AI in writing - Tool or crutch?

I came across something today that bothered me. I was checking out some of the tools offered by the platform that hosts this website. There are some different sections I hadn’t explored, and one of them was new. That was the “AI Marketer.” Given I can’t afford to hire someone to do any kind of marketing yet and I am basically clueless, I decided to see what the recommendations would be.

Before I go any further, let me clarify my stance on this whole “AI” revolution we’re finding ourselves in. Just about everything online now offers this and it’s touched every part of our lives pretty rapidly. Initially, I was completely against it. But I decided to explore a bit, and I have found at times it can be a useful tool. Most of the time I’m just using it as a google search basically. I just want direct information. For example, I want to look up Scriptures on a particular Spiritual gift without having to click on a page with a million ads or sort through people’s opinions on those Scriptures. Or how their grandma read this to them every night and now it's their life Scripture...sorry writers, but we really don't need all that in a space like that. I will then look up that actual Scripture in order to use it. There have also been times I have been trying to organize information. I have found it is particularly useful for that. So, my stance is this – it’s a tool with which I am cautious. But here’s one of the biggest problems I have. It’s very pushy about wanting to “write” things. Since this AI tool has memory, I have made it clear a few times - I do not want any writing suggestions. I do not want headline titles. I do not want chapter descriptions. I do not want an outline. To me, that’s a type of plagiarism. As a matter of fact, as I am transferring this blog from Word to the actual blog page, there's a little "AI star" to the left and these are the options it gives me to "re-write" my own words:

So today I went to check out the plan this AI marketing tool has made. It had some suggestions for social media posts, and I was ok with those. It saves me time when it organizes my words a bit. A few sentences for social media to promote the actual writing I'm doing, that's fine. I saw some email prompts that it will send, I’m ok with those as well so long as it doesn’t write a long message that I didn’t. A product description, I’m going to review it but I’m ok with that. I'm making the actual products though. Help me with SEO (Search Engine Optimization), totally fine with that because I do want more people to be able to find my website. But at the top was a blog post suggestion. Initially I thought oh it’s giving a writing prompt idea that’s kind of cool but not really what I do. I rely on God for my topics, or the experiences I have as I walk through the journey with Him. I clicked on it, and this is what I found:

I was shocked, and rather than being tempted to use this, it made me angry. This wasn't a prompt. This was an entire blog post. Something I would spend hours on, done in minutes. Is this what people are using to write blogs now? Are we resorting to AI generated content for writing? I have to admit, it was a solid piece of writing but to think that a robot produced this really bothered me. I started to wonder, how many pieces of content have I read that were not original at all?

In the pursuit of starting a business, I have seen the heavy influence of AI in the ads. People on videos saying, “why waste your time creating things when AI can do it for you?” It was mostly talking about videos, and I chalked it up to nonsense in my book. I’m sure it works, and I know many are growing their pages that way, but I refuse. It goes against all of my values to create any kind of AI generated content. It’s not original, it's not creative, and the whole reason I do what I do is to glorify God and lead others to Christ. The thought of making generic videos or other content to grow an audience disgusts me. It is frustrating at times to see that there are no likes on a post or video, no comments, very few views on the blog posts. But I’m not doing this for that. I’m doing it to reach the one. I had to change my perspective on things. I do want to reach people. I want to encourage them in their faith walk. I want to lead others to Christ. I pray I can influence people to grow closer to God. But I will do this God’s way and that’s a decision I will stand firm on. It will be done organically. And if that means reaching the four people that read the post, so be it. I will not revert to using worldly strategies to grow my social media platforms, the blog, or the business God has me starting now. I expected to see a lot of AI influence in some of these things, but I did not expect to see an entire blog post that is not written by a human being.

It saddens me to think that the things we read may not even be written by an individual. There are even whole books written by AI now. The thing about writing that you won’t see unless you are a writer is the hard work that goes into this. These posts are generally not done in an hour. They take many hours, sometimes days on certain pieces that require more reflection and prayer. When I think about the guides I am writing, those have already taken hours upon hours of research and Biblical study which I have enjoyed. I have learned more about the Word of God along the journey that’s for sure. Especially in the area of spiritual gifts. But I have had to be so careful not to allow anything else to influence what I write, only the Holy Spirit. It would be easy to snag ideas from other writers or commentators on Scripture, but I won’t do that. I do want to get to the original meaning though. The only thing I quote is the original words (Greek/Hebrew) and their definitions, and I typically use Blue Letter Bible for that. That is a PHENOMENAL study tool by the way and I will post a link to that here: (https://www.blueletterbible.org/). But when I read someone’s story, while some may be able to write a little faster, it still takes time, effort, energy, and commitment and that’s what is so incredible about that piece of literature or content.

