Will AI Replace Tech Writers?

  Figure 1 - Star Trek 1971 Text Game from CODE PROJECT site

Introduction

Will AI eliminate your job as a tech writer?  From the research I’m doing and courses I’m taking, the answer seems an obvious ‘No’.  Currently, AI is a hot topic with discussions ranging from ‘it is just another search engine' to ‘it’s alive and plans to kill all humans and take over the world’! 

My personal hunch is that human creativity, expertise, and emotional understanding will continue to play a crucial role because, it is up to the user to ‘ask the right question in the right form’ and not delve into ‘forbidden territory’.

Although AI is a major technological breakthrough that will have widespread implications across most industries, it is not new.  AI has been in our everyday lives for over a decade (think of Grammarly, Facebook/ Google ads, search engines, auto-fill) -- so why has it become such a hot and often scary topic recently?  Two key reasons:

1.     it’s being applied to creative industries (art, music, writing, video)

2.     it has become generative, meaning it can create something from scratch.

However, AI is currently unable to write anything long-form.  Example:  GPT-4’s ideal length for a single response is typically around 200-300 words. 

An Example from Previous Technology

But it took a lot of time to get to where we are today.  Programming computers (let alone AI engines) is obviously complicated.  It takes skill and patience to think through how something is done (something technical writers excel at doing). 

Writing Code 101

I remember my first computer, a Model 1, Radio Shack, TSR-80.  It used cassette tape cartridges to store data and, even with a home-made, expansion interface, the hulking machine would only provide about 1.77 Megahertz of processing speed with a limit of 52 bytes of storage on a cassette tape cartridge! 

Most early adopters had no alternatives other than to key in programs themselves.   BYTE or PC User magazine would publish code in the back section of the magazines.  Here is an example of BASIC code for the Star Trek game.      

  Figure 2 - Star Trek 1971 Text Game from CODE PROJECT site

From the densely-packed, printed pages, you would type each number, letter or symbol into your keyboard.  Once finished, you launched (compiled) it and held your breath to see if it worked.  If it did not, you spent more hours searching for the one letter, number or symbol that was typed incorrectly, corrected it and recompiled.  Often it became an iterative process of check, fix and try again. 

All this work, knowing that most of these games would be boring as all get out,  For example my favourite game was based on the Star Trek TV series.  The ‘Enterprise’ and ‘Klingon’ space ships were represented by bouncing letters and symbols on the screen – nothing slick.  You could move the ‘ships’ around on never ending adventures through space with key strokes (W for up, A for left, S for down and D for right.  There was no mouse or directional arrow keys).

All that said, it is obvious that computer programs are light years ahead of those early days.  Creating a system to achieve ‘Artificial Intelligence’ is exponentially more complicated than programming.  So we must be patient with the new tools.

The Difficulties with AI

Click on this poster to go to the TED Talk, ‘The danger of AI is weirder than you think’ by Janelle Shane.  It highlights a few of the significant difficulties with AI and will give you confidence to keep developing your technical writing skills.  

Language Model Basics

So, what are some tools you can begin exploring, if you have not already started.  Here are links to some basic information about the most recognised examples of language models that can generate natural language responses based on user input. 

·       ChatGPT

·       Microsoft’s Edge’s Bing - ‘Prometheus’

·       Google’s ‘Bard’

Their ‘conversational nature’ is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that has been fed large amounts of data to ‘learn’ from.  The tools can be used to answer questions, point out examples and references, generate content, provide feedback and spark creativity. 

It is important that you know more about these tools so you can leverage them to your advantage, because interest in the potential of these tools is growing. 

Obviously, the tools are imperfect and can sometimes produce inaccurate, misleading, or biased information. Therefore, it is important to use them with caution and critical thinking, and not blindly trust their outputs. These tools are only as good as the data and algorithms they rely on and the person asking the questions.

How AI Can Benefit Technical Writers

To illustrate one way AI can benefit writing, I’ve taken an excerpt from Einstein’s work to illustrate the benefits and challenges technical writers face when using AI.  To create the AI version, I used a tool in Microsoft™ Edge through a ‘Discover’ extension setting the tone to ‘Professional’ and the length to ‘Medium’.  (I did not edit the first two columns.)

The principle of relativity; original papers

By Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955; Minkowski, H. (Hermann), 1864-1909; Saha, Meghnad, 1893-1956; Bose, Satyendranath, 1894-1974

