19. Will AI will destroy us?
New career again?
My God this was fast. I just starting to open the doors of the "Technical writer World" and I couldn't finish Josh's "Technical writer" course but a new bomb strike my world.
An email came from Stefan Gajić a marketeer from Belgrade, Serbia with the "ChatbotGPT, AI will destroy us all" theme.
I have been reading his blog for years but never had money to buy his course (Al' nemam Đole. Odnela mi Suzi sve. This is a local Balkans joke from the 80s movie. In translation it is something like this: "But I don't have money Đole. Suzy took it all.").
Is it I or the room is spinning?
I didn't have time to become a technical writer and now here comes a chatbot that will destroy us all (well not the whole of humankind just technical writers).
Do I have to think about a new career? Learning again? I knew that is something rotten in Mirko's idea about me and technical writing. Aaaaaaaaaa screams in the night.
So, when I drank some water with sugar to restore my brain functions I started to read Stefan's email with ChatBotGPT analysis.
What is a ChatBotGPT, AI?
It is an Artificial Intelligence chatbot with the capability to write answers to questions, compose music, write fairy tales, write student essays etc.
Starting to get an idea? Your room is spinning too?
In short, Stefan noticed very well that no matter what machine will remain machine. Because answers will always lack a human touch. It will be a more uniform writing world. So, when we talk about content writing people will tend to follow a person who actually had an experience which he/she writes about. AI will always have a politically correct answer so nobody can be offended, and AI will provide only answers that can be filtered from the Internet. AI writes good copywriting. There is much that is not said on the Internet. Much more is to be offered by a human.
Now, Stefan was talking about content writers, influencers, marketers, etc. What about technical writers? They write technical documentation, FAQs, manuals, white papers, and everything that demands a clean, cold, nonpersonal touch.
A technical writer is much more than a clean, cold, nonpersonal machine. Josh's course reveals that fact. It is a cohesive tissue that keeps the organization together. Don't forget a product is just as good as its documentation. First comes communication with all stakeholders within the organization.
Then there are plans, FAQs, proposals, knowledge bases, instruction product manuals, user guides, API writing, market requirement docs, product requirement docs, meeting notes, objectives and key results OKR, memos, reports, tutorials, product descriptions and specifications, user stories, release notes.
My God, there must be a place under the Sun for technical writers.
But the key word is communication. Something machines can't provide.
ChatBotGPT test
I tested out a ChatBotGPT with the term "Technical writer" and this came up (with all errors Grammarly reports and no paragraphs): "A technical writer is a professional who creates technical documentation, such as user manuals, instructional materials, and online help systems, that explain how to use or operate a product or service. Technical writers typically have a background in technical fields such as engineering, computer science, or information technology, and use their knowledge and skills to communicate complex information in a clear and concise manner. They may also be responsible for editing and revising existing documentation, and may work with subject matter experts to gather information and ensure that the documentation is accurate and up-to-date. Technical writers may work in a variety of industries, such as software development, healthcare, manufacturing, and finance."
Mirko
Then I typed "Mirko" and a machine crashed. Mirko is much greater than the machine's possibility of understanding.
Additional reading
Here are some of Stefan's and mine's proposals for further reading.
Malcolm Gladwell 10000 hours rule.
Maya Angelou “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”