It's clear why generative AI technology has spread like wildfire since its introduction to the common user. The convenience of writing a few sentences and getting a ready-to-use text in return cannot be understated. However, AI writing has both benefits and drawbacks.
When it comes to marketing content, most readers are unlikely to ask themselves: 'Is this AI or human text?' But a business may face penalties from Google for what the company calls scaled content abuse.
For a college professor, determining whether a text has been written by a human or AI is a piece of cake. Sure, AI, which uses machine learning technology, is made to evolve and adapt. Still, there are some defining traits that make AI writing easily recognizable.
In this text, we will review the key differences between human writing and content generated by AI. Should you rely on AI for your business, homework, or personal life? Keep reading to learn the full answer.
Pros of AI
AI-written texts allow businesses to fill a website with content and launch it in mere days. There is no need to spend money on copywriters and editors and wait for them to complete their tasks. The key takeaway is that most readers don't care whether marketing content has been written by AI or human. People go online with the intention of buying, and they hardly ever read those long SEO texts at the bottom of the page.
For many students, generative AI has changed the way they approach learning completely. Theoretically, you can put together an essay in less than an hour. Add to that an hour for editing, rewriting, and formatting, and you're ready to submit.
But just like with all the easy things in life, using ChatGPT for your essays is a risky endeavor. We'll explore these issues in more detail in the following sections, but you don't need to do a deep dive to know that the information AI gives you is unreliable. It even says so on the website: "ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info."
The main takeaway is that you can now automate the little things that take a lot of time. AI is brilliant at all that nitty-gritty stuff; just don't expect a human response from a machine.
Pros of Human Writing
A human writer can create vibrant, rich text that leaves a lasting impression. When it comes to creative writing, human-written text cannot be beat.
For students, using the best paper writing service like EssayPro is a low-risk, high-reward strategy. You can order any type of assignment, even with an urgent deadline, and have it written by a professional writer for an affordable price. When ordering from a reputable service like EssayPro, you can be sure the text will be original, human-written, and tailored to your needs.
Many big businesses and entrepreneurs still gravitate towards texts written by people despite the costs and slower turnaround. An experienced writer can capture a brand's essence and relate it in an emotionally nuanced way that speaks to the reader.
In the human or bot debate, the argument for originality is undeniable. Human writers' creativity cannot be replaced by AI's paraphrased texts. People are capable of original thought, while generative AI can only collect, analyze and rephrase existing information.
Cons of AI-generated Content
When it comes to academics, the cons of using AI for homework considerably outweigh the pros. A professor with years of experience can easily tell whether an assignment has been written by an AI or human.
While AI is able to analyze information, it's still incapable of critical thinking. In the meantime, the goal of most academic tasks is for a student to show his or her critical thinking and analytical abilities. Additionally, this lack of critical thinking often leads to AI tools hallucinating facts. For students who do decide to use AI's help for homework, this can mean hours of meticulous fact-checking and editing.
The penalties for AI use in academia are getting more severe. Using generative AI tools for written assignments is equated to plagiarism and, in the worst-case scenario, can get a student expelled.
When it comes to businesses, relying on AI content can also be unsustainable. Since the technology is relatively new, Google keeps changing its policies concerning AI. The most recent statement released by Google emphasized the quality and value of content over whether it's been created by a bot or human.
Nevertheless, EEAT (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) is the main thing that Google's human reviewers look for in content. It's rare that AI can produce a text that contains EEAT without human intervention.
Cons of Human Writing
The main reason why AI has reached this level of popularity is its cost-effectiveness. For businesses, using AI tools is an incredible opportunity to save money. But to produce high-quality, unique, selling content, you need to hire educated people with work experience. And those people do not work for free.
A human content writer can be unpredictable. Unlike AI, a person can get sick, take a personal day, or simply quit. Depending on the weather, the writer's mood, or personal circumstances, the quality of writing can vary. That's why they call it the human factor. Even the most experienced writer can have a bad day, which, for a business, means a delay in operations and financial losses.
High-quality, unique, tailored writing takes time. A lot goes into creating original content. From preliminary research to the writing itself and final edits, creating a single blog post can take days, if not weeks. And for businesses and students alike, time is of the essence.
AI vs Human Text: Can You Tell the Difference?
Human Writers vs AI for Homework
While AI detectors are not 100% reliable and don't always disclose their methods, they are still widely used. When you submit a written assignment, you can be sure it will be run through an AI detection tool. Apart from that, a professor who is familiar with your writing style will be able to instantly tell if an assignment has been written by a bot or human.
If you look at an AI generated text example, you can see some clear markers of robotic text.
