As an English Literature student, one could argue that AI has become my mortal enemy when it comes to the already dwindling job opportunities available after graduating. Indeed, I wouldn’t even need a job if I received £5 for every time someone has offered me a condoling smile whilst tentatively posing the question ‘but what will you do after university?’. Thanks to the emergence of AI platforms such as ChatGPT with their capacity to generate automatic, human-like responses, this cloud of doubt cast over the fruitfulness of an English Literature degree has only gotten heavier, threatening to rain all over my sunny future dreams.
Whilst there are many advocates for the assistance of AI in crafting immaculately written content in seconds, proving especially valuable in defining factual concepts and structuring text, concerns have been raised over AI’s capacity to undermine human intelligence and creativity. What concerns me most about this prospect is not only the devaluation of our existence (especially the mere English Literature student), but society’s readiness to sacrifice the beautiful complexity of human imagination in the face of convenience. By prioritising speed and efficiency over raw originality, how can we claim to be moving forward as a society if we are so detached from our own emotions that we let technology interpret them for us? The threat of AI is therefore not the technology itself but our growing dependence on it for the articulation of human thoughts, stunting our creative potential.
Although there is no denying AI’s intelligence (the key is in the name), it is admirably transparent about the fact that it is also artificial. To argue that software such as ChatGPT can be “creative” is hence futile as it cannot produce anything original with any emotional depth because it doesn’t have a conscience enabling it to feel in the same complex way as humans. Indeed, to write meaningfully requires gathering inspiration from one’s own experiences and perceptions of the world and this is what makes true art and literature so important and incomparable to AI’s imitation of human creativity. It offers infinite interpretations of the spaces we inhabit and challenges us to reconsider what is “normal” to us, and no matter how intelligent AI may be, this profound emotional connection between the writer and their surroundings can never be communicated through the work of a chatbot.
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