As a freelance food news writer, creative writer, and photographer, I’ve come to appreciate the process of researching, outlining, and drafting articles and stories, as well as taking photos using my own effort. So, with all the buzz about AI in writing, photography, videos, and beyond, I’ve begun to wonder if there’s anything to using AI for me.

For my work on the Chowhound website, I never use AI. It’s not even allowed. I do the research, frame the story and the angle, and write the article. I feel good that there are still venues publishing all human-created content. To that end, in the last year or two, there was a statement put out by the New York Times that laid out its policy for using AI in its newspaper. To summarize it, the statement said writers could use AI for research, brainstorming, help with distribution, and headlines, but not for writing articles, and there is editor oversight. I think there is merit in that idea.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com M on Unsplash

However, I would like to know more about the technology before rejecting it outright. I’ve just started to experiment with AI and have had a handful of brainstorming chat sessions about fiction ideas and for strategies for preservation and rainforest ecology, though I feel a bit guilty about doing it because of the high energy needs of data centers that host AI platforms.

So, where do I draw the line? I certainly don’t want AI to write for me. But historically, it’s been shown that trying to evade technological progress has not been successful, as the technology usually revamps the economy and the job market. However, I would like to retain my creative voice, and I enjoy the effort. I learn a lot when I do the work myself. The question is, for some styles and applications, does AI improve my work? Is there another area AI would benefit working a as freelancer besides the actual writing?

I’ll come back and answer this question and share what I discover as I experiment with various platforms. For my trials, I’d like to start using AI with a light hand to see if it can improve, not replace, my work. I don’t think I’m going to totally adopt the technology; however, I would like to give it a thorough run to see how I feel about AI before accepting it, or rejecting it without firsthand experience. 

Stay tuned!

Feature Image Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash