The Changing Role of the Writer in the Age of AI: Dedicated to My Mom

 The Changing Role of the Writer in the Age of AI: Dedicated to My Mom

Note: I used AI to help draft and refine this article.

My mom, an amazing woman, once took a statistics analysis course that left her traumatized. She hated it. And while this anecdote might seem mundane, it illustrates something larger: the struggle of adapting to evolving tools and technologies. What my mom went through—manually crunching numbers, using rulers, and calculating by hand—was the norm. Everyone did it that way. But as we move into an era shaped by artificial intelligence, the story isn’t about nostalgia for the old methods; it’s about recognizing how the tools of the present reshape the way we think, work, and create.

There’s an old saying: “A work of art is never completed, it is merely abandoned.” This idea resonates deeply with the creative process—especially writing. Consider the worker who turns in a project to their supervisor. The supervisor examines it and says, “This is good, but these parts need fixing.” The worker takes the feedback, refines the project, and resubmits it. Then the supervisor asks, “Is this the best you can do?” The process repeats until the worker says, “Yes, this is the best I can do.” Only then does the supervisor fully engage with the project. This iterative process—demanding, exhausting, but ultimately refining—is what makes good work great.

Now imagine that the worker isn’t human but a machine. Suddenly, the dynamics change. A computer doesn’t get tired. It doesn’t feel frustration or burnout. It can iterate endlessly, answer deeper questions, and refine details in a way no human ever could. This has enormous implications, not just for statistics but for writing—and the role of the writer.

From Spreadsheets to Stories: What AI Can Teach Us About Writing

Let’s go back to the example of my mom and statistics. If she were working with today’s tools instead of those of 30 years ago, her experience would be unrecognizable. What once took hours of manual effort can now be accomplished in minutes with spreadsheets, algorithms, and data analysis tools. But this progress isn’t just about saving time—it’s about fundamentally changing what’s possible. The same principle applies to writing.

Think about an old-school statistician insisting that using a calculator is “cheating.” Does the company care if it’s cheating? Of course not. The company cares about results. They want actionable insights, not handwritten calculations. Writing is no different. The tools have changed. The exercises we teach—drafting, editing, revising—are perhaps outdated. What we want from writing isn’t the process; it’s the outcome. The question is no longer, “Did you follow all the steps?” but rather, “Did the story resonate? Was the narrative compelling? Did it serve its purpose?”

The Walmart Lesson: Speed and Precision

Walmart’s success is a lesson in the power of data. By updating its inventory in real-time, Walmart revolutionized supply chain management. Daily updates were better than weekly, and instant updates were better still. Writing, like inventory management, benefits from this rapid iteration. AI allows writers to ask questions of their work—again and again—refining it with each pass.

Here’s an example. Yesterday, I wrote a story. When I finished, I thought, “This needs something more.” So I added a new element. Then I realized it wasn’t quite right and revised it again. After several iterations, I found the perfect addition. This kind of relentless refinement would be grueling for a human, but with AI, it becomes second nature. AI can help us ask deeper questions about our work, like Stewie asking Brian about his novel:

• Is there a compelling story?
• Is there an interesting narrative?
• Do friends become enemies, and enemies become friends?
• Are we richer for the experience?

AI gives us the freedom to focus on these higher-level questions rather than getting bogged down in the mechanics of writing.

Beyond "Well-Written"

Here’s the funny thing about writing: we often mistake form for substance. Imagine a company praising an Excel spreadsheet because it’s beautifully formatted—the lines are straight, the formulas are correct—but the data is garbage. If the advice derived from that spreadsheet leads to bankruptcy, what good is its polished presentation? Writing can fall into the same trap. People might say, “Oh, this story is well-written,” but does it offer insight? Does it connect with the reader? Does it matter?

In the future, the role of the writer will shift. Instead of laboring over grammar and sentence structure, writers will use AI to handle those tasks. Their focus will be on crafting narratives that resonate, asking the tough questions that make a story worth telling. The art of writing will be less about following outdated exercises and more about delivering meaning, insight, and emotional impact.

The New Rules for Writing

We will never fully benefit from new technologies unless we honor the principles that allowed us to thrive under previous limitations. Just as Walmart leveraged real-time data to revolutionize retail, writers must embrace AI to elevate their craft. But this doesn’t mean abandoning the human element. It means recognizing that tools like AI are extensions of our creativity, not replacements for it.

At the end of the day, writing is about more than words on a page. It’s about connection. It’s about storytelling. And with AI, we have an opportunity to ask better questions, refine our ideas, and push our stories further than ever before.

To my mom: If writing is like statistics, then the tools we have today aren’t here to make it harder—they’re here to make it better. And that’s something worth celebrating.