I’ve been talking a lot about how some writers find AI helps them write, and a question I keep encountering is why they need help.
A lot of the time, this question seems like a distraction from those looking to vilify users of AI, but sometimes it seems like genuine curiosity…
So, I asked a group of writers who use AI why they find themselves in need of the kind of help an AI can give, and I got a lot of really thoughtful, thought-provoking answers that are not mine to share, but I do have a short list of some conditions that were mentioned…
Here’s the list:
long covid, lyme disease, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, isolation, introversion, lack of time, parenting or other care-taking, executive dysfunction, PTSD, fibromyalgia, brain fog, physical disability, neurodivergence
And yes, I know that there are writers with every condition on that list who write without using AI. But those are also things that can make writing hard, and it’s nice to have a tool that balances things out and makes it easier for you.
I really hope the writing community calms down and becomes more reasonable about writers who use AI soon, because it’s really sad to see all the really interesting, thoughtful discussions hidden from public view for safety reasons. For now, though, it’s clearly necessary.
And once again, this thread is not an opportunity to argue about how AI programs were trained. That’s a discussion for elsewhere. This is purely an informational thread for the writers I’ve seen who are genuinely curious about why some writers find AI useful.
And of course, it’s also okay to use AI to make writing easier just because, hey, it’s nice when things are easier. That’s totally valid too.
Or if you don’t personally find AI useful or simply don’t like it or want to try it, then great, there’s room for all kinds of writing.
But if all you’ve heard about AI is the rhetoric coming from the writing community at large, then you’re not currently seeing the whole picture. There are a lot of writers who don’t feel safe talking about AI.
The writing community has real work to do fixing the harm its done.