It’s the same with videos too. Some content creators do use AI, and I won’t watch those videos. It’s not original, there’s no personality to those. But a true content creator gave up one of the most precious resources they have – their time. And they did that for us, the readers, watchers, and listeners of that content. I can understand using AI for some ideas. But the type of content I create comes from the Holy Spirit, or from my own experiences such as this piece here. Truly relatable content can only come from a person. And on another note, I do my best to support some of those creators, those who have values that align with mine anyway. I do that by liking, commenting, and sometimes sharing that content. I am aware that a lot of content is monetized and that I can support a creator in that way. And for those who are against the monetization of content I would say to you, why do you expect a person to give all of their time for free? Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place to give your time. Anyone who knows me knows this is something I do all the time. I serve God in many ways. At this moment, none of my content is monetized. In fact, it actually costs me money to run this website ($27/mo. for the bare minimum plan plus the yearly domain cost. $11/mo. for Canva added now in case you were wondering) But one day, it will be and what that will do is give me the freedom to make more of that because I will be less bound by the “9-5” life. Don’t get me wrong, I will be working. And many of these content creators are too. But to every content creator out there I would say this – don’t be tempted to use tactics that are not moral. Christian content creators – you have a higher standard on this. I understand wanting that to reach people for Jesus, and I’m all for using tools to do that, but using AI to create your content is NOT the way. This is a hill I’ll die on and if all my blog and social media pages die with it then so be it. That’s in God’s hands anyway.

I worry about the future when I see things like this. Kids now use AI to draft their essays. One of the main purposes of writing those essays in school is to improve your critical thinking. If you can learn to write well, I promise it is one of the greatest skills that will serve you in so many ways. Unlike algebra, which I may have used twice since high school…if you’re an engineer or something though I’m sure you would. But writing is a skill that can be used almost everywhere you go. Nearly every job has a use for it, whether it's social media management, marketing, grant writing, journalism, making a resume or writing an email. You will need proper grammar everywhere. Another thing about writing is that it improves our communication skills. Granted, writing is an introvert’s dream. I know this well. For a while, God has had it on my heart to do videos. But honestly, I do not feel that is a strength of mine. It's a hurdle I'm still not over. Part of that is a lie from the past I believed, part of it is perfectionism, part of it is fear of not knowing enough Scripture or talking too much about me and not enough about God. I’ve stepped out in obedience regardless. But I find that in writing, I can take more time to express myself. Not to mention auto correct was clearly God’s idea because I couldn’t live without it. You can edit comments on social media (except Instagram and that’s quite frustrating…). You can’t edit or delete phrases in a real conversation. But I have found that the more I write, the easier it becomes for me to articulate a certain point to someone in a later conversation. The words I wrote will come back to mind on certain topics and I will be clearer on making my point. It’s not always an essay or a full blog post either, sometimes it’s just jotting down notes on something. Or it may be that research I did on Scripture for some kind of writing project of mine.

Writing is a powerful form of communication that can teach us so much. So, to think that AI is now stepping in to take over that type of communication, to rob us of ideas and creativity, that’s alarming. I’ve heard of AI writing sermons, and I can tell you that in writing there are so many times that it offers those types of prompts. “I can summarize that for you if you’d like.” NO thank you. I will summarize that. Thanks for the info, that’s all I needed. If social media wasn’t already somewhat of a hinderance to this upcoming generation, I worry about what AI will do. At no point as a writer could I be comfortable with doing that. Maybe some will say it’s the school system and fear of plagiarism rising up from my high school and college days, but to me it’s a matter of integrity.

From the very beginning of this blog, I made a commitment to bring my raw, real, authentic self into these blog posts. And it’s SO uncomfortable at times. You wouldn’t believe the struggle I have wanting to delete nearly everything I’ve posted up to this point. Most of that has to do with being concerned about what certain people will think. The enemy can really get in my head about this if I’m not careful or “prayed up” before doing this. I know that eventually this content is going to bring out the “haters” that I see on other creators’ pages. I know I write things that people I know personally don’t agree with. I know that some have read this and have judged the heck out of me because of it, creating an image in their mind without knowing me at all. I know for a fact that people have said I am too passionate, too intense, too enthusiastic, too real. That I share too much, I talk too much, I am “too much.” Not just in regard to what I write though. People who think I don’t know, but I do, and yea it does hurt sometimes. Part of that comes with this calling God’s given me. But at the end of the day, this content isn’t about “me.” It’s about what God is doing in me, through me. It’s about my experience with Him. That’s why the only thing that really matters is reaching that one person. I’m ok with that. I do pray I have the opportunity to write more. To be able to spend more time in prayer, in the Word than I do now. To be free from financial struggles where I can give more, of course I want that. But all I can do is be obedient to what He asks me to do. And do it HIS way. And if that’s sharing the whole story, well, I’ll share it. But I refuse to compromise who God created me to be to appease any human being. I’m not perfect and I recognize that there are plenty of things I am still walking through with God so don’t let me come in here with a “holier than thou” attitude when I say that. And I am absolutely open to correction because it’s needed. But only from people that are led by the Spirit of God.

