What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, is a robotic or digital device that replicates a human activity. AI is a machine or program that can do a task that once was relegated to human power. But by this definition, you could argue that a water heater uses artificial intelligence, since it performs a task — heating water and keeping it hot — that once took a whole team of human servants.
So a better definition is that AI relies on intelligence, meaning it has the ability to learn and adapt. That makes AI well suited for iterative design, as long as it can study flaws and figure out ways to resolve them. That’s the key, as it turns out, for developing AI: building in an ability to get smarter with every task, finding ways to do things better, faster and more efficiently.
Today, AI can regulate the temperature of your house, keep your car engine running smoothly and design a better toaster. In an ideal world, AI performs all the menial tasks of everyday life, freeing humans to pursue loftier goals. In reality, AI is already encroaching on human-dominated fields. There are AI chefs and AI architects. Is an AI content writer next?
Can an AI Content Writer Deliver the Goods?
We’re undeniably at the forefront of AI content writers. It’s already a reality, and AI is improving. AI programs can write fictional stories, although the quality of the results isn’t yet impressive. Certainly, no AI program has breached the NY Times best seller list or won a Pulitzer Prize. But AI has managed to generate shorter successes, such as:
- SEO content
- Social media posts
- Fake news
- Click-bait headlines
Due to these short-term accomplishments, companies with the resources to do so are exploring the possibilities of AI writing. Why? Once it works and performs consistently, an AI content writer would be capable of pumping out content faster and more cheaply than any human being could. AI-generated content could turn the tide of SEO and online marketing toward these companies.
How Does an AI Content Writer Work?
Programming AI to generate content isn’t simply a matter of lining up the proper ones and zeroes to slap the right words and phrases together to create meaningful sentences. Coders build their AI programs to learn how to write, just as you learn how to speak a foreign language. The steps are similar:
- Learn the rules
- Understand the goals
- Review past successes (most likely by humans)
- Practice, practice, practice
Assuming the program learns appropriately, AI may eventually succeed. It takes a huge amount of existing content and continuous practice to produce something new that simulates those past articles. Here’s an example of an AI-generated blog post about Asheville, NC. While AI writing’s obviously not yet fully functional, there’s no reason to think that, given sufficient resources, an AI content writer may be available someday. In the meantime, we can at least enjoy the setbacks, such as this series of AI-generated pickup lines:
- “You have a lovely face. Can I put it on an air freshener? I want to keep your smell close to me always.”
- “You’re looking good today. Want snacks?”
- “Hey baby, are your schematics compatible with this protocol?”
What Can Human Writers Do?
Human content writers still have the advantage. So far. To stay ahead, however, you must press that advantage. Keep on top of the rules for search engines and SEO. Use your creativity in exciting new ways; it’s still a human strength.
Google is preparing ways to determine real articles from fake news, and human-authored content vs. AI content. Their guidelines follow the same principles that Ray Access has touted since we began writing website content: establishing expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness (EAT). If you use these principles in your content writing, you’re closer to not only what Google wants to see, but what website visitors want to see. An it’s what an AI content writer will eventually strive for.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.