Let’s Talk AI-Generated Content

I'm a writer, and I get it. AI has squeezed my jobs, and I am looking for solutions. But before you scroll on thinking this is just another disgruntled writer bitching about AI, let me ask you something:

If you’re using AI instead of a human writer, where does your content come from, and where does it go next?

I'll be honest: I don't love AI, but I'm not quite ready to abandon it yet. We have to get to know AI, understand it, look the beast in the eye, and then decide how to proceed with it, without it or against it.

In learning more about AI, I found some significant challenges that some might not realize.

What is “Open Source?”

Would you trust me to write content for you and not share sources? Probably not. Why are you trusting AI? Using open-source AI has some problems we need to talk about. My research has been prompted by losing jobs with feedback like, "Why would I pay you when I can have AI do it for free?" And this is downright dangerous. If your BFF AI is citing its sources, you need to follow up and ensure the source is reputable, available for you to use and cited correctly. If AI is NOT citing sources, you need to do some homework to ensure your content is not flawed.

There is also a greater risk of plagiarism. Not just ripping off content word-for-word, but ‘borrowing’ concepts, ideas, and thought threads without permission is unethical and could even be illegal. Using AI doesn’t give you an ethical pass. You have to respect others’ work just as you would if you were writing it on your own.

Here is my actual lived experience with AI: AI will lie to you, and you have no recourse because AI is not accountable. I’ve used AI and had it use incorrect sources, made-up links, or irrelevant links. I’m not suggesting this is everyone’s experience every time, but it can and has happened.

TLDR: You can’t let AI populate all of your content needs without guardrails. You still have to do some of the work.

Garbage In, Garbage Out is Still a Thing

If you have migrated to an AI product that is not strictly open-source, then you’re on the right path. Yes, AI is capable of "learning;" however, it only knows what you tell it. What are you feeding your AI? Is someone else feeding it? What are they saying? Where are they getting this info from? If you're not monitoring your AI from input to output, you might be missing something and opening yourself up to trouble.

AI Doesn’t Get You Like I Get You

We must remember that no matter how good AI is, it will always lack some thought functions that only a person can provide. AI does not have consciousness or unconsciousness; it is only capable of mimicking human thought and only if it is programmed to do that. AI cannot reference actual lived experience. It can’t necessarily draw conclusions, it can’t reason, it doesn’t understand the nuances of your local business. It just doesn’t “get” you like a person can.

For example, let's say you have a business in neighborhood A and open another location in neighborhood B. Hood B has a different vibe, and you want to make that a big selling point. AI will likely not understand the subtle differences between A and B.

Yes, prompting can help. But then, who creates your prompts? Can you create a prompt directing AI to learn about both neighborhoods while still making good content for your needs? How do you tell AI what is most essential while still forcing it to consider secondary external factors? How do you teach it to "get" your brand, convey your messages, and create the best copy around? It seems easier to hire someone, doesn't it? Yes, I am available.

Prompts

Speaking of prompts, what do you know about them? Do you know how to prompt AI to get the best results? Maybe not, and that could lead to some less-than-awesome results.

Prompting your AI is critical. Just like you might want to meet with a writer to discuss everything important to you and your business, you need to tell AI the who, what, where, why, and how of what you need. But instead of discussing essential points with someone, you must condense your needs into a prompt. Most AI tools have a character prompt limit. Whereas you could talk to me for an hour about the perfect content, I would take notes and refer back to them as I crafted relevant and stunning content for you. Isn't that a better way to get great results?

If you write prompts, your character limit is around 2-4000 characters. And, if you're writing that much just for a prompt, why not hire a writer?

What Happens to Your Content?

Let's say you've mastered prompts and are off and running with an AI bot you love. I'm happy for you, truly. Just one last quick question: What will your AI BFF do with your content once it's delivered to you? After you copy and paste it, what is AI doing with that content? You don't own that content, and what happens next is out of your control.

Would you be shocked to learn that some AI apps will continue to use that content as a dataset or part of a dataset for other users? All that glorious content you just got is now being used as input for others. And, since you didn’t write it, you don’t own it, and it's out of your hands.

It's true that AI uses all forms of input to create content. Once delivered, it keeps the prompts and content as it learns more for subsequent users. It's not secure, it's not discriminating, and your data is not safe. If you're creating content around proprietary information or anything with PII, you should not trust AI to keep your secrets. And (I cannot stress this enough) since you didn't actually write it (AI did), you might not even own the content. Think about that.

So, What’s the Answer?

There are many solutions if you want to use AI for written content. You just need to get smart and get some answers about where your content comes from and where it goes. Or, hire someone who knows what they're doing to help you. And, yes, I can help you with all of this.

I can’t speak to everyone’s experience with AI, but I’ll tell you this as a writer: I do research, I cite actual sources, I make sure I have the right to use material, I can understand your brand and concepts, and you can hold me accountable. Does AI do all that for free?