Dear all,
Lately, I am observing this disturbing trend on X (Twitter), where the writing community is acting so puritanically, using its collective arrogance to put down anyone using AI. As I opened the platform this morning sipping my regular cup of tea, I found a writer asking why people should use AI to compose a tweet? “Can’t they write even that?” was his question. It annoyed me so badly that I replied with unusual fury. “What if the user has Cerebral Palsy? What if he or she cannot hold their fingers steady to type on a touchpad? Should they always post their tweets with typos to prove that they are not using AI? Stop being condescending. I wish the world is as neat, as perfect, and as able as you imagine, but unfortunately it is not.” I am not sure if I should have exploded the way I did, but it annoys me to no end when people sneer at someone who they think uses technology because they are less capable as writers. Probably because it hits closer to home. I frequently point out to people that I have been a writer for twenty-five years (and I have written without AI). I am totally blind and use laptops and smartphones with screen readers. I used to put out tweets and social media posts with typos because the screen reader may not read something properly or the platform itself could be so frustratingly inaccessible for my screen reader. But with AI, I find a way to post a tweet that reads clean. Rather than focusing on what I say, they are worried about what tools I use to say it, which is none of anyone’s business, so long as I do not openly copy or plagiarise, which I do not do or approve. If the use of technology is your problem, we have been using some form of writing assistance for centuries. The dictionary gives us the meaning of a word. Will it be a fair argument if I say that you should write without a dictionary because it somehow helps you write better? What about spellcheckers? How many times do you notice the red line below the word or sentence you type and click to correct it? Funnily enough, people even approve of tools like Grammarly and Hemingway but have a problem with AI. They should realise that no “writer” worth his or her salt would copy-paste stuff from AI. If they do, they are not writers but feel the need to communicate for purposes other than merely writing. This is how technology democratises writing, whether we like it or not. I am happy that those writing on platforms like Substack are at least not snobbish and come with a genuine interest in understanding AI and adapting it to their work. P.S.: This is composed entirely without AI because I am able to sit comfortably at my writing station with the laptop on and the best keyboard I can use without worrying about hurting my fingers. This will not always be the case when I feel like putting out a tweet or responding to someone. What about you? How has your experience been while using AI tools as a blind content creator or communicator? I would love to hear your thoughts. Subramani -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/006001dbf9fd%24a8174120%24f845c360%24%40gmail.com.
