Chat GPT: Carpenter's Tools for Writers, Not A Replacement.

Just try giving a random person a bunch of Carpenter's tools and see if they can build a house.

After experimenting with GPT3 (specifically Chat GPT), I've come to the conclusion that it cannot replace human writers. However, I do think it can be a useful tool, much like how mathematicians use calculators. It can be a writing aid for those who need it, but it won't make anyone a great writer on its own.

Remember when you were back in school and the teach would say “calculators are not allowed in the exam!!”  Well that era has since gone and now almost all schools use calculators

I would compare Chat GPT to a set of carpenter's tools. Just because you give someone a saw, hammer, nails, and other tools doesn't mean they can build a house. It takes a skilled carpenter to do that. Similarly, Chat DBT can enhance a writer's abilities, but it won't replace the skill and talent of a good writer.

Moving forward, I believe Chat GPT will be a helpful tool for writers who want to improve their writing.  Here are some ways it can help out: 

1.     Brainstorming: Chat GPT can provide writers with new ideas and perspectives that they may not have considered before, helping them to come up with fresh content.

2.     Inspiration: Writers can use Chat GPT to generate certain viewpoints, perspectives, and voices.  While it is not a copy and paste situation, it can metaphorically lead to the first domino to fall into a series cascading inspiration streams.

3.     Editing and Revision: Chat GPT can be used to identify and correct grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, and other issues that may need to be addressed during the editing and revision process.  This is a MUCH better faster and less confusing tool than the Hemingway app.  However keep in mind that Chat GPT is extremely biased, and rewrote a neutral passage I wrote about the gold standard into a paragraph that is against it. 

4.     Research: Chat GPT can help writers to research topics more much faster than Google, providing them with relevant information and sources to support their writing.  If anything, Google should be scared by this new technology, not human writers. 

5.     Time-saving: By using Chat GPT to automate certain tasks like generating outlines or summaries, writers can save time and focus on other aspects of their work.  Sometimes, you do a lot of research and you need it to be distilled.   This is by far one of the more useful abilities.  However be careful since it is imperfect, and requires careful monitoring.  You cannot simply “spray and pray.”  Again with its biases, it tends to cut out details that does not agree with the mainstream narrative. 

There are some things that Chat GPT can do to help writers out.  Just my opinion, writers in general should at the very least experiment with it.  In the hands of a skilled writer it can save a lot of time and reduce the need for editors. 

It is up to the person to use this technology or not, but it can be fun just trying things out. 

Writers do not need to feel scared using this new technology. 

So go ahead, experiment away.  Just like how a set of carpenter’s tools cannot build a house by itself, the newest technology can help carpenters make better houses more efficiently