Here is my bottom line and a commitment I make to each and every person who reads this blog, sees one of my social media posts (ones that have actual "content"), or watches/listens to any of my videos. I will not compromise my integrity just to grow an audience. I will not chase after what God does not want me to do. I will do things HIS way. Now I’m probably going to screw up a few times trying to do it “my” way too – been there, done that. Not every good idea is a God idea. I wrote a post awhile back about this where I said I will be unapologetically “me.” But I don’t recall if I clarified that “me” is one submitted to God, being who He wants me to be, who He created me to be. At times that is going to require me to change, to go through healing, to forgive, to get rid of things in my heart that shouldn’t be there, etc. I’m still learning. And in a lot of ways, I know I’m still immature but at least I’m taking a step. But my writing will be authentic and will glorify God, as will any content I create, and any product I sell in the future. I’m done living life without purpose. So, my goal is to not do things without purpose. Time is valuable, one of the most valuable resources we have. I don’t want to waste any more of it than I did in the years I didn’t follow Jesus. But I am also willing to pay the cost of time that it takes to do this. That is time well spent.

My message to all content creators (writing, audio, video) is this – do not compromise for the sake of building and audience, gaining followers and likes. Do not resort to using AI to write or create content for you. Don’t take the easy way out no matter what that looks like. Stop falling for all these business idea scams out there. Christian folks especially. I know so many of you have the same heart as me and you want to reach people for the right reasons. You want to free up your time for the right reasons; to have resources to help people, I get that. But everything we do comes with a cost. And you have to ask yourself – are you willing to pay that cost? Will you sell your originality, your creativity, your unique voice for AI? Or will you pay the cost of time to put something out there that was done with integrity, with hard work and grit. We learn things through these processes you know. Through successes and failures, we learn. And those lessons are testimonies we will share.

To the audience, the ones who may not be called to create things in this way, I have two things to say to you. One, stop supporting the content creators that use AI for the wrong reasons. Or content that promotes division or strife. Views are why they flourish. The more views, the more content they make like that. That counts for writing too by the way, I can see how many people read the blog but not who of course unless you comment/like. You’re literally helping pay people who either didn’t work for it or are causing division, drama, strife. Two, start supporting content that is real, original, creative. Content that reflects good morals and values I should clarify. Content that actually makes a difference in the world by showing different perspectives or being relatable to what people are going through. Content that encourages and inspires people to change for the better. Content that gives people joy, hope and peace. And in my personal opinion, content that glorifies God. Don’t waste your time. It’s too valuable to spend hours and hours scrolling through social media. This is a lesson I’m still learning. We only have so much time on this earth. And most of us don’t know when that last minute is going to be.

I still have the AI marketing tool side bar. But I turned off this setting:

Will I use AI for some things? Yes. At the end of the day, it is a tool and while I do think we’re going to see some problematic advancements with the technology one day, I am content utilizing it for now. It’s hard to avoid it honestly. It does make for a great search tool. I’ve used Google Gemini to give me a list of Scriptures on a particular topic. I appreciate that it can analyze a large amount of information quickly, though I would never quote directly from anything it found. I know how to properly cite content in research (quoting from Wikipedia for example is a fantastic way to fail an assignment). Giving credit where it is due is also integrity. I will still use it to organize data. I may use it for basic tasks that don’t require creativity. I’m not paying for it though I just use the free part until it runs out. There are some personal tasks it’s helpful for. I’ve had a Google Nest Mini for a few years (calm down conspiracy theorists, I hear you and most of the time I’m probably with you but at this point our phones are the same risk as the speaker…and if you don’t believe me, say 3 times you’re going to vacation in Cabo and watch what comes up on your ads. It might after you read this actually…). I use it as an alarm and to play music. I have a prompt set up – 8:30pm – play my “prayer time” playlist on YouTube music. Or at 5:45am – tell me the weather, play KSBJ radio. At one point I tried using the nest for lists, but it will create a list that doesn’t link to anything and vanishes into the universe. I might ask how many oz are in 2.75 cups if I’m cooking. Or for the instructions on the box, I just threw away for what I’m cooking LOL. I used ChatGPT to organize a list of symptoms I had been experiencing, combined with blood work results, and it gave me an impressive list of questions to ask the doctor on my next visit (while assuring me on every single prompt that it is not medical advice and to ask my doctor). It compiled a checklist that I need to get the business up and running the legal and proper way, and the various stages I will do that in (based on information I entered). There are useful functions for AI. I’m not knocking on the entire system. But depending on AI is dangerous. And using it for content creation and writing is wrong. Using it as a final source of information is not a clever idea.

I want to hear your opinions here. What do you think about AI? How have you drawn your boundaries in using it if you use it at all? Thoughts?