Why I am Really Afraid of AI

I never thought that I could make a living as a writer. I am 44 years old, and in my day (oh, dear, I really just said that!), it was a one-in-a-million shot. It was not unlike striving to be an actress, or a rock star. After all, when I was growing up in the 1980s, the internet was in its infancy. Most of us common folks never even heard of it. It was far from widespread. So, obviously, there were no self-published novels and no one needed SEO articles yet. Analog blogs were then called diaries, and they certainly weren’t published or broadcast.

There was very little need for an army of writers back then, and the opportunities that did exist were scarce. Seriously, good luck getting chosen to write for the finite amount of newspapers or magazines that existed. If you wanted to write a book, especially a work of fiction, you would have to get the approval of a publisher, who acted as a gatekeeper to your career and any possible success you may have. And, what about television? With only three major networks, and next to no original shows on cable yet, there were a limited number of positions available and you would have to be extremely good at your craft or extraordinarily lucky to grab a coveted spot. (BTW, I stand with WGA!)

I was told over and over that I had a gift, but not to get too excited because I will never make a living doing what I’m good at (a hobby that I had grown to love). No, I should go to college or trade school to do something that will lead to steady work and a solid mode of living. I needed to find something practical, they said. And, you know what? After working tedious and unrewarding restaurant and retail jobs for a decade, I agreed. I went back to school at age 29, while already a full-fledged adult, and already a mother, and delved head-first into the idea of becoming a lawyer. I went for a full four-year accelerated degree program to expedite getting my bachelor’s degree, much to the pride of my beloved grandfather, as I told him on his deathbed.

I was writing constantly, and I was happy. I wrote extensively and thoroughly. I realized I could still write well and do it really fast. I enjoyed it, and I really felt at home while I was in school. It felt natural and comfortable. But, it was, of course, never the end game. It was the means to an end. Once I actually took my training and brought it into a real world scenario, i.e. a job, I was absolutely miserable. I never did go to law school, for personal reasons, but I figured that, with my undergrad degree, I could use my skills for legal research and writing. Unfortunately, by 2008, all lawyers wanted paralegals for was glorified secretarial work. I filed papers and fetched coffee, not unlike how I fetched coffee for customers on the midnight shift at Dunkin’ Donuts back in 1996.

One good thing, however, to come out of my post-secondary schooling, and $98,000 debt, was my admittedly-late discovery of the internet in the late aughts. I found communities that nurtured writers and creatives and fell into a world where great writing was not only appreciated, but sorely needed. That, of course, was the world of digital marketing and SEO. I realized early on (maybe not as early as my peers, but earlier than the Millennials that later jumped on the bandwagon) that I can actually make money doing what I have loved since childhood. I set out a digital shingle and orders simply poured in without much effort. Strong writers were a commodity, and most people that grew up before the rise of the internet didn’t have as much experience as I had. I just needed to know that I still had the raw talent.

You know what? It never mattered. The big money was always in writing quick, keyword-addled, ad copy. And, while many copywriters will blog endlessly about how Google algorithms forbid such spammy practices in 2023, I am here to tell you that this basic idea is still in practice today. So, I anted up and wrote those pieces to the best of my abilities. I tried my best to make every article thought-provoking and interesting. I mean, do you know how hard it is to make bathtubs and handrails for stairs sound exciting?

But, that was my job. And, it never really mattered, because no one read my content anyway. It was just as useful for its purpose as the one-cent-a-word copy that could be bought off of websites that exploited writers, asking them to compete with talent from third world countries. No one ever read it. It was just a cog in the marketing machine — a ploy used to trick Google and other search engines into placing the website of a given company, the client, first in search. This, naturally, brought the company more leads.

That was fine by me. After all, I was writing and getting paid. That was the dream that was presented to me as unattainable in the 1980s. But, now it is real. This is my life. I am a professional writer, which was something that I never thought that I could be. But, technology gives, and then, just as easily, technology takes away.

I lost my last copywriting client this month and I had no idea why. They were a digital marketing agency, and they were outsourcing the SEO writing to me, as many have in the past. I didn’t foresee any changes in the industry, and I thought it was only going to get better. Things seemed to be going well. They gave me up to 20 landing pages, as well as many other articles, to draft each week, and they always paid in a timely manner — until they didn’t.

I asked what was going on, and there really wasn’t any clear answer. It seemed like they didn’t want to speak with me directly. An hour later, I received an email stating dryly that my “services were no longer needed.” I was still working on a 22-page project at the time and I was told to drop it. There was no explanation given.

I got my answer once I started searching for more clients. ChatGPT had unceremoniously taken over my role in the copywriting industry. It was free on the web, and it could churn out boring, yet acceptable, articles, blog posts, and landing pages at a pace that no mere mortal could ever compete with. It single-handedly wiped out my industry, and it is not alarmist to say so. Please, if you are an employed copywriter, heed my advice — make other plans! It’s coming for you, and it will win.

I have seen several articles out there by the so-called gurus of internet writing saying that this is a defeatist attitude. I am telling you, as a businesswoman, that it would be insane for marketers NOT to use ChatGPT. I have taken a look at this wunderkind and it really does live up to all the hype. As a matter of fact, it has already jumped over the hurdles that the naysayers have preached would hold it back or make it a poor choice to use for writing content. I tested it myself yesterday by asking it about one particularly polarizing political figure, and it only spewed facts and no opinion whatsoever.

Additionally, the content it wrote for me, at a speed of six 500+ word articles in under two minutes, was grammatically sound, more-than-efficient for marketing use, and, I can relay, as an editor myself, not terrible to read. Perhaps it was a bit dry for my taste, and that, today, is the only advantage of hiring a human copywriter. We have emotions that machines don’t have — yet.

I am pleading with the internet — please stop giving copywriters hope when it comes to their careers. Now is the time for them to pivot to writing for podcasts, or drafting video scripts. It is not the time to stand your ground and go completely broke. There is no longer a market for copywriting, OR technical writing, as many are quick to counter. Do people really believe that AI doesn’t possess the ability to write about other technologies? Seriously?

Wake up, fellow writers. We are creatives, and now is the time to really use our talent — the talent that a machine could never innately possess — and use it to make more money than ever. We have always deserved to be more than drones for marketers and greedy corporations anyway.