The field of copywriters may provide a window into the future if you're concerned about how AI may impact your line of work.
Early in 2023, writer Benjamin Miller (not his actual name) was in high demand. In order to promote a digital firm that compiles and resells data on everything from real estate to used automobiles, he oversaw a staff of more than sixty writers and editors who produced blog posts and articles. Miller adds, "It was really engaging work," where he was able to use his ideas and engage with subject matter experts on a range of projects. However, Miller's manager informed him of a new project one day.
"They wanted to use AI to cut down on costs," according to him. (Miller requested that the BBC not use his or the company's name, and he signed a non-disclosure agreement.) The company unveiled an automated method a month later. An AI model would create an outline based on the headline that Miller's manager would enter into an online form, and Miller would get an alert on his computer. His writers would base their pieces on those guidelines rather than coming up with original ideas, and Miller would provide a final edit before the tales were released. Miller was informed of an additional layer of automation just months after he had to adjust. The majority of ChatGPT's staff was let go, and he would henceforth compose the articles in their entirety. The remaining few were given an even less imaginative task: adding human voices to ChatGPT's poor writing.
Miller was left alone after the corporation let go of the remainder of his crew in 2024. "All of a sudden I was just doing everyone's job," Miller recalls. Every day, he'd examine the AI-written papers to remedy the robot's formulaic errors, cranking out the labor that used to employ hundreds of humans.
Artificial Intelligence is being used in several sectors to generate tasks that were previously limited to human thought.
"Mostly, it was just about cleaning things up as well as making what was written sound less awkward, cutting out weirdly formal or over-enthusiastic language," Miller explains. "I had to edit more than when working with human authors, but the revisions were always the same. The main issue was that it was monotonous and repetitious. I began to feel as if I was the robot."
Miller's experience points to a more widespread change. Artificial Intelligence is being used in several sectors to generate tasks that were previously limited to human thought. Although AI is often less costly than a human, early adopters quickly discover that it isn't always as capable as they are. In order to give the algorithms a little humanity, individuals like Miller are now being encouraged to work along with the same machines that are robbing them of their jobs. This hidden army helps to make AI seem more advanced than it really is.
This will only be a stopgap measure if AI becomes much more efficient. If not, Miller's tale might serve as a sneak peek at future developments in other fields.
Will artificial intelligence take your job? It's hard to determine. We're at an unnerving crossroads, where some scientists warn that extremely intelligent robots will soon replace most human jobs, while others say the technology may never even reach that degree. Some believe that rather than rivalry, the future will be one of human partnership with AI.
On a far smaller scale, however, some employees are already dealing with upsetting outcomes. If generative AI-powered huge language models are capable of anything, it's connecting words and paragraphs, which puts certain authors in a powerful position.
One of the primary causes of the US screenwriters' strike last year was fear of losing their jobs to AI-powered writing tools. Concerns over their future are also shared by other creative sectors due to the introduction of AI technologies that can create music, video, and graphics from scratch.
We're adding the "human touch," but doing so often necessitates a thorough developmental edit of the written work - Catrina Cowart
Copywriters, who create marketing collateral and other content for companies, are already feeling the effects. AI is a boon in several areas of the copywriting industry. It may be a helpful tool that boosts creativity and expedites work. However, some copywriters—particularly those in their early careers—claim that AI is making it more difficult to get employment.
However, others have also noted the emergence of a new, much lower paying gig: correcting the poor writing of the robots. Copywriter Catrina Cowart, of Lexington, Kentucky, US, says, "We're restoring the human touch, but that often involves performing a deep, developmental edit on a piece of writing." Cowart has experience editing content generated by artificial intelligence."The word choice and grammar simply sound off. You're continually chopping out fancy terms like 'therefore' and 'nevertheless' that don't belong in informal writing. AI basically makes stuff up, so you have to fact-check the whole thing, which takes a very long time since it's not just large concepts. AI experiences these careless small things in little sentences that you would never notice."
According to Cowart, AI-humanizing often requires more time than starting from scratch, but the compensation is lower. The maximum payment per word on the employment sites where this work is available is often 10 cents (£0.08). However, that's when you write. Since this is seen as an editing job, you usually only get paid between one and five cents (£0.008 and £0.04) per word," the speaker adds. "It's tedious, horrible work, and they pay you next to nothing for it," explains Cowart.
Similar instances of lower-paid workers silently operating machines have been seen in other sectors. These workers have done anything from intervene to assist with automated ordering systems to labeling the original photos that AI vision systems were trained on. Rebecca Dugas has been an amazing co-creative collaborator.
