiency.”
He said he divides his writing practice into AI “assisted" and "unassisted”.
“In the "unassisted" category is my top-shelf articles and work deliverables--the stuff that needs my finest stuff from start to finish. In the "assisted" category is my more mundane writing tasks. These assisted projects take a lot of work upfront, but don't require the same level of polish on the back end.”
Nick sees GPTs as most valuable when you put in 80%, then it can help with the final 20%.
“My big insight is: don't let GPT actually rework your text. Ask it for a list of very detailed suggestions. Ask it to list them out by paragraphs. Feed the text in by paragraph and ask for comments. Try to slow down the AI. Try to get it to reveal its thought process.”
Nick says he has moved beyond reading and writing “X number of AI tools” articles. He’s working on an entire AI curriculum.
On the back burner, I am working on a free writing workshop that includes AI skills. It will be filled with group, partner, and solo activities. The workshop is for consistent writers who want to level up, monetize, and have fun doing it. Subscribe/comment/DM for more info. As well, I suggest subscribing to
by .Optimistic Perspective on GPT Usage
It can automate boring, utilitarian writing, like emails, legal work, sales, copy, and soulless SEO.
It can quickly provide proofreading, line/structure suggestions, and feedback, which the creator can take into consideration.
It can serve as a tool to enhance creativity through conversation and ideation.
It can create more brilliance from brilliance. An artist can feed it great work and the GPT can expand on it. I’m speculating here.
GPTs can show what the average/mediocre writing is, so you can avoid writing that.
I don’t see how anyone is losing here.
Some of the risks of GPT usage are reducing authenticity, plagiarism, and atrophying writing skills. Don’t outsource; learn from the GPT.
Hierarchy in the market
Average Writer < GPT < Average Writer + GPT < Great Writer < Great Writer + GPT
A great writer who wields a great GPT could create unfathomably large bodies of high-quality work. Thousands of quality books published in one lifetime. Perhaps that will be you. I hope so.
Matchmaking
In a world with many options, I think that AI can help with matchmaking. There are already so many great books to read, people to meet, places to go, and things to work on. I hope neural nets can help partners find each other. I hope it can help me find the books I’ll enjoy reading, people I’ll enjoy meeting, music I’ll enjoy hearing, and so on. Like a suggested playlist, but for my entire life.
I hope AI can identify the right readers for my writing and deliver my books to them. Just as the TikTok and YouTube algorithms are brilliant for matching viewers with videos, AI could match humans with books, places, work, and other humans.
This is my optimistic vision.
In what ways are you using AI/LLMs/GPTs?
Thanks be to
and Jenny M for feedback on this essay.Fun fact: GPT stands for “Generative Pre-Trained Transformer”. Who cares, anyway.
I put this essay into Grok in Fun Mode. It replied:
“I think you've hit the nail on the head with your assessment of the situation. AI is a tool that can help writers become more efficient and productive, but it's not a replacement for the human touch. The best writing comes from a combination of technology and human creativity, and that's something no AI can replicate.
So, let's raise a glass to the future of writing, where humans and AI work together to create amazing content. Cheers to that!”
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Have a great rest of your day.
Thanks be to
and for comments on my drafts. You guys are awesome.Photos and Music
Have you checked out lex.page ? It has several LLM-powered features baked in that can be pretty helpful, particularly the "check" feature that embeds suggested changes/comments right into your doc.
Wow... Chris, this article turned out amazing. This week, I have been playing around with Claude 3. This tool is amazing. Its ability to synthesize and role play is incredible. Thinking about hanging up my GPT subscription.