Table of versions

Original segment from The Principle of Relativity	Professional and Medium version by Prometheus AI	Tech Writer
It is well known that if we attempt to apply Maxwell’s electrodynamics, as conceived at the present time, to moving bodies, we are led to asymmetry which does not agree with observed phenomena.  Let us think of the mutual action between a magnet and a conductor.  The observed phenomena in this case depend only on the relative motion of the conductor and the magnet, while according to the usual conception, a distinction must be made between the cases where the one or the other of the bodies is in motion.  If, for example, the magnet moves and the conductor is at rest, then an electric field of certain energy-value is produced in the neighbourhood of the magnet, which excites a current in those parts of the field where a conductor exists.  But if the magnet be at rest and the conductor be set in motion, no electric field is produced in the neighbourhood of the magnet, but an electromotive force which corresponds to no energy in itself is produced in the conductor; this causes an electric current of the same magnitude and the same career as the electric force, it being of course assumed that the relative motion in both of these cases is the same.	One of the problems with Maxwell's electrodynamics as it is currently understood is that it does not account for the symmetry of the observed phenomena when a magnet and a conductor interact. The outcome of this interaction depends only on their relative motion, not on which one is moving and which one is stationary. For instance, if the magnet moves and the conductor is still, an electric field with a certain energy level is created around the magnet, which induces a current in the conductor if it is present in the field. However, if the magnet is still and the conductor moves, there is no electric field around the magnet, but only an electromotive force in the conductor that has no energy by itself, but produces an electric current of the same size and direction as the electric field in the previous case. The relative motion is assumed to be the same in both cases.	Maxwell’s electrodynamics is a set of equations that describe the behaviour of electric and magnet fields and how they interact with matter.  They also describe how changing electric and magnetic fields can create each other, leading to electromagnetic waves that travel through space at the speed of light.  One problem with how Maxwell's electrodynamics is understood today, is that it fails to recognise the lop-sidedness of this interaction when one or the other body is moving or still, the direction and speed of the movement. However, the common view, calls us to distinguish between: 1.     A moving magnet with a stationary conductor - the moving magnet creates an electric field around itself that has a specific amount of energy.  The energy generates a current when the conductor crosses the current. 2.     A stationary magnet with a moving conductor - the moving conductor does not create any electric field around the magnet, but the magnet experiences an electromotive force with no energy of its own to cause a current in the conductor. Assumption:  In both situations, the relative motion and current is the same in degree and direction.

In the sample above, AI did not eliminate the repetitive nature of the writing, clarify some of the concepts and it did not break the writing into bite-size pieces for ease of reading which is why I believe technical writing will remain safe for a good long while because AI cannot yet think with ‘creatively and laterally’ and it does not yet have the understanding to:

• ·       know and appeal effectively to the audience
• ·       understand the purpose of the document
• ·       use words, and words in context, that will relate to the reader.

Conclusion

Today, Artificial Intelligence is being considered to replace all kinds of writing jobs from writing letters, resumes, term papers, etc.  AI is also being used to compose music, create videos and unique art works. 

Some applications are amazing, inspirational and revolutionary, such as using AI to quickly search mountains of data available in the medical or legal profession.  As AI progresses, some professions will be more affected than others (see the lists of references below for additional reading).

Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) can and will affect our work as technical writers.  It will do so more as an aid to our research efforts, write first drafts, and help us save time by taking a first crack at unravelling convoluted information.  It will serve us by researching ideas, searching through data for answers and by combining everything into a smooth and palatable form.

Nevertheless, it will be our ability to ‘think outside the box’ and ask the right questions from AI that will be our saving grace.  Technical writers are experts at reading, analysing, considering and thinking through what the most effective final form a document must be in to satisfy the requirement of the readers.

Just for fun, I asked one of the AI tools if AI would replace technical writers, here is the answer:

AI will not replace technical writers soon because it still can’t write like a human. AI can assist technical writers in their work by automating some mundane tasks and producing helpful content to edit and refine.  However, AI will never replace writers who generate content with creativity and in a way that other humans can easily understand.

In summary, AI will not replace technical writers but will assist them in their work by automating some mundane tasks and producing helpful content to edit and refine.

      ======================================= 

For further reference

Geeks for Geeks, ChatGPT: 7 IT Jobs That AI Can’t Replace, 2 April 2020, sagarikabiswas.

Medium, 15 Jobs That Will Never Be Replaced by AI, 4 January 2020, Chan Priya.

L Makeup Institute, Top 10 Careers That Can’t Be Replaced by AI or Automation, 19 November 2020, ETS

Wired, A.I. Tries 20 Jobs, 18 March 2023 (Video)

World Economic Forum, These 6 skills cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence, 23 October 2020.

EXAMPLE OF TWO COURSES

There are over seventy-five meetings I've created for my clients.  Here are the promotional overviews for two of my favourites:

Manage Meetings

This course is designed to help you develop the skills you need to facilitate and/ or organise, efficient, effective and engaging meetings.  Recognising the common reasons why meetings fail to deliver outcomes, you will learn a variety of techniques to ensure your workplace meetings are a valuable use of your and your attendees' time.

Learning Outcomes

•       Prepare and conduct productive meetings

•       Establish a plan and process to achieve desired meeting outcomes

•       Conduct focused and time-efficient meetings

•       Identify processes and issues that help or hinder contributions

•       Facilitate discussions, problem-solving and resolution of issues

•       Develop guidelines for meaningful agendas and minutes.

Meetings take place in families, between friends or colleagues and in small to very large groups.  An average of 35 to 37 percent of your working hours may be spent in meetings. 

