**Type**: `$= const tags = dv.current().file.tags || []; if(tags.includes("#idea")) { "Idea" } else if(tags.includes("#insight")) { "Insight" } else { "Unclassified" }` **Growth Stage**: `= this.stage` **Last Tended**: ``= dateformat(this.file.mtime, "yyyy-MM-dd")`` **Topics**: #insight #creativewriting #AIEthics --- >[!Directors commentary] > I'm going to attempt to address the moral/ethics of AI in writing, particularly creative writing, by sharing my experience and personal feelings. AI has played a part in sparking a personal drive in learning and writing for me and been an enabler to that journey - but I found its limits. **The Human Touch in AI-Assisted Writing** I may have reached a peak in my AI love affair—at least for writing. Creative writing (if I can label my own works “creative”!?). While drafting a post about my personal journaling technique, I hit an unusual roadblock. The more I leaned on AI to shape the message, the more it felt… off—like reading a reflection written by someone else. None of the AI-generated drafts captured the deeply personal message I had in mind. It was like trying to wear someone else’s clothes: technically fine, but just not right. This wasn’t a shortcoming of AI, but an insight into the nature of creative work. When we have a clear vision—especially for something deeply personal—our intuition becomes essential, and we should listen to it. We humans have something AI doesn’t: a gut. That magical sixth sense—perhaps it’s conscience (not sentience)—leaves us with a funny feeling when something isn’t quite right. I took it as a signal to lean back in and put my hands back on the steering wheel—or keyboard, in this case. Perhaps I’m shedding the metaphorical training wheels AI provided as I’ve matured as a writer. But I’d also offer another paradigm: a spectrum of how we can blend AI into the process, using it in lesser or greater ways and in different roles. When the message you want to share is still in its early development—like when you’re brainstorming ideas or fleshing out a rough structure—AI can be a fantastic resource to extend and elaborate. For example, I’ve used AI to explore metaphors or generate alternative ways to explain a complex idea when I felt stuck. Conversely, when the content is more mature—when you can already see the words on the page in your mind’s eye—AI might play a different role, stepping back to become an editor or provide feedback. In this way, we can think of AI not as a one-size-fits-all tool but as something that adapts to the needs of the creative process. So, there is hope for writers everywhere—even those who fear their reading havens might be overwhelmed with homogenous, machine-generated content. I understand the concern, and it’s a valid one. But for those of us who view AI as a tool rather than a replacement, I believe there’s a way to keep the human touch alive. Until we reach a point where machines can publish their own thoughts without oversight, the conscience of the human hand on the wheel might be enough to preserve creativity. I’d love to hear how others are navigating this blend of AI and creativity. Do you see AI as a helpful tool, or do you feel it takes something away from the writing process? #WritingWithAI #CreativityAndTech #CreativeWritingTools #AIEthics ## Open Questions & Implications *1. see [[Why AI Excels at Ideation in Knowledge Work]] 2. see [[Spectrum of use for AI in creative writing.excalidraw]] Q. What happens when the bots take over? --- *This is a living document in my Digital Garden. It grows and evolves with my thinking and represents my personal thoughts and opinions, and is not part of my work at IBM. However, it is part of my desire to contribute a broader conversation on how we 'get things done' - exploring the impact of tools and techniques aligned to my mission to help individuals and organisations create the settings for sustained growth.* --- ## Growth Log - 2025-01-08: Initial seed planted - 2025-01-22: Major revision - 2025-01-23: Published on https://open.substack.com/pub/chrismoreton/p/the-human-touch-in-ai-assisted-writing?r=52iryb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true