I am thinking about buying ProWritingAid – However, I’m concerned it may affect my reputation as a writer

[Guest]

I know there is a lot of controversy about writers using AI such as Chat GPT to assist them, even if they only use it as a grammar checker. I was just wondering whether people think the same about writers using tools such as Grammarly and ProWritingAid as technically they are AI too.

I haven’t used either yet but I am thinking about buying ProWritingAid. However, I’m concerned it may affect my reputation as a writer. Just thought I’d ask the FORUM for any advice. Please be kind.

Thanks in advance.

[Sherby]

I think if you're using AI to assist then your book is AI assisted. Do I care personally? No. If the book is good, the book is good. Anyone else is nitpicking out of fear. 100 years ago, everything would be considered cheating.

There is nothing wrong with ChatGPT! People are just scared.

[Donyae]

This is an intellectually dishonest argument that AI people keep trying to have.

The functions that exist in the spell checkers like praying aid and Grammarly prior to this AI explosion were not AI they were not considered a eye at all and they're not even close to being AI they are literally just checking things.

Now some of these programs are adding "AI features" but they still function as non-AI entities.

It is clear that people do not have any sort of issue with using spelling and grammar checkers would they have an issue is with the generative AI that is creating (term used very loosely here) new (again term used loosely) text and images.

People keep trying to pull out haha gotcha with this and it's just silly.

Also, check out: Grammarly or ProWritingAid?

[Renee]

ProWritingAid and Grammarly are tools designed specifically for authors. No different to spell check in Microsoft word.

They’re fine to use but you still need to be careful because they make incorrect suggestions, but they can help to clean up your draft.

[Mike]

Grammarly isn't generative ai. Thats the only concern.

[Irena]

Using ProWritingAid and Grammarly for editing is different from using AI for writing. They don't write instead of you. They highlight potential places for improvement in your writing.

You still have to use your own brains and judgement when making the changes. Nobody is frowned upon for using these tools, same as nobody is criticised for usung a human editor, a proofreader or a word processor.

Don't forget to take a look at: My Grammarly app has gone vegetarian

[Lisa]

There’s a difference between AI writing/creating.

something for you and AI or some other software “correcting” something you already created.

That said, I wouldn’t use a computer program as one’s sole editor, or proofreader. You can always tell, because they often make mistakes as they don’t recognize nuances or context well.

[Aitch]

Let’s put it this way: I’m blocking anyone who is in here advocating ChatGPT as a ‘ghostwriter’ or ‘editor’. Because LLM algorithms are neither of those things.

Use Word, use its spellchecker, and use your own brain. Putting your manuscript into ChatGPT is simply feeding it your work as data to recycle and give to other people. Just do the work.

Use Grammarly if you want to, though it has been outed as using similar algorithms to ChatGPT (in the online version) etc.

(Once again: part of my day job involves researching innovative tech like AI, I don’t need anyone to explain to me how they think it works.)

Would you also like to explore: What would you think of a realistic, contemporary story, in which ChatGPT is a character?

[Nic]

Amazingly I’ve used an early form of AI..a dictionary! And if you’ve used a multiplication table then you’ve used ai too. There is no such thing as ai. There are just improved version of analysis. And. Yes. I’ll use ai where appropriate but only the daft would imagine that it will solve the task of producing a fine finished book without their input!

[Nik]

Spell checkers are algorithms that pull from a closed dictionary database and rules where as ChatGPT, which is an algorithmic responder, have an open source where it’s database draws on people who have not consented to their content being used as references.

It’s also why ChatGPT can’t be trusted on stuff because it is not an AI that actually processes context of what you’re asking it, it just enters the next word most likely to go after the word before it. Additionally why it’s answers can be skewed.