A lot has been talked about the emergence of artificial intelligence in content writing. However, little do people know about its limitations and drawbacks. The Big Pitchr team highlights the same through this article.
The concept of artificial intelligence may feel like an erudite topic, but it's a lot easier than you might think when simplified. Artificial intelligence or AI refers to non-human intelligence or machine-driven intelligence. In layperson's terms, AI uses intelligent non-human machines to improve functioning in all spheres. Through AI, the technology predicts human behaviour, what you might want, and at what time. For instance, music streaming services like Spotify use AI to assess your listening habits to provide customised recommendations for new releases, artist discoveries, and old favourites.
Spotify is also forging ahead with its AI Music agenda to create computer-generated music. As Francois Pachet, director of AI research and development at Spotify, aptly says, "You'll be able to try all sorts of combinations. And it's really fun." So, will AI Music take gigs away from human musicians? It's the same fear most professionals face today, including content writers.
Machine intelligence indeed surpasses human intelligence at an incomprehensible rate. But AI will not replace humans any time soon. Despite all the hype, AI cannot deliver the creative and empathetic value humans can. In 2020, the World Economic Forum estimated that AI would replace some 85 million jobs by 2025. The same report, however, also concludes that 97 million new jobs will open in the same timeframe, thanks to artificial intelligence. In other words, AI is creating something new instead of taking something away.
AI in Content Writing: How Does it Work?
The unicorn AI company DataRobot's Former CEO, Jeremy Achin, quotes that "AI is a computer system able to perform tasks that ordinarily require human intelligence ... Many of these artificial intelligence systems are powered by machine learning, some of them are powered by deep learning and very boring things like rules power some of them."
AI employs a technology called deep learning, which imitates the workings of the human brain. At the same time, AI's natural language processing ability allows it to analyse and generate language in a way humans use. For the last 60 years, AI has advanced to process the mountains of data created by humans daily and then act on those learnings.
Anita Schjøll Brede, the CEO and Co-founder of Iris.ai, uses her AI technology-based scientist, Iris.ai, to speed up research by searching through over 60 million papers using algorithms. Her goal with AI isn't to make money but to improve people's lives by discovering a cancer treatment.
Different types of AI work differently, meaning it is necessary to understand the different types of AI to see how they work differently. Narrow AI (also known as weak AI) is the most limited since it focuses on performing a single task well. For example, Google and other search engines, personal assistants such as Siri and Alexa, image or speech recognition software, chatbots, and self-driving cars operate with narrow AI programming. Narrow AI monitors and acknowledges nearly 72 hours of YouTube video content, 300,000 tweets, 220,000 Instagram photos, and 2.5 million Facebook shares every minute. The algorithms allow machines to act, process data and make decisions based on programming. But it is not an AI with a mind of its own.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is a more intelligent system like you have seen in movies such as The Terminator or science fiction books. AGI involves super-intelligent robots capable of understanding the world as well as any human. However, AGI doesn't exist, except in the sci-fi dystopian stories of intelligent machines eradicating or enslaving humanity. Therefore, it is not something that we need to worry about at any point soon.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly excelling at multiple tasks. You would be surprised to know that renowned media houses like The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Reuters are already relying on AI tools for content creation. However, legitimate concerns are rising that AI will eventually displace human employees throughout the economy. Though AI and machine learning tools have grown to the point of making better strategic decisions, human intervention is still necessary as AI's capabilities increase. Sure, AI is a game-changer with a profound impact on society. But not all of it is guaranteed to be positive.
Why does Artificial Intelligence Require Human Intervention?
Computers don't have to eat or die and don't need breaks or sleep. They can run 365 days a year to analyse data and learn, a pathway of lifelong learning. Although AI has unlimited access to databases, it also faces decisive limits and significant restrictions.
While it might be challenging to accept, AI and machine learning algorithms might reinforce gender, racial, ethnic, and other biases. Amazon's AI talent recruitment process (which has been shut down now) is an example of how AI could go wrong. The objective of Amazon's AI algorithm was to evaluate, screen, and select the most qualified applicants for open positions. However, the algorithm was not gender-neutral and systematically downgraded women's CVs for technical jobs such as computer engineering or software development. As with any new technology, AI reflects the bias of its creators.
BBC also focused on the bias issue, stating, "It is not the first time doubts have been raised about how reliable algorithms trained on potentially biased data will be." The pitfalls of AI projects, especially if a company like Amazon can't pull it off without problems, undoubtedly raise worrying questions.
The failure of Amazon's AI model is a well-known illustration of case studies showing algorithms can unintentionally learn discrimination from various sources. Therefore, while AI easily sifts through a mound of resumes or candidate databases, a human touch is necessary to find the right fit or candidates who are likely to stay in the organisation. Only a human recruiter can frame an empathetic response and provide valuable feedback.
Here are specific barriers and disadvantages of AI to keep in mind.
AI Can Not Do Creative Work
AI will never match human creativity. Humans are natural storytellers. It is in our soul to show emotions and empathy, which paves the way to write the right words that click with other humans. AI has no soul. It can simulate language but not expression for connecting emotionally with audiences. Algorithms can only see within the specific data set and its purpose. They may mimic creativity to create art from previous work but must display authenticity. The team of in-house writers at The Big Pitchr understands the goals of the brand to tailor content with experience, empathy, and instincts that an AI writer does not possess. We partner with brands to address buyer personas and understand the nuances of tone. It takes a human writer to let a customer know you understand them.
There are multiple reasons why AI will never outperform content writers in creativity. To read more about AI in content writing, check out Why AI Writing Can't Replace Professional Content Writers.
Transparency Problem
AI models can occasionally get out of control, complicating and creating problems with technical transparency. AI is capable of manipulating data. So, humans need to annotate data to rectify AI's errors. Algorithms perform better when there is human involvement in data collection, annotation, and validation. Without human interaction, AI systems and tools produce inconsistent or erroneous outcomes.
Moral and Ethical Limits
AI has a massive problem of ambiguities, primarily in literary, mathematical, religious, sporting, and linguistic contexts. AI cannot think associatively or evaluate multiple contents as human writers do. As a result, it increases the chances of writing morally or ethically unrepresentative errors. AI doesn't know what an insult is. It needs help recognising idioms or discriminatory formulations, which every content writer must be aware of.
Lack Emotional Intellect
AI can learn to "understand" emotional words and sentences but does not have the intellect to decipher communication and build an emotional connection through a copy. Emotional intelligence is unique in humans. Therefore, to connect with a buyer, consumer, or reader, AI cannot replace the EQ of a seasoned writer. Unfortunately, artificial Intelligence systems are not intuitive or culturally sensitive.
No Improvement
Artificial intelligence can perform the same function again without a different command. But no AI can improve itself. Instead, machines can learn to become faster and smarter but need help to make an even more powerful machine.
Humans will continue to deliver value that AI is not capable of. AI will hardly likely overcome the unique selling points humans can offer. This innovation may shorten the weekly working hours and give us more leisure time. But human intuition still becomes a critical element in work and life.
Will Artificial Intelligence ever replace human intervention completely? What do you think?
Yes! It will. We will not need human writers.
No! AI can never replace human intervention totally.
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