BEYOND COPYWRITING: THE FAR-REACHING EFFECTS OF AI

BEYOND COPYWRITING:
THE FAR-REACHING EFFECTS OF AI

In a world where AI now rivals the expertise of doctors and lawyers, my once-confident response of 'I’m not worried, no robot can write like me' has given way to a more unsettling realisation: AI's influence reaches far beyond copywriting alone.

Now, when someone asks me if I’m worried about AI's impact on my role as a copywriter, my reply has evolved: ‘Absolutely… we all should be.’

This might sound dramatic, but the reality is undeniable. AI's reach extends across industries and professions worldwide, transforming the way we work, and challenging traditional roles as we know them. 

AI—as it stands

While still in its infancy, AI is already an incredibly powerful tool. 

Recently an AI system detected early-stage breast cancer with remarkable accuracy, outperforming human radiologists. 

AI-powered platforms have also proven to be adept at quickly processing and analysing extensive legal databases, extracting relevant information, and identifying relevant precedents… Basically, doing the job of a lawyer in a much shorter time.  

Even hedge funds and investment firms are turning to AI to process vast amounts of financial data at lightning speed, identifying patterns and trends that human traders might miss. 

Let me ask you this… if AI can already outperform doctors, lawyers and financial advisors, then what place are real human professionals going to have in 5, 10, or 20 years’ time?

Ok, but what about the creative field?

Do I think AI can do my job, as of now? Absolutely not. I have spent many hours on ChatGPT, and use it daily as a tool to help with my work. 

And that’s the key word—help.

Because here’s the reality… what ChatGPT produces at the moment is not yet anywhere near the standard of what I give my clients. It’s mostly repurposed, regurgitated content that sounds much like a lot of what’s already out there—which is, of course—the opposite of what I am trying to achieve when I work with business owners who want to STAND OUT. 

It’s simply a useful tool to help cut down on the leg work… like an enthusiastic intern. 

The concern is not with AI and how it stands now. 

The concern is with what AI may become. 

AI—where it’s heading

AI will eventually, without proper regulation or control, become more intelligent than humans. Many experts predict this will happen by 2030, and what happens then is anyone’s guess. 

An article from the BBC summarised the concern perfectly:

Make no mistake, we are on a speeding train right now, and the concern is that one day it will start building its own tracks.

A recent headline from the Daily Mail also read:

How AI will change the world by 2030, according to eight experts: Tech could solve the energy crisis, add trillions to the global economy… or wipe out the human race. 

While I honestly never thought that I would quote The Daily Mail, in this case, the writer has a point. 

Even the experts are nervous…

Stephen Hawking has previously warned that AI could: 

'Take off on its own and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate, which humans, which are limited by biological evolution, would struggle to keep up with.

'We may face an intelligence explosion that ultimately results in machines whose intelligence exceeds ours by more than ours exceeds that of snails.'

If that doesn’t scare you, even just a little bit, then I am truly envious of your optimism. 

Even OpenAI CEO and ChatGPT creator Sam Altman recently admitted that he is ‘a little bit scared’ of the potential of the AI chatbot, saying that he knows that ChatGPT can ‘eliminate’ many human jobs.

You probably also heard that Geoffrey Hinton, who is widely known as the godfather of artificial intelligence, announced his resignation from Google, saying he now regretted the work to which he dedicated his life.

He spoke of his concerns about the flood of misinformation, the possibility for AI to upend the job market, and the ‘existential risk’ posed by the creation of a true digital intelligence.

Key figures in AI have written an open letter, calling for a pause on all developments so robust safety measures can be designed and implemented. 

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and even Yoshua Bengio, another so-called godfather of AI, have all signed. Bengio said that because of the ‘unexpected acceleration’ in AI systems, ‘we need to take a step back’.

The best friend and colleague you could ask for…

It’s not all bad, obviously. 

First, AI offers incredible possibilities. It predicts and mitigates natural disasters, advances healthcare with rapid diagnostics and drug discovery, and champions environmental conservation and sustainability through its work in monitoring ecosystems and optimizing energy consumption to combat climate change. There’s no doubt it will save many, many lives.

And, while it’s expected AI will replace many jobs, it’s also expected to create more. 

Also, AI cannot express Emotional Intelligence, so those with high EI, who can easily manifest traits like empathy, creativity and critical thinking, will likely be safer. 

The founder of Chat GPT has also admitted that models like ChatGPT were ‘good at doing tasks, not jobs’ and would therefore make work easier for people, without replacing them altogether (although I do wonder, is he just trying to soften the blow?)

I think the key is to—for the moment at least—recognise that AI is not here to replace us, but rather to collaborate with us. 

For us copywriters, AI can help speed up research and generate ideas, amplifying our productivity and enabling us to focus on higher-level thinking—like crafting more compelling brand stories. 

The AI-generated content becomes a foundation upon which we build, using our human creativity to infuse personality, emotions, and unique perspectives that resonate with our audiences.

This collaboration will not only elevate the quality of our work, but also frees us of the mundane leg work that weighs us down in the early stages of a project.

If used correctly, AI should enhance our abilities, rather than replace them.

Embracing the era of AI

The question is no longer whether AI will take jobs. That much is obvious. The more important issue for us—all of us—is learning how to stay relevant amid the AI revolution. And how to develop skills that AI is less likely to replicate. 

Part of this is learning how to use AI as an ally, rather than a competitor. If we don’t learn to navigate this new collaboration between (wo)man and machine, then we will be left behind. 

Way, way behind. 

And if we do learn to harness its power properly? 

We’ll end up in a place where human creativity, empathy, and imagination blend seamlessly with the power of AI, pushing the boundaries of human achievement beyond what we ever thought possible.