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Work is a sideline, live the holiday
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
[Image: Pexels]
By now, you’ve probably seen someone online frothing at the mouth because a writer dared to use ChatGPT. “It lacks soul!” they cry. “It’s too clean!” they wail. “It uses words like delve and pivot unironically!”
Yes, yes, and yes. But is that a reason to stage a digital witch hunt? You’d think the person had forged a handwritten letter from Jane Austen referring to Mr Darcy’s rizz, rather than asking a robot to help write a LinkedIn post.
By now, most literate people can spot the signs of AI writing. The unnervingly balanced tone, the overuse of key words like moreover, compelling, and innovative, and especially the irritating dash in every paragraph. Reading AI writing gives you the subtle feeling that you’re being politely yet condescendingly guided through an argument by someone who knows they’re smarter than you.
It’s the linguistic equivalent of LinkedIn – Polished to a shine and just a little too enthusiastic about synergy. But here’s the thing: Does it really matter?
We don’t object when someone uses a calculator to work out a quote, and neither do we clutch our pearls when architects use CAD instead of sketching blueprints with a pencil. Yet writing, especially the formal and informative kind, is treated like some sacred act that must remain unsullied by anything beyond Word?
Maybe it’s ego. Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe it’s your boss secretly enjoying being the only one who could construct a sentence like “We must pivot toward scalable solutions”.
The truth is, most writing isn’t about the pure art; it’s about communication and clarity. Most of what we read these days doesn’t require much imagination, and for news, reports, and emails to your colleagues, AI will do just fine. And if it’s art you want, there are thousands of human writers out there who still practice the craft like back in the Bard’s time.
Using ChatGPT also doesn’t guarantee good writing – sure, it can chop things fast, but you still need to know what you’re trying to make. Otherwise, you end up with a weird, beige smoothie of clichés and buzzwords.
Next time someone gets busted using ChatGPT, let’s all take a deep breath and ask ourselves: Is it readable? Is it accurate? Would it really matter if this whole article is written by AI, except for one sentence?
Can you even spot it?
[Source: ChatGPT]
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