Why Write?

In the age of Chatbots, why should anyone write? This is a question I asked myself long before AI made writing optional for most people. Writing takes time, time that could be spent doing something far more pleasurable than slouching over a desk, hunting letters with my fingers. A thousand or so words organized in a cognitively understandable way can take 4 or 5 hours, easily.

To clarify this I will explain my typical writing procedure. Of course, everyone has different methods. I'm sure many people are more efficient than me. But I think it's helpful to explain what writing is specific to me when I ask this question. 

First, before any writing begins I have to clear my mind of any noise. Not doing so will only result in me reflecting ideas into the world that are not truly mine. You may say no idea is authentically anyone's. We are all just bouncing ideas around in our collective consciousness. And to a degree, you would be right. I'm not so egotistical to think I somehow ever created a new idea from scratch. But I recognize the difference between simply repeating an idea and mixing it around in my head a bit, scraping from it what I do not like from it and adding pieces of other ideas to it. Mutating it into something that for good or bad is at least unique. 

Then I have to come out with a rough outline that will get me from the beginning of my idea and the end. This is a good time to gather witty phrases and metaphors. Then it's just a matter of finding the time and tools to write down my outline before my hungry unconscious swallow the idea before I can transcribe it to pen and paper. Many good ideas get swallowed up during this period. I console myself that when I lose ideas by telling myself my imagination feeds on this mental detritus.  

Now we get to the actual writing. This is when I often have to make a choice. Do I follow the outline or do I follow the trajectory of thoughts currently going threw my mind? Either way, I'll have to deal with my inner critic who is summoned by the creative process. He is excited to tell me every way every word, sentence, and paragraph is wrong. I find the best way to deal with him is to club him over the head, tie him up, and throw him in a trunk while swallowing the key. Then I push the trunk into a river and cement up the river. If I'm lucky I get to the end of the paragraph before I have to repeat the process. My inner critic is somewhat of a Houdini.  

Now after reading this, you might think I have some highly compartmentalized self-hate. Not true. My Self-critic is wonderful in many ways, but it is toxic to the beginning of the creative process. He is not allowed to play with me during that time. But after a few days of ignoring whatever I wrote, it's my inner critic's chance to contribute. Now he gets to go line by line to make sure someone who isn't me, who doesn't have all my internal footnotes will be able to understand what I communicating. Surprisingly he is often but not always more lenient with me during this stage of creation. I usually do this process 2 or 3 times to route out any lingering errors.

So you see it's a process. Why do I go through all this trouble? Some people do it for the money. I certainly don’t, but even if I did I probably would not get enough to go through this trouble. If I was doing it for the money I probably wouldn't spend as much time making sure everything was up to my standards. Pieces would only have to satisfy the desires of who was writing the check.   

What's more, if you pay any attention to the doom merchants out there it seems like writers are going to be replaced with chatbots. Now just to provide full transparency I do employ software to help me edit. It saves some me time and no doubt finds minor errors that I would miss. But it plays an extremely limited role in my writing. For better or worse the ideas, structure, tone, humor, and linguistic indulges of my writing are all me. That said people are going to employ new technology regardless of my feelings so I ask Chat GPT "Why won't Chatbots replace human writers" It Wrote back : 

"Chatbots have made significant advancements in recent years and can generate coherent and contextually relevant text. However, there are several reasons why chatbots are unlikely to completely replace human writers:

1. Creativity and Originality: Writing involves creativity, imagination, and the ability to think outside the box. While chatbots can produce text based on patterns and existing data, they often struggle to generate truly original and innovative ideas that captivate readers. Human writers possess unique perspectives, emotions, and life experiences that contribute to their ability to create compelling content.

2. Empathy and Emotional Connection: Writing that resonates with readers often relies on an emotional connection. Human writers have the capacity to understand and evoke emotions effectively, tailoring their work to engage readers on a deeper level. Chatbots lack the emotional intelligence to comprehend complex human experiences and struggles, making it challenging for them to create content that truly connects with audiences.

3. Subjectivity and Voice: Writing is not only about conveying information; it's about expressing a distinct voice and perspective. Different writers bring their own style, tone, and personality to their work. Chatbots, on the other hand, lack the individuality and subjective understanding necessary to mimic human writing styles convincingly.

4. Contextual Understanding: Writing often requires a nuanced understanding of context, cultural references, and the ability to adapt language to specific audiences. Chatbots may struggle to grasp subtle nuances, resulting in inappropriate or inaccurate responses. Human writers possess the ability to analyze and interpret information in context, tailoring their writing to suit the intended readership.

5. Adaptability and Learning: Language is constantly evolving, and writers need to stay updated with current trends and changes. Human writers can adapt their style and language use over time, learning from feedback and experience. Chatbots, although capable of machine learning, require extensive training and supervision to improve their writing abilities, limiting their adaptability.

While chatbots can assist with certain writing tasks, such as generating basic content or answering simple queries, they are unlikely to fully replace human writers who bring unique qualities and skills to the craft. The human touch in writing adds depth, emotion, and originality that are challenging for chatbots to replicate."

While I am impressed with the speed of the answer I am underwhelmed by the dept of it. All its answers see writing as merely a product to be consumed. While Chatbots are still a bit clunky if writing was of no more use to us than to produce content then I'd say it's time for humans to break up with keyboards. As technology advances noticeable discrepancies between humans and AI will drift further and further into the vanishing point until they become undetectable by human perception. I don’t think there is any X factor in human art that can't be replicated by sophisticated enough software. But if there exists an X factor then that X factor is present n the coding of the software that creates content for us. 

Art is more than isolated content. It's a human connection. We share a connection with those who create the art we consume. This is true even if we never share embodied space with them. Without this connection to another person, art has no meaning. We might as well talk to parrots and fall in love with sex dolls. 

But there is something deeper. We not only create art to connect to others, but to connect to ourselves. We connect to the dark part of our psyche that would be convenient to leave unperturbed. We connect to the person we could be in the world that could exist. Just as people lift weights not to rearrange heavy objects but to cultivate their strength artists don't work their craft to create art but to create themselves.

To quote Leonard Cohen "Art is the Ash". While some entrepreneur-minded pyromaniacs might be able to make a good wage selling soot most people stoke their fire for other reasons. To stay warm in a cold world. To light the dark. If people find some value in my ashes great. I certainly enjoy the ashes of others. But if not, I'll tend the fire just the same. 

Computers do not need to do this. They are content to collect dust, stream endless videos, or even create ash without fire. People are different. We need to create. It is no more a choice than fish having to swim. If we don't create consciously we will create unconsciously. We will blindly manifest our fears and anger into the world. We may create a story of how the world is evil and out to get us, maybe we will create a story of inertia, where we pretend we are powerless to do anything. Whatever it is that homunculus in our head is busy writing our reality for us, whether or not we retain editorial control over it or outsource it to AI.