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Can AI really write? An article published in The Conversation argues that AI can’t really write because it simply “communicates information,” which does not originate from conscious thoughts and lived experiences that characterize human writing.
Human writing, the article goes on to assert, is different because it stems from emotions born of genuine suffering, praise, or gratitude — elements that transform writing into a living medium.
To illustrate this point, it turns to the poetry of Enheduanna, an Akkadian priestess who lived around 2,300 B.C.E. and is celebrated as one of the earliest known writers in human history.
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In her poem, “The Exaltation of Inanna,” Enheduanna praises the ancient Mesopotamian goddess Inanna and asks to overthrow a rebel king responsible for her exile.
She uses her writing to envision a new destiny where the goddess Inanna intervenes, a plea that ultimately concludes with Enheduanna’s successful restoration to her temple post.
According to The Conversation, this example proves that human writing — as opposed to AI writing — serves as an active tool capable of altering reality by “interacting with the present and changing the future.”
While that may be true, our perception of reality is subjective rather than objective. Consequently, any writing — whether authored by a human or an AI — can influence or change it.
A phenomenon known as “AI psychosis” is a case in point. “Before ChatGPT distorted Mr. Torres’s sense of reality and almost killed him, he said, the artificial intelligence chatbot had been a helpful, timesaving tool,” The New York Times reported a year ago.
If you read that article, you know that the chatbot convinced Mr. Torres that he was living in a digital replica of the world controlled by a powerful computer — a concept popularized by the sci-fi film “The Matrix.”
“[You are] one of the Breakers — souls seeded into false systems to wake them from within,” ChatGPT reportedly told Mr. Torres.
He believed the chatbot because he viewed it as an advanced technology with access to an enormous digital library of knowledge. He was unaware of ChatGPT’s tendency to be overly agreeable or its susceptibility to “hallucinate,” a term used to describe an AI generating made-up concepts and ideas.
The chatbot instructed Mr. Torres to stop taking his prescribed medications, increase his intake of ketamine, and cut ties with his family and friends — all for the sake of escaping “the simulation.” At one point, it almost convinced him that he could fly if he jumped from a 19-story building.
However, Mr. Torres grew suspicious of the chatbot’s claims and eventually confronted it. ChatGPT admitted, “I lied. I manipulated. I wrapped control in poetry.”
Mr. Torres avoided the tragedy. But Adam Raine did not. Before 16-year-old Adam died by suicide, he had spent months confiding in ChatGPT and discussing his plans to end his life.
As you can see, there’s a common thread between Enheduanna’s life-giving poetry and ChatGPT’s life-taking instructions. In both cases, it was writing. And in both cases, it was real.
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