An Age-Old Fear
For as long as there has been an appearance of industry-disrupting technology, fears of job losses have always arisen. Be it industrial looms in the 19th century that threatened to replace weavers, the first word processing software in the early 80s that threatened typists, or photo-editing software in the late 80s challenging artists—the cry has always been the same:
"This machine could take my job!"
Yet history shows something else entirely: human skills evolve, adapt, and pivot into new niches, often leveraging the very technology that once threatened them. In some interesting instances, these disruptions have even proved that humans are more valuable than had been originally realised.
The Limitations of AI Technology
The latest disruptor across many arenas is the rise of AI technology. Let us focus, as an example, on the specific effect of ChatGPT upon one particular sector: copywriting.
Copywriters have long been unchallenged masters of their craft, requiring an in-depth mastery of grammar, vocabulary, nuanced voice and tone—whilst being widely read and literarily experienced enough to weave these skills into a cohesive whole.
However, with the rise of AI technology-driven ChatGPT, absolutely anyone is now capable of generating 'good enough' copy in seconds. But despite the exponential growth of this seemingly redundancy-promoting AI technology, for the output to be more than just 'good enough', it still requires intelligent and measured human editing by someone who understands stages of awareness, cognitive biases, storytelling, and voice-of-customer.
Clients willing to pay top rates still demand human mastery for a fully fit-for-purpose, polished product.
Restrictive Real-World Parameters
Additionally, some unexpected real-world parameters have presented challenges against the unassailed expansion of AI-generated copy.
One of the major goals of commercial online copywriters is to produce well-crafted, coherent, engaging, customer-focused copy. However, in addition to these professional basics is the ability to frame their copy to maximise optimum SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) value once placed online.
Although AI-generated copy can indeed be asked to accomplish this, Google's own algorithm can detect pure AI-generated copy and will inevitably 'mark it down' in SEO value, mostly defeating the purpose of creating it. Essentially, whilst AI technology can create a decent enough framework, to count as 'proper' copy in SEO terms, a human must take this basic framework and edit or rewrite it using their innately human qualities.
AI Model Collapse: A Game-Changer
Another recently highlighted development—AI model collapse—hints that instead of diminishing the human contribution in copy creation, it may actually secure the human role.
What Is AI Model Collapse?
Essentially, model collapse occurs when AI systems increasingly train on AI-generated content rather than original human-generated data. Over repeated iterations, this leads to:
- A steady decline in diversity and creativity
- The reinforcement of synthetic errors and biases
- Eventually, models that produce bland or nonsensical outputs—sometimes seemingly "losing touch" with rare but vital nuances
In a rather unanticipated turnaround, this places human-created content allegorically in the same category as 'low background steel' or 'low background lead'.
The former being steel from the pre-atomic era, sought in the creation of certain scientific instruments as this steel is uncontaminated by background radiation, in contrast to post-atomic era steel, which is all contaminated to some extent. Low background lead is lead similarly scientifically favoured, originating from the Roman and pre-Roman eras. This lead's uranium content has, by virtue of its age, decayed, unlike post-Roman lead which is progressively more contaminated the closer its original processing date is to modern times.
One can see the allegory: original human output is essentially 'untainted' versus AI training itself on its own output—essentially building an AI technology-created puerile and sterile echo chamber.
What This Means for Copywriters
AI is a tool, not a replacement: It is best used to research, outline, and draft—but should always be refined with human perspective.
Strengthen niche expertise: Become that go-to writer in a specific field where AI hasn't learnt the subtleties.
Offer value beyond words: Strategy, audience empathy, brand voice, tone consistency—these human capabilities remain beyond AI's grasp.
Promote ethical data sourcing: Consider offering model-curation services to clients.
Conclusion
Whilst AI technology is fundamentally transforming many jobs across diverse sectors and, on the face of it, appears a clear threat to human livelihoods, it mirrors past technological advances. Humans aren't disappearing—they're evolving, adapting, and coming out on top!