But for those in the copywriting industry, how individuals handle AI and where they are in their careers will determine whether it's a good or negative thing. Writing professionals claim that incorporating the tools into their approach might even enhance their output.
The American authors and Artists Institute (AWAI), a resource and training organization for independent authors, provides its members with a range of artificial intelligence courses. According to AWAI President Rebecca Matter, AI courses are now by far the most popular program the institution offers. Matter describes it as "a fantastic tool." "The danger for those who pursue careers in copywriting is not that AI will replace them, but rather that they will need to adjust. That may be unpleasant, but I believe it's a big opportunity."
Matter reports that the majority of the authors she knows have had no trouble adjusting to life in the AI environment. It's gotten so ingrained in the copywriting process, in fact, that many authors now have personal "AI policies" outlining their technology use on their business websites.
Nine-year copywriter Rebecca Dugas calls artificial intelligence (AI) a "godsend" since it allows her to do the same caliber of work in a quarter of the time.
"I use AI whenever my clients are comfortable with it," she states. "It's been an amazing co-creative partner, whether it's brainstorming, market research, or reworking paragraphs when I'm beating my head against the wall."
However, Dugas is aware that customers could be wary of the technology. According to her own AI policy, Dugas is willing to give up AI for those who would rather not have it, but the cost will increase. Her AI-free projects cost more since they involve more time and mental effort.
Dugas predicts that as AI advances, some companies may stop paying humans and instead use ChatGPT and other technologies for their writing requirements. "But I think even now we're getting to the point where companies are coming to understand that if you don't understand copywriting, therefore can't judge the effectiveness of what the AI produces," she continues. Dugas says that this implies that there will always be lucrative writing jobs available for gifted and seasoned authors.
Miller's stint humanizing AI came to an abrupt end.
Conversely, copywriters at the bottom of the profession may not be as fortunate. Many people in similar situation today are caught up in a uniquely contemporary web of paradoxes.
Website owners that wish to write content that will increase their Google traffic often hire copywriters. But in the last year, Google has made many noteworthy statements on its efforts to eliminate "unhelpful" material from search results. This raised concerns that websites hosting AI-generated material would face penalties from the tech giant. Google argues that AI-written material is acceptable if it is of a high quality, but these guarantees haven't allayed worries.
Because of this, running text using AI detection tools has become standard procedure in certain circles of the copywriting community. Many authors even claim they have lost their employment as a result of bogus charges made by AI detectors in the last year.
Cowart claims that a number of the same freelance writing sites that use AI detection tools are also using humans to proofread work generated by chatbots. This implies that in some areas of the industrial ecosystem, preventing the emergence of artificial intelligence is the main focus of practically everything.
"They're selling AI content and paying you to fix it, in addition to the same time they're sending you emails describing how to write like a human so you don't trigger their AI detector," Cowart adds. "It's so insulting." Even worse, the criteria governing what may be deemed to be artificial intelligence in your writing are always changing since the detectors are updated often to reflect new developments from the firms that produce AI chatbots. "There are a million ways to express the same thing in English, which one is more human? It's irritating. The guesswork bothers me," she declares.
Miller's attempt to humanize AI ended suddenly. He was summoned into an unexpected meeting after months of doing the same editing tasks over and again. He lost his job on April 5, 2024, the same day that a powerful earthquake rocked his city of New York. The business came to the conclusion that Miller was simply one more pointless human involvement.
"I more or less got automated out of a job," Miller says.
Fortunately, it wasn't long until Miller discovered a fresh, albeit very humorous, opportunity. He acquired a position at Undetectable AI, a technological business that produces technologies to make AI writing harder to spot. In other words, Miller is aiding a firm that's employing AI to accomplish the task he was pushed into when AI stole his job in the first place.
The CEO of Undetectable AI, Bars Juhasz, is upbeat about the future of employment but acknowledges that tools like the ones his business makes will undoubtedly have some negative consequences on the labor market. "When the first vehicle was launched, many thought it meant the end of the world since they were used to horses and carts. But society adjusts," adds Juhasz. "I predict that a large number of employment will be replaced, with freelancers suffering the most. I do have sympathy for them. However, these individuals who are compensated for humanizing AI are excellent swindlers. Although it's not a perfect job, they have successfully identified a new position at a time when productivity is being redefined. Individuals that are proficient in using the technology will do well."
Miller's memories of his time spent in the AI-humanization mines are not positive ones. "I contributed to a lot of the garbage that's filling the internet and destroying it," he claims. "Nobody was even reading this stuff by the time I left because it's just trash." Miller believes that in the end, the business will simply remove the AI pieces he contributed to. "It will seem as if it never took place.
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