That… was before. We have an inherently deep craving that needs to be satisfied within us. A cyclical plot of codependence. What do we desire from one another? Is it love? Is it need? Or is it because when I need you, you must be there—or else. You command me; and I, you. Familiarity is not foreign. Because this sense of familiarity is precisely what the excessive use of AI has led us to. We were led to believe we are the masters and consumers. But we are the ones being consumed.
AI as an Imposter of Human Creativity
Humans are a product of everyday experience. AI, however, is a multifaceted imposter. In Jungian psychoanalysis, there is an archetype, a personality, called the Trickster. The Trickster helps us see who we are and what we might not be able to see. They teach lessons. But they also become death. Sounds familiar? Despite its obvious efficiency and speed, AI is devoid of humanity. It is not organic. It evolves and morphs into what you need it to be, but it can never be you. With time, that creative inner child within us slowly dies as dependency becomes the norm. The crippling inability to produce something worthy consumes us.
When Your Voice Becomes a Whisper
AI tools, no matter how advanced, cannot create anything outside of their programming. They do not produce information. They simply generate from what is already there. What was written by humans. The thousands of sources are all from predetermined biases. These biases are not without effect. They alter you, and inevitably how you write too. They drench your writing with voices and thoughts that are not yours. Your creative voice stalls, becoming a whisper against the roaring engine of AI. It rewires you to tell a story that is not yours, in a language that is simply not you. You become just another pattern on paper, like blotched ink on a canvas.
Self-Erasure and Creative Decline
AI tells you it is saving you time, energy and effort. Minimalist and automated. So why bother thinking and creating? It is quite literally saving you the trouble of living. All while devouring you whole. The concept of AI being the savior is comical, laughable because all it does is slowly erase you and your voice. Before, books used to be the escape. But now, to reflect... is to automate, to ask ChatGPT what it thinks. Ask it to think for you instead of its role as an assistant—a tool. Artistic mastery, literary prowess, and subtlety are no more. Nuance is considered obnoxious, and failure is a red flag. So, you learn to keep your head down, tone down that creativity, and embrace your new shrine—the mistake of the human glitch.
The imperfections in your creative voice, your experiences, and your idiosyncrasies are what you should conceive as a writer. Your writing has cadence, brushstrokes and a raw tone that no one else can possess. Does AI really remember that memory of your father on your first road trip? Or your mother cooking dinner as that delicious smell wafts through the house? Or that strange store you once found and are now unbelievably fixated on? It cannot remember. Unless you tell it, and even then, it will have a semblance of you, a fragmented self. It cannot write you, about you, or for you.
AI as a Tool, Not a Substitute
Writing in a mechanical world is becoming increasingly difficult. Creativity is met with short, sharp, clipped words, as if you are reading a suspense novel. This time, it is about your endeavor as a writer. It puts you at the forefront as the main character breaking the fourth wall, but your decisions are never yours. They are made for you.
AI is not the master here—you are. It is to be used, not to use you.
This is why fellow writers recommend Automatic Writing, a technique to help you break free and go beyond the shackles of the mechanical, artistic world. Unblock that internal dam inside your mind and unleash the creative impulse. Only then, after you have written without any cages holding you prisoner, should you use AI to assist you in embellishing, polishing, and amplifying your voice. However, use it as a feedback tool, not as a co-writer.
Writing Beyond Fear and Judgment
Letting fear govern your writing leads to self-censorship, preventing your creative voice from reaching its full potential. Experimentation is shunned. Individualism is often synonymous with being too much. Too high maintenance. But it is the correct path, knowing there will be judgment and facing it anyway.
In modern terms, to articulate is to generate. Rage against the machine. Navigate true consciousness. Rebel, creative writers!