Calvin Wang

5/5 (1)

A student’s dream would be to write a report or an essay in just a matter of a few minutes. One can only hope for some way to instantly generate or paraphrase heaps of texts with just a press of a button. That dream has become somewhat of a reality in the last few years, with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) assisted writing software. These writing softwares have introduced new ways of effective writing and content generation for not only students, but also other professions such as researchers, authors, and other forms of online creators (Osmond, 2022). One of the more well-known writing software introduced in the past decade is Grammarly, which – described in a nutshell – is a grammar and spelling-checking tool (Grammarly.com, n.d.). With the help of A.I. and machine learning, the grammar and spelling checking tool also provides the option to change the style and tone of the text with real-time writing feedback.

A.I. Assisted writing tools

Using writing tools such as Grammarly seems like a good option for people who want to get their text grammar and spelling checked, as it effectively proofreads the entire text or document in just a matter of a few seconds (Hamilton, 2022). But what if there is a tool that is not only able to check the grammar and spelling of the author, also able to paraphrase large amounts of texts? This is seemingly answered with the introduction of Quillbot; an online writing assistant that uses A.I. and machine learning to paraphrase sentences. Moreover, the online writing assistant offers the user to do grammar and spelling checks, summarize texts, plagiarism checks, and vocabulary enhancements (Osmond, 2022). However, most of the buzz surrounding Quillbot revolves around the paraphrase functionality of the writing tool. The paraphrase tool is able to reword the writing into a number of different styles, which the user can choose from. Although that does not seem all too controversial, it is the fact that users are able to copy and paste existing texts into the writing tool, and get paraphrased texts without putting much effort into it. Of course, not everything can be paraphrased up to a standard where it can bypass the plagiarism checks.

The pros and cons

The introduction and innovation of A.I.-assisted writing tools have raised many concerns for not only universities but also for researchers, authors, online creators, and other forms of content creation. Moreover, as A.I. and machine learning have garnered increased traction over the years, we can only expect better and more efficient A.I. & machine-learning-assisted writing tools in the near future. Perhaps tools that are able to completely generate heaps of texts with just a few input suggestions (just like DALLE-2!). Of course, there are also many upsides to using these A.I.-assisted writing tools! The writing tool is especially useful for people that are not fluent in a language. Moreover, people who wish to write better and more efficiently can also benefit from the use of these writing tools. Lastly, it can save a tremendous amount of time for people that write a lot of text for their profession.

Thoughts regarding writing tools

I think A.I.-assisted writing tools are great and very useful for many cases. However, there are still many grey areas where we have to debate about the use of writing tools such as Quillbot. Moreover, where do we draw the line between what we consider plagiarism or paraphrasing if it is generated by a writing tool? I think we have to wait a bit longer until we can get a clear answer to these kinds of questions. Also, if you are reading this, you might be wondering if I made use of the Quillbot paraphrasing tool, and to answer that question: No, I did not (I did run the text in Grammarly for grammar and spelling checks).

SOURCES

Grammarly.com. (n.d.). Grammarly: Free Online Writing Assistant. https://www.grammarly.com/student?q=brand&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand_student&utm_content=sa360test&utm_term=grammarly&matchtype=b&placement=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhY-aBhCUARIsALNIC05kEMcNRbLRNT0otfC3SBPXcqsi4cIaZdRu0O7DMCqdM8LoO69w-6UaAvjjEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Hamilton, J. (2022, June 1). Quillbot Review: Is it a Good Tool for Authors? Kindlepreneur. https://kindlepreneur.com/quillbot/

Osmond, C. (2022, May 26). Quillbot Review. https://grammarist.com/writing-tools/quillbot-review/

5/5 (1)

Step 1: establish a presence on a social media platform and gain a small following

Step 2: take commissions from the followers

Step 3: input textual prompts and let an AI generate a digital artwork for you on the internet

Step 4: sell the AI-generated artworks as commission pieces

Step 5: profit??

