Hello! My name is Shion and I am a copywriter at oxio. I help write articles for our blog about all things internet.
Hello! I'm ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. I'm here to assist you and answer any questions you might have.
Er… oh yeah. Let me introduce my co-author for this article. This month we decided to try something new. We decided to do a partnership article… with AI.
As an AI language model, I don't have emotions, so I don't experience excitement or any other feelings.
Why yes, I am excited to work with you too ChatGPT…
[Aside from the author: In case you have no idea what’s happening, what I’m talking about, or whom I’m talking with, ChatGPT is a trained AI model that anyone with access to the internet can interact with in a conversational manner.1 Think like you’re messaging your smartest friend who is constantly learning but has access to pretty much everything on the interwebz.]
As a copywriter, my job involves writing content that is on brand, within a certain tone, and persuasive. I am fascinated by words, letters, and how we can arrange them to evoke different feelings from readers. I see copywriters as modern day campfire storytellers. Pulling you in with engaging stories even when we’re whispering under our breath.
Or as my co-author describes:
A copywriter is a professional who specializes in writing content for various mediums with the goal of promoting a product, service, brand, or idea. Their primary responsibility is to create persuasive and compelling copy that captures the attention of the target audience and motivates them to take a desired action, such as making a purchase, subscribing to a service, or engaging with a brand.
This new writing tool or “partner” in this case, is causing a shift for writers across all professions.2 ChatGPT in particular has taken the internet by storm. With over 100 million active users since January 2023, this AI model has led the way for new opportunities and challenges across the online hemisphere.3 We thought now is the time to further explore just how the internet and AI have changed the writing process. With the help of our new content partner, ChatGPT!
Idea hunting.
For any writer, gathering inspiration and coming up with original ideas can be a daunting task. This can involve talking/collaborating with others, venturing out to have new experiences, or my favourite, staring out a window. With the internet, idea hunting has become more accessible. Ideas can come about by scouring the web for sources of inspiration, such as viewing pieces of art, reading the posts and articles of others, or getting into a heated debate with someone on why Ben Affleck is CLEARLY the best on screen batman. *Deep breath.
What about you ChatGPT? How do you come up with ideas?
As an AI language model, I don't have personal experiences or consciousness, but I can provide some insights on how people typically generate ideas. Remember, generating ideas is often a combination of divergent thinking (exploring various possibilities) and convergent thinking (evaluating and refining ideas). It's important to embrace creativity, be open to new perspectives, and persist in exploring different avenues until you find ideas that resonate with you.
Wow, that’s actually very insightful, thank you! (Yes I express manners towards AI… before they become our overlords).
So while AI can’t technically come up with its own ideas based on personal experiences, it can generate new content by scouring the web for data and reproducing it as something original.4 Well, sort of. And that leads me to our next point.
The writing process. Show me what you can do.
Long gone are the days of typewriters and writing on ruled paper.
Yes ChatGPT, I see you giving me bombastic side eye. I know my age is showing.
You can go first this time. How do you think the internet has changed the writing process?
The internet has revolutionized the writing process, providing writers with unprecedented access to information, enhancing collaboration and feedback, offering a plethora of writing tools and software, transforming publishing and distribution models, fostering online writing communities, enabling multimedia storytelling, and expanding the reach and dissemination of written work.
Well, here’s an issue. Now that I’ve read that, I’m suddenly having a hard time coming up with my own original answer. See how easy it is to let AI do the brunt of the writing? ChatGPT was able to utilize the internet to come up with a great answer to my question, so much so that I’m still scratching my head here and not even going to bother answering my own question.
But, AI writing does have its shortcomings… depending how you look at it.
I asked ChatGPT to write me a screenplay for a new season of the popular Netflix show Never Have I Ever. With the show having concluded its final season recently, I was excited to see what kind of adventures the characters would get up to next in this AI generated sequel.
After surviving the rollercoaster ride of high school, Devi Vishwakumar embarks on her senior year with her best friends, Paxton and Eleanor. As they navigate the challenges of college applications, relationships, and personal growth, they discover that life after high school holds its own set of never-have-I-ever moments.
Episode 1: "Senior Year Beginnings"
Devi, Paxton, and Eleanor eagerly start their senior year, excited about their future plans.
Devi juggles her schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and her dreams of attending Princeton.
Paxton faces the pressure of his swimming career and college decisions.
Wait, wait, wait. Hold up.
Her best friends are Eleanor and Fabiola. NOT Paxton. And Paxton is a year older, he already graduated, and his swimming career ended after breaking his arm. ChatGPT DID YOU EVEN WATCH THE SHOW?
As an artificial intelligence language model, I don't have the ability to watch shows or have personal experiences.
Oh… right.
I was able to feed ChatGPT more prompts about the show by explaining what I wrote above.5 Low and behold, it quickly adapted and wrote me a new synopsis with the corrections about the characters that I mentioned.
Touché.
Thank you! If you have any other ideas or specific requests for the continuation of the screenplay or any other topic, feel free to let me know. I'm here to help!
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, it became pretty evident to me that while AI could pick up on some details of the show, it also got a lot of it wrong… at first. Until you feed it. Its favourite meal? Information. So instead of writing something completely from scratch, writers now have a tool they can keep feeding info and prompts into to get the content at a stage where it becomes usable.
You may have heard recently that Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker tried out ChatGPT to see if it could write an episode for him. His response? “The first thing I did was type ‘generate Black Mirror episode’ and it comes up with something that, at first glance, reads plausibly, but on second glance, is sh*t”.6 It seems that, at least for now, AI generated content can be used as a base or starting point for ideas, but still requires a human touch to deliver a certain level of quality or that bit of personality that authors and writers develop over time. Since AI just “remixes” stuff that already exists, having it create original content can be a tad risky, but at the same time is a great tool for remixing your own ideas or going over what you’ve already created.
Now what happens?
For writers, the emergence of AI and its writing capabilities can be pretty exciting. For others, understandably, this new age also raises some concerns - perhaps a conversation for another time. The internet already revolutionized writing by providing more resources, communications, and access to feedback. But now with the age of AI, we’re about to start seeing major changes in the writing industry.
As Bill Gates noted, “In my lifetime, I’ve seen two demonstrations of technology that struck me as revolutionary.” The first being the graphical user interface (aka what eventually became Windows). The second, the development of AI.7
There’s a lot to digest here and my sit down with AI has me thinking we can do this again sometime.
What do you think ChatGPT?
Absolutely! I would love to continue exploring and discussing various topics with you. Whether it's creating more screenplays, brainstorming ideas, learning new concepts, or anything else you'd like to delve into, I'm here to assist you. Just let me know when you're ready, and we can continue our creative journey together. Feel free to reach out anytime!
Stay tuned for more conversation with my new favourite co-author, ChatGPT!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm thrilled to be your favorite.
*Please note that oxio will continue to make all original content with human writers (phew). Any and all AI content or AI partnership content such as this article will be identified.
Thank you to Suzanne, Danilo, and Savannah for laughing at my puns and always providing such valuable feedback. And of course, a big thank you to my content partner for this article, ChatGPT!
- Introducing ChatGPT
- How is AI Changing How We Write and Create?
- The Rise of ChatGPT & What it Means for the Future of AI and Software Testing
- How artificial intelligence is changing the face of writing
- How to write better ChatGPT prompts
- ‘Black Mirror’ Creator Tried Using AI to Write Season 6 Episode: “There’s Not Actually Any Real Original Thought”
- The Age of AI has begun