Humble Beginnings
When I started my blog in 2014, I would write all my blog posts myself. Some of them read well and definitely oozed a sense of style. Others were a clear 1st draft and an outlet for me to vent, raw with very little editing. At the time, I liked to put out raw work. I had it written in my Bio that I don’t like to proofread my writing too much, instead just an unfiltered me. When I decided to start my sustainability-focused magazine, I still wrote my posts myself. I would have a list of article ideas, I would focus on one a week and spend time researching, writing and editing as I go. Meaning I was only able to achieve 1 article a week, although sometimes on a relaxed Sunday, I would try to squeeze out 3 articles, mainly to help keep up with my 2 articles a week target.
Introduction of Chat GPT
Towards the end of 2023, whilst working in a secondary school, I kept hearing the term ChatGPT. At the time, I just believed it was a tool the students used through Snapchat. On a trip away with friends, we discussed ChatGPT. They explained that you could ask it anything and it will do it for you. “Try it, ask it to write a recipe, a lesson plan, anything.” When I heard it, I wasn’t sure how I thought about that concept, but I went home and played around with it.
I had been looking for a tool to help me with my article writing, and this seemed to be everything I was looking for. I took one of my written articles, and I asked it to redo it and neaten it, expand it. ChatGPT could do it all. In my eyes, my article was “elevated” It sounded amazing, professional, almost. So, then, I took it one step further, I asked it to write me an article on the revival of surrealism in art. And boom! A whole article was produced. This was amazing, where had this been the past year, whilst I was building my site from the beginning. However, I remained conflicted, I didn’t like the articles not being my thoughts, so I decided I would still research and make notes and get AI to transfer this into an article, rather than articles produced from scratch.
AI leaves clues
But then I started to notice wording that I didn’t like, but more than that, these words seemed to be AI’s favourite. Wording like Elevate, Tapestry, and Enhance, off the top of my head. This is where I realised AI had its own language, its own voice, so to speak. What is funny is that I started reading blogs and realised straight away that this was AI. The more I used AI, the more I realised there were a lot of AI giveaways, even now, when I read books, I can tell that they have used AI to edit or neaten or even write. It is so hard to tell, but also, what does this mean for the writing and writers of the future? Now that anyone can be a writer.
“For many readers, literature is not just about words on a page, it is about human connection….AI may imitate this gesture, but can it truly replicate the human hand that reaches across time and experience? ” – EllaBrooker (2025)
“Perhaps its role is not to replace the author, but to serve as a tool guided by the author’s imagination.” EllaBrooker (2025) I agreed with this (for a moment) I started writing my articles again, but roughly and then using AI to ‘neaten and keep my wording and tone’. Actually, I really love to write. Whether it be with a pen or a laptop, I love to write! Once I start, it can be a flow of conversation that just flows out of me, and now I could just use AI for the hard part, to neaten, sort out grammar and make it so it reads well.
But does this still take away my voice? As much as I have tried to keep it, AI can’t converse in the way I am conversing with you right now. Even when you ask AI to talk in a conversational tone, it overdoes it. That does not mean AI is not capable of training to produce work exactly as you need. So, I continued to use it to help speed up my workflow. I no longer spent time on neatening and proofreading and applying grammar; this was now all AI’s job.
But over time, I would find myself using it to help order to give me direction when I felt stuck and I won’t lie and say it wasn’t impressive, it became very impressive. So not only had I become a lazy writer, but I was becoming a lazy thinker.
AI is NOT Sustainable
However, things got worse! During a seminar at university we discussed AI and its impact on the earth! ITS IMPACT!! This was news to me and it also horrified me. I was so unaware of this, I had made many changes in my life to put the earth first and to make conscious choices to find this out.
According to UNEP (UN Environment Programme) AI’s environmental issues are based around:
- AI servers produce electronic waste.
- They are large consumers of water, which is becoming scarce in many places.
- They rely on critical minerals and rare elements, which are often mined unsustainably.
- They use massive amounts of electricity, spurring the emission of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
Making AI Greener
Calls have been put in place to make AI more sustainable, but I wonder if these are false promises. If not, I hope it takes place soon, as 5 million gallons daily is horrifying! Especially when we are told not to run the tap whilst brushing our teeth, to wash our clothing on an eco-setting, to reduce flushing the toilet if we can and let’s not mention the hosepipe bans. However, there is enough water to feed AI 5 million gallons daily. It really doesn’t add up. Whilst we reduce our water usage, AI uses water in 3 ways: To keep computers cool, for electricity generation and during the manufacturing of the hardware they run on. What makes things worse is that “Unfortunately, the water used for cooling cannot easily be reused. Fresh water that doesn’t evaporate becomes contaminated with dust, minerals, or chemicals, making it unsuitable to reuse for cooling again”. (Kenny et, 2025)
At this point, should AI be used responsibly and for things that will help push humanity forward? Or should we, as users, be particular about how often we use AI just as much as how long we would let a tap run for? With this usage of water, how long until we are in a water crisis? Or are we not planning ahead? So many questions that I cannot answer and cannot be answered, the only thing that can give us hope is that there are people out there, trying to make AI more sustainable.
Should Writers Use AI
Yes, I have ranted about the environment, and that is enough to slow down my usage, stopping completely feels like stopping social media because of the negative responses and future fears before it’s even started and then missing out on opportunities because you refused to join. At the moment, AI is the perfect definition of cognitive dissonance; we hate it, we know it’s bad for ourselves and the environment, but we also can’t help but notice its benefits.
Author Jami Gold notices similarities regarding its potential benefits and has created her own AI policy, which goes something like this:
Allowed: – AI may be used to help decrease workload. Usage in the non-writing stage is acceptable, such as brainstorming, outlining/developing of ideas, editing, feedback, rewording a sentence or difficult passage, proofreading, etc.
Allowed: – but with Caution: – Research should be done with caution. Information needs to be verified. AI chatbots have been known to make up information.
Not Allowed: No AI-generated content is allowed on Gold’s site. This includes AI-generated images and AI content at writing stages.
I think this is a good grounding policy to start with! After some adjusting, I think I will also create and apply my own policy.
I can still write on my own
This article was written 100 per cent by me, no AI usage to neaten, no AI help with ideas or research. I am reminded that I can write an article from beginning to end again, just as I was doing initially, and I feel relieved that I haven’t completely lost my ability while being lazy with AI. Just me having a good old rant with actual research to back up my statements. A blank page and good old spellcheck. AI is ok for easing the workload, that is, until you can’t do the job without it!
