The use of various artificial intelligence (AI) tools for writing and editing has grown rapidly over the last couple of years due to innovations by technology giants. Following the big techs, even several start-ups have joined the rally, developing AI tools for various types of writing, proofreading, and editing. In this process, AI-generated or AI-assisted texts have become a serious challenge for newspapers worldwide. From news reports to opinion pieces - all are severely affected by the expansion of AI, as a growing number of writers and reporters are resorting to AI tools to develop their pieces.
Use of AI is, however, not new. Since the introduction of the internet, coupled with search engines like Yahoo and Google, there has been a gradual rise in the use of these virtual tools to collect and verify information and conduct preliminary research. Those were the early days of seeking assistance from AI for writing an article, preparing a journal paper, developing an opinion piece and generating a news report.
With the rapid advancement of technology, especially over the last one and a half decades, AI has become accessible to all. Besides providing convenience in searching, gathering, and sorting necessary information, AI tools also assist writers in revising and improving their writing. At the same time, AI tools are used to generate texts, draft articles and produce essays.
For newsroom managers and editorial teams in newspapers and periodicals, AI thus poses a daunting challenge to identification of the real contributions of writers and reporters. In Bangladesh, the situation is also becoming more complex, especially in English-language newspapers and magazines. Many writers are using AI to develop their pieces and submitting those to newspapers for publication. Experienced editorial teams sometimes detect AI-generated or copied pieces. Nevertheless, sometimes it becomes tough to detect, and editorial staff needs help from AI tools to detect plagiarism or machine-generated text. Interestingly, AI is being used to identify AI contributions in human work.
Using tools like Grammarly to correct or edit English-language writing is now common. From university teachers to school students, from corporate leaders to clerks, from newspaper editors to junior reporters, the use of grammatical error-correction software is widespread. The advanced version of the software also helps to rewrite, improve, streamline and recreate texts.
A deficit-of-trust environment builds up. Allegation and counter-allegations have also been intensifying professional jealousy, though both parties are using AI in various ways.
Reviewers and editors are struggling to draw the red lines of AI tools' use in write-ups and articles. As using AI support is now the new normal, the extent to which it is acceptable has become a matter of debate. Some argue that fixing typos and structural mistakes with the help of AI is fine, but gross revision is unacceptable. Some are, however, ready to accept revision or rewriting by AI of a piece as long as it does not produce an entirely new text. For instance, an AI tool's conversion of passive sentences into active ones is acceptable to many.
One way to address the problem of AI-generated or AI-backed text is to use references in relevant parts of an article or essay. But a reference-burdened short article or opinion piece is not worth it for newspaper readers. Only long essays, journal papers or books can absorb a long list of references.
Acknowledgement of AI assistance at the end of the article may be an option. Again, it will also raise further questions among many about the extent to which, or for which parts of the piece, the writer takes assistance from AI. Moreover, many writers and editors may use such assertions to justify the extensive use of AI-generated texts.
So, the challenges posed by AI to writing and editing will increase in the days to come, and it will become harder to address them. Creative writers will face difficulty to establish the originality of their works; translators will come under scrutiny for the extent to which they do not use AI in translation; copy editors will be in trouble fixing the pieces. It is going to be a new era, still unknown.
Postscript: This scribe uses an AI tool to check the draft of the piece before the final human touch for editing.
