My question is though, how many of these people who are supposedly offloading the mental energy of writing onto ChatGPT are good writers in the first place? And are they really delegating that much substantive thought?
I think the pg comment presupposes that most people currently know how to write, and I just don’t think that’s the case, at all. At least not to the extent that doing less writing (or using an AI) will dramatically reshape their modes of thought (much less the trajectory of human thought as a whole).
Also, I’m not saying that written communication is the be-all, end-all of human intellect - I think I’m a fairly good writer (used to be better, though) but a fairly poor verbal communicator. I know lots of people who are great verbal communicators but not-great not-terrible writers. Some people are great at both, and some people aren’t good at either. But it’s all part of the mix of original human thought.
I guess when we get to the stage that a 21st century Orwell is using AI to write his books, then I’ll worry that we’re stunting human potential, but until then it just doesn’t seem to me like much original thought it getting displaced here. Yet, anyway.
I think the pg comment presupposes that most people currently know how to write, and I just don’t think that’s the case, at all. At least not to the extent that doing less writing (or using an AI) will dramatically reshape their modes of thought (much less the trajectory of human thought as a whole).
Also, I’m not saying that written communication is the be-all, end-all of human intellect - I think I’m a fairly good writer (used to be better, though) but a fairly poor verbal communicator. I know lots of people who are great verbal communicators but not-great not-terrible writers. Some people are great at both, and some people aren’t good at either. But it’s all part of the mix of original human thought.
I guess when we get to the stage that a 21st century Orwell is using AI to write his books, then I’ll worry that we’re stunting human potential, but until then it just doesn’t seem to me like much original thought it getting displaced here. Yet, anyway.