The rise of ChatGPT cannot be the downfall of creativity

ChatGPT is harmful to creative integrity

Juliana Mun, Subscriber|March 16, 2023

Juliana Mun

Ever since I was a child, writing has been my passion: a form of self expression that was passed down from my mother onto me. Writing is an extension of my own thoughts, which is why I am so passionate about integrity in original pieces of work. I strongly believe creative output to be a gift.

Human nature is to build, create and innovate in order to make room for higher capacities of thinking. Whether it be through gentrification, politics or the arts, our society has been built on the principle of transformation. But, this great power of innovation may be proven detrimental to innovation itself, as humans venture deeper into commercializing artificial intelligence. 

ChatGPT, a global chat service by Open Ai, provides users with the ability to improve their online communication skills. It strives to broaden the reach an AI has on the user. ChatGPT can admit to various mistakes, reject inappropriate requests, adjust to complicated prompts and write more abstract concepts.

I first heard of ChatGPT from my father, then afterward from classmates, teachers and friends. This new sensation has taken the public by storm as the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has been reported to want to challenge it with his own AI chat system. In addition, popular messaging app Snapchat is developing an extension similar to ChatGPT. 

Open Ai has even released an in-depth package where consumers can pay $20 a month for access to all its features. The future is bright for ChatGPT, a service that could pave the way for artificial intelligence to be normalized in society.  

Logically, ChatGPT is a wonderful alternative for immigrants who struggle with English, teachers striving to correct their work and the general public who might struggle with an important email or resumé. But of course, not all problems are black and white, and for me, the ethicality of the service must be considered. 

The truth is that humans make mistakes and, with more refinement, AI will not. AI could eventually become so precise that there could be no way to differentiate a human and a robot. In fact, AI writing will most likely surpass human work. 

I argue that just because all human creativity can be replaced by a more qualified robot doesn’t mean it should. AI can introduce corruption and plagiarism into the academic world, as well as be detrimental to the progression of human thought and creative independence. 

Those who claim that the principle of ChatGPT does not matter do not realize that principle is what makes creative works good. Fundamentally, stories are not only good because of perfect writing or grammar, but are elevated with human meaning, purpose and integrity. The creator is typically trying to convey a feeling through their work that a robot can only imitate, not encapsulate. 

I asked ChatGPT to write me a story about a cyborg girl. It gave me a synopsis that I was initially impressed by. The AI tackled the girl’s backstory as a disabled hero, her journey to fight for the good side and even introduced the abstract idea of her struggle with her own humanity. But, that’s when I realized the vital thing this synopsis was missing: a message. The reason the robot told me that story wasn’t due to the fact that it wanted to say anything, but because I asked it too. 

AI is trapped in code. Even if a real person is asking the AI to write for them, each word that is not written by the person further disconnects them from their work. A writer’s toil is part of the beautiful execution of a story and, without struggle, there cannot be growth in both the creation and the creator. 

Artificial intelligence may be more accurate but, in my eyes, it will pale in comparison to the intricacies of investigative journalism, the sweat of a passionate artist or an author imposing their own real life experiences into a character. AI cannot beat the spirit of any artist that impacts another person’s life. 

Though ChatGPT will serve important needs in digital assistance, its significance must end there. Potential expansion into fields such as art, journalism, creative writing and even the movie industry cannot be ethically approved. There is a reason handmade items are still more expensive in modern society. That’s because what a machine can do will never overshadow the labor of work that is connected to the hands that made it. Likewise, AI cannot beat human creativity because it is connected to a beating heart.