In some organisations the amount of time spent in meetings has even been equated with the significance of someone’s role.  (Meaning the more important your role is seen to be, the more meetings you will be in per day.)

Managers, for instance, are estimated to spend up to sixty percent of their time in meetings.

Therefore, the value of learning how to plan and execute a successful meeting cannot be overestimated for your career.  This course will introduce you to proven ways to organise, plan and prepare for a meeting as the facilitator, organiser or participant in line with your organisation’s procedures and policies and best practice foundations.

You will learn how to consider the purpose of your meeting, when, how and where to schedule your meeting.  You’ll learn how to establish rules of engagement and maintain a safe environment for face-to-face and/ or virtual meetings and ensure inclusive engagement of the participants using tools and techniques that foster dynamic and purposeful interchanges. 

Unsuccessful meetings are usually seen as disruptive and unproductive and sometimes result in people being reluctant to attend meetings in the future.  Although holding a meeting seems easy enough, most have experienced meeting failures.  Did you know it is estimated that:

•             From 25-50 percent of meeting time is typically wasted.

•             From 45-47 percent of attendees believe most meetings are a waste of time.

•             Up to 40 percent of attendees admit they’ve dozed off during a meeting.

•             Almost 70 percent or attendees multitask during meetings.

Regarding Work Health & Safety (WHS), the more meetings you attend the more exhausted you feel and your perception of your workload seems heavier.

A meeting is the gathering of individuals for a specific purpose.  It can be formal or informal; spur of the moment/ad hoc, regularly-scheduled or carefully-planned and deliberate.  The purpose can be to inform, discuss, debate, celebrate, recognise contributions or to solve specific issues and make decisions.

Meetings take place in a variety of ways, from the formal conditions of Board meetings to impromptu face-to-face meetings in the hallway.  Many meetings in the working week are conveniently conducted virtually through a variety of technology. 

Virtual Meetings

With geographically dispersed teams, most of us will have experienced a meeting that was entirely virtual or where several participants joined in the discussions using virtual tools.  

These tools may include telephone or internet connections, conference call, using audio/visual videoconferencing technology, desktop sharing such as with Skype and Skype-like tools, WebEx, virtual meeting rooms and a growing number of sophisticated phone-based applications. 

Their great benefit is to offer a cost-effective way for organisations to ensure dispersed teams can share routine updates in real time, discuss and solve problems together during ongoing projects.  

Project Management Fundamentals

There is no lack of project management theories, frameworks, software applications, standards and methodologies, yet projects continue to frequently miss their stated objectives.  One reason is a common practice of ‘force-fitting’ a specific methodology onto projects that would be managed more effectively and efficiently using a less complicated approach.

The Project Management Fundamentals, two-day course is designed to be a practical, up-to-date perspective of the basics of project management and how you can use them to manage a variety of common business (and life) projects. 

The case history used as the focus of your learning experience results in something beneficial for the community, inspirational and galvanises the learning for future use.

Although the principles within the course are beneficial for all types of projects, they do not represent any specific methodology or standard to be applied.  They cover an end-to-end project lifecycle based on the application of the critical knowledge areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge - PMBoK®.

Within your organisation, this course is especially helpful in managing the 80 percent of projects that typically do not require a specific formal project methodology or standard.  

Once you have completed this course you will be able to scope, plan, lead and manage a project, including scheduling, budgeting and managing risk until the project closes.  You’ll also look at some of the reasons projects fail and how to overcome them.

The course is designed especially for you if you are:

• ·       Needing support as first-time to developing project manager
• ·       Wanting a good review of basics for more experienced project managers
• ·       Looking for a framework of understanding of the tools necessary to manage the parameters and details of projects within an organisation. 

It includes some brief information on what are thought to be the top ten project management methodologies.  If your organisation has not already decided on a preferred methodology there are some high-level details to compare.  This could be beneficial when managing large (budget and scope), high-risk, highly visible, complicated projects.

Learning Outcomes

• •       Brief introduction to various methodologies and guidelines
• •       Understand foundations for planning, justification and assessment
• •       Importance of the business case
• •       Define project scope and boundaries
• •       Planning effective project communications and reporting
• •       Set up and managing project schedules
• •       Controlling scope, budgets, quality and risk
• •       Close and report on projects

Project Types

Up to 70% of projects reportedly do not meet their original objectives, stay within their defined scope, schedule and agreed-to budget.  Nearly 60% of projects fail because of poor project communication and reporting[1]. 

With the changing business environment, knowing how to manage projects is an enviable skill you can develop. 

Critical strengths of successful project managers include: 

• ·       Accurately defining the scope
• ·       Cost and significance of a proposed project
• ·       Employing excellent communications
• ·       Reporting skills
• ·       Being able to apply appropriate guidelines and methodologies suitable to the project at hand.

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[1] Mavenlink Blog, '21 Shocking Project Management Statistics that Cost Business Owners Millions Each Year', 3 July 2017:  http://blog.mavenlink.com/21-shocking-project-management-statistics-that-explain-why-projects-continue-to-fail