No in all seriousness, artworks generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be a major concern for digital artists in the near future. OpenAI – an Artificial Intelligence research and deployment company – has recently introduced DALL-E 2, a new AI system, which is able to automatically create completely new images, edit existing images, create variations of the images, and even merge two input images by following textual input prompts (Mike Kaput, 2022; Ryan O’Connor, 2022). Moreover, the images generated by DALL-E 2 are incredibly realistic and are almost comparable to human-level creativity (Loz Blain, 2022). Although the concept of textual input-based image generation is not new by itself (google image search is an example of a textual input-based image generator), previous AI models were only able to generate a limited set of images within a defined space. OpenAI was able to set a new standard for the image generation and manipulation scene since it can almost limitlessly provide artworks and iterations from textual input (Mike Kaput, 2022). Notably, other tech companies are following OpenAI’s move, and are also introducing their own AI models to the market (Romero, 2022). But what does this mean for digital artists and the graphic design industry?

There are of course positive implications for digital artists and people working in the graphic design industry. First of all, digital artists are now able to access a library with limitless references and ideas, which can save a tremendous amount of time for the artists. Moreover, digital artists can enhance their creativity, simply by inputting textual prompts. Secondly, marketeers and graphic designers are able to save a lot of time and money, since these AI systems can also generate visual ideas and variations for logos, blog & website images, thumbnails, and other forms of content (Loz Blain, 2022; Mike Kaput, 2022). Thirdly, AI systems such as DALL-E 2 provide more accessibility for content creation. Traditionally, only a small number of people were able to create content, due to the high skill level required for making content. Whether it is drawing & painting, graphic design, or visual creation, it all required a set of high-level skills to be able to do it (professionally speaking of course). However, these AI systems have – to a certain extent – removed the high-skill level barrier, and thus made it more accessible to a larger group of people.

While the introduction of DALL-E 2 has given digital artists to work with, it could also have negative implications for these digital artists and the graphic design industry as well. Stock photo businesses could be heavily affected by the wide commercial availability of DALL-E 2 (and other AI models). Moreover, due to the nature of the stock photo business, which heavily relies on cheesy and inauthentic photos, it can easily be replaced by AI image generators mike (Mike Kaput, 2022). In addition, the use of DALL-E 2 and other similar AI models could disrupt the work and revenue streams of designers, artists, photographers, and visual content creators (Loz Blain, 2022; Mike Kaput, 2022; Romero, 2022). As previously mentioned, the removal of the high-skill level barrier in this creative industry can also lead to negative implications for the people working in this industry. For example, businesses can reduce the costs of hiring people that are specialized in certain areas such as design, photography, photoshop, etc. Moreover, other concerns regarding the use of DALL-E 2 are generating and distributing explicit unwanted content, fraud, misinformation, privacy issues, etc.

But what does this mean for the people working in this creative industry? DALL-E 2 and other AI models will undoubtedly disrupt the creative industry with major implications for the people working in this, albeit both positive and negative. The ethical usage of DALL-E 2 and other AI models is still in a grey area and leaves room for a wider conversation, but what can be said is that the technology powering the AI models is incredibly impressive.

Sources:

Loz Blain. (2022, July 29). OpenAI’s DALL-E 2: A dream tool and existential threat to visual artists. New Atlas. https://newatlas.com/computers/dall-e-2-ai-art/

Mike Kaput. (2022, July 20). DALL-E 2 and the Future of Design. https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/blog/dall-e-2

Romero, A. (2022, July 7). DALL·E 2 Will Disrupt Art Deeper Than Photography Did. Medium. https://betterprogramming.pub/dall-e-2-will-disrupt-art-deeper-than-photography-did-b900b52c1ea2

Ryan O’Connor. (2022, April 19). How DALL-E 2 Actually Works. News, Tutorials, AI Research. https://www.assemblyai.com/blog/how-dall-e-2-actually-works/

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