- Repetition
- Use of overly complicated words
- Unnatural phrasing
- Lack of depth
- Hallucinating facts
- Low perplexity
These are some of the most obvious pointers of content generated by AI. If a student is rushing to submit an assignment and fails to edit those pointers, he or she can get in serious trouble.
On the other hand, outsourcing your homework to a human essay writer means your assignment will be completed by a professional with experience in writing academic texts. You can share your drafts or ideas and ask the writer to write in a similar way. Services like EssayPro even provide an originality and AI report for free with your order.
AI vs Human Intelligence for Business
- Cutting costs
- Saving time
- Ease of scaling
- Correct grammar
Here are just the main benefits that make businesses use more and more AI for content creation. But when it comes to AI creativity vs human creativity, humans will always win. You cannot teach a robot to be creative.
A modern consumer is harder to sell to than ever. People have developed exceptional blindness for ads and are less likely to engage if they think a business is unethical. The sheer number of companies to choose from makes the competition cutthroat in virtually any niche.
While some entrepreneurs think that using AI can help them scale their business while cutting costs, they fail to acknowledge that many people are hesitant towards new technology and don't want to support businesses that use AI. When choosing between businesses that use AI or human text, people who want to buy ethically will opt for the latter.
How to Use AI Ethically?
AI is not an evil machine made to destroy all creativity. In the debate of AI vs human creativity, human brains will always win. But it's not a crime to use AI when you need an outside opinion.
When Should Students Use Human or AI Text?
When it comes to using it for writing academic assignments, we strongly discourage students from doing so.
Overreliance on AI can not only get you in serious trouble in school, but it can also hinder your learning process. Opening an AI website instead of a search engine every time you have a general knowledge question can dull down your critical thinking and research skills.
Still, there are lots of ways for students to use AI without getting in trouble:
- Source references. AI can go through databases like JSTOR and instantly find references according to your requirements.
- Writing outlines. Submit your instructions into ChatGPT and ask it to produce an outline of an essay. Tweak the headings to make them sound more like human written text, and you're good to go.
- Brainstorming. Sure, AI is incapable of original thought, but it can process and analyze yours. With all the data available to the app, it can help you find direction for your future paper.
- Editing and proofreading. If you write a thorough enough prompt, you can get ChatGPT to proofread the text for you without changing any of the content.
Human vs AI Content for Businesses
For businesses, defining when to use texts created by human or bot can make all the difference. Take SEO, for example. A rare user will scroll all the way down the page to read text riddled with keywords. For a copywriter, this job is equally tedious. SEO content doesn't require that much creativity or a strong emotional tone. This is one of those tasks that can be outsourced to AI.
On the other hand, if you use AI for front-and-center-type content, you may face repercussions. First, a potential customer doesn't like to be made to feel stupid. And most people who've seen AI writing examples can tell if something is human written or not. Besides, Google's anti-spam policy is strict, so filling your website with AI-generated content can get your site's ranking down.
At the same time, automation is one of the best ways to apply AI in your everyday business operations. There's no need to make a person do the same task every day when you can set up an AI bot to do it automatically.
Let's look at some more useful and ethical ways to integrate AI into your business. Here's what an AI bot can do for you:
- Generating product names or details
- Researching keywords
- Adding meta tags and descriptions
- Handling some of the support's work with a chatbot
- Creating drafts for content (to be edited and written by a human)
- Localization and translation of content (with human oversight)
Cases Where Human Writing Still Wins
Academic papers are the most obvious human written text example that comes to mind. We've said it before, and we'll say it again - the risk of submitting an AI-generated essay is simply not worth it. If you're struggling with writing, you can order an essay from EssayPro for the price of a monthly AI tool subscription.
For legal, medical, or financial fields, AI content is a big no. Contents of legal or medical documents should not be outsourced to AI. This type of content requires precision, accuracy and is deeply nuanced. Generative AI, on the other hand, tends to hallucinate facts, repeat itself and plagiarize.
In the debate of human creativity vs AI, content written by creative professionals will not be substituted by AI. Poetry, music, art, and creativity itself is what distinguishes us from animals. Human creativity cannot be threatened by a robot.
To Wrap Up: Is AI-generated Content Here to Stay?
The short answer is yes, AI is here to stay. People are unlikely to relinquish the convenience and ease of use of AI tools. However, it shines best in supporting roles like the ones below:
- Automation of tedious processes
- Brainstorming and drafting content
- Extensive research
- Cost efficiency to speed ratio
The future is hybrid. Rather than deeming AI evil and doing every single task yourself, rely on machine learning tools when necessary. It's important to maintain best practices when using AI for work or school. Keeping an AI tool handy is a smart move, but using it for every single question that comes to mind will not help you build new neural pathways.
