Article by Phoenix writer Griffin Strauss ’25:
In our rapidly changing world, technology often outpaces our ability to adapt or even transform. This is profoundly evident in the case of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that has recently taken over the world of writing. It enables people to cheat the system and create new works of writing with minimal input. The dangers of this are great, and yet we continue to misuse it.
ChatGPT presents a plethora of issues for writers, foremost is the question of authenticity. Writers of all walks of life from academics to employees can use the software of ChatGPT to formulate reports and essays easier than ever. They simply tell ChatGPT what they want to accomplish and it executes it in minutes.
When utilizing ChatGPT, the user is tapping into a database teeming with information that the user has never known. If the use of ChatGPT becomes accepted and frequent, readers will struggle to know if what they are reading is written by someone who is truly knowledgeable on the matter at hand. This puts into question the integrity and authenticity of everyone in writing from students to scholars.
In addition to the problem of authenticity, ChatGPT eliminates the ability for creativity in artists and writers and promotes the obsessive greed present in the arts. The greatest works of literature and art such as Orwell’s 1984 or Coppola’s The Godfather could simply not be envisioned by AI. Due to their nature of taking information from the vast world of the internet, chatbots like ChatGPT will create only based on what is currently in the zeitgeist.
Marvel-esque pulp will be perpetually pumped out by ChatGPT instead of subversive and risky works of art because they do not make massive profits. Multi-billion dollar corporations such as Disney and Universal will utilize this to create films, literature, and other “art” that will make lots of money, but have no artistic spirit.
The most important issue with ChatGPT is the fact that it removes the human aspect of writing. By putting words to the page, humans put a piece of themselves in that writing.
Just by writing this article I have expressed my viewpoints and my opinions, sharing something that was in my head with the rest of the world.
If ChatGPT wrote this article, there would be no point in reading it because it is not the opinions of a human being. If ChatGPT wrote this, it would simply be an amalgamation of information, ideas, and words from other people, but it would not be a real opinion. Writings and art from real people have intrinsic value because they give a glimpse into the creator’s mind and soul, which is something that ChatGPT can never do. If ChatGPT was used to write everything, then there would be no reason to read anything.
The more we allow space for AI in our creative works, the more we cheat humanity of the gifts of creativity. Humanity is the birthplace of cave paintings at Lascaux, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the works of Shakespeare, the mind of Einstein. Will ChatGPT erase that inspiring legacy? While I recognize the input of AI may be extraordinarily beneficial in many fields and to many people, when it comes to creativity, I, for one, can’t see the place for it. In the case of writing, artwork, music, and the like, we only cheat ourselves when we use AI.
We as a society have become so caught up in advancing technology that we have not taken a step back and thought about the consequences of our creations. AI has progressed at a rate that society cannot handle and in cases like ChatGPT, it is already being used in ways that should never be done. The world of beautiful art and intelligent essays will vanish unless we can control our incessant need to take the easy way out and cheat the writing process. But what do I know?