Writing in the age of AI

Ai is seeping into all spheres of life. The debate regarding the replacement of writers with AI has been on the fore for pretty long casting shadows over the publishing world and unsettling both readers and writers.

The incoming of AI has left an indelible impact when it comes to the publishing industry and elsewhere. On one hand, it has lifted the burden of routine tasks that once drained time and energy- generating marketing copies, organizing workflows, even suggesting keywords and trends. Yet, for all its efficiency, it cannot step into the shoes of a storyteller. Hustle culture has been pushing us towards the edge. It demands we become more efficient, better equipped, endlessly optimised. The faster we rush, the more life demands we move slow. Everything is measured in terms of utility, leaving little to no space for human beings to simply remain human. Capitalism beats on the same frequency. It engineers desires convincing people that what is offered is what they want- this product, that lifestyle, steering them towards the end results, the ready-made products. In chasing those end results, we are stripped of the joy that lives in the process. Yet, it is the process, of going through the tasks that endows meaning to them. Bypassing this takes away the actual joy, wisdom and fulfilment we could have otherwise gained. Capitalism, in this way, works in complete opposition to the way human beings are wired.

Ai is the new face to this logic. It promises to furnish responses at lightning speed, a perfect companion to help us keep pace with the ever- increasing demands of life. It is coming up with all sorts of solutions- but are those solutions enough to navigate this complex and wonderful thing called life? Life is tumultuous. It tests waters, keeps us on edge, then eases and embraces us

again. Life is a journey to be lived; there is no other way out. A second experienced, can be written for pages. A span of a few moments can be enough to alter the course of one’s life. It is an entanglement of change, routine, surprise, - a cumulation of seconds that make a person unique. Life meticulously crafts us, giving each our singular identity. We are never finished; a person continues becoming untildeath. Life creates a masterpiece of us.

It is impossible to imagine AI capable of endowing such richness to its generated texts. This is where human beings flourish. Writing itself becomes an act of resistance, a reassertion of how far technology stands from the lived reality. How incapable it is in production. Machines cannot celebrate the rawness of emotions, its contradictions and depth. The work of giving voice to the nuances has always been, and will remain the art of human beings.

“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.” - T.S. Eliot