Will Long-form Writing Become a Lost Art?

I love writing. It is my meditation. It is my escape from the external world and path into my internal one. It is the medium by which I process my thoughts, experiences, aspirations and dreams. It is how I can authentically express my appreciation, gratitude and love for others exactly as it is written on my heart. The lined paper in a fresh journal and the blank Microsoft Word page serve as my canvas, and when my hand moves the pen to the paper or my fingers begin typing, I honestly do not know what will happen next. What words will flow through my head, heart and soul and onto the paper or screen? It is a beautiful experience, a ‘creative act’, as Rick Rubin calls it. 

I never thought that, in my lifetime, the majestic art of writing would come under attack. I accepted that SMS and WhatsApp have made the art of letter and long-form email writing somewhat archaic. It has been difficult to witness as I feel the essence of communication is challenging to connect with when delivered in quick bursts. Also, there is a beauty to sitting down in front of a blank piece of paper or screen and crafting a powerful piece of communication, ensuring not to hand it over or hit send until it has been properly reviewed, edited and deliberated upon. I know. I sound like an old man, but I guess I can be old-fashioned when it comes to effective and impactful expression of oneself.    

So why do I fear that writing will become a lost art? It is because now we have AI tools to do it for us without compromising on quality. I remember a few months ago when my friend Arup showed me how to use Chat GPT. I am typically a late adopter of any new technology, but I surrendered to his enthusiasm, created an account and tried it out. At first, it just seemed like an aggregator of information found online, and I was slightly impressed. Then I began to dig deeper and realized that it could create marketing plans and write eloquent posts, scripts, letters, emails, poems, articles, and even books! 

Soon after this enlightening introduction, I travelled back to California to spend time with my family. Like a proud son with a new magic trick, I taught my mom and dad how to use Chat GPT, and the next thing I know is that all their texts and letters come across as Shakespeare has written them. They were so proud of the output generated from the simple prompts they fed into Chat GPT that they were hooked, excited to send thank you messages, get well soon cards, congratulations on your anniversary posts, and anything to showcase their sublime AI-generated communication skills. 

All this was happening on the sidelines of the editing process of my second book – one that I can comfortably say was written the traditional way; through extensive research, creativity, discipline, grit, patience and persistence. However, as I was reading the book for the sixth time, searching for any missed errors before it went to print, I realized that with the correct prompts in Chat GPT, anyone could have written some version of this book. Yes, it would have been missing the heart wrapped within and around every sentence, but the messaging, structuring, grammar and overall look and feel of the content could easily be created through the proper prompts into the AI system.

I know that this is the future and, like all new technology, if leveraged correctly, we can generate more innovation and improve the velocity of growth. However, I am a simple person who appreciates simple things in life – like reading a heartfelt letter written by someone who I know put their emotions onto paper through their words—or reading a book and imagining the author sitting in some mountain cabin, beach house or a quaint coffee shop in a crowded city showing up every day for months, writing, writing, writing until the manuscript is finally finished. 

Will this stop happening now that someone could have written a book using Chat GPT in the time it has taken me to write this blog post? Probably not, as there are hundreds of millions of people like me who gain genuine pleasure through long-form writing. However, there will now be hundreds of millions, if not billions of people, who will stop writing long-form altogether and just let Chat GPT or any other similar AI platform manage the diligent research, creative output, scrutiny over every word, editing, reviewing, over-thinking, re-writing, and all of the other many, messy, but essential parts of the long-form writing process.  

Does it make me sad? A little, but then I remember that I still have the agency to choose to write long-form and connect with the feeling I have right this moment as I sit in my beach house, listening to soulful music and letting my fingers paint a narrative, channelled via my head and heart, onto the screen – not knowing exactly how the art piece will look when it is complete. 

Oh, what a liberating, enlivening and exhilarating experience….