Proponents of AI talk about the technology's ability to improve energy operations, monitor endangered animal populations, help build homes, and more. But do we want artificial intelligence writing our personal texts?
One woman, at least, does not. After concluding that her boyfriend had sent her a birthday message generated by AI, she posted it on Reddit, sparking debate.
"Today, at 12 am, I received a message with words and expressions he doesn't usually use," she explained. "I scanned it with GPTZero, and it says the message is 100% AI-generated. I feel offended and sad, and I don't even want to reply to my boyfriend. Should I say something? Or am I overreacting."
One person joked, "Just reply 'thanks ChatGPT' and leave it at that."
Another commenter wondered if the situation was as clear-cut as it seemed. "Definitely overreacting or we're missing some context," they wrote. "... He didn't want to disappoint you with a badly written message and asked AI for help. … Because that's how much he loves you and he wanted the message to be perfect."
But many others argued that sending a heartfelt message isn't about perfection, it's about authenticity.
"Honestly I am very weirded out by how many people have started using AI for everyday conversations," one said. "Kinda feels like they don't think it's worth the effort to think about what to write for 10 seconds."
Another agreed: "Yeah it's disheartening. I have friends who are using AI for things I never would have thought of," they wrote. "Like using it as their therapist, using it to write their resumes and cover letters, creating whole articles. I understand using it as a tool to help you or supplement your work, but to … replace human contact. Or write a birthday greeting. Meh, not a fan."
This is a common complaint of AI-generated content — it's robotic, it lacks humanity, and it's simply not as good as human-made writing and art. What's worse, the technology requires massive amounts of energy and water to keep its systems constantly running, which has led many environmental advocates to oppose it.
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Absolutely 👍 One commenter summed up the dilemma well. "It seems lazy and thoughtless, but on the other hand maybe he's not a confident writer," they wrote. "... You could tell him you don't care if he's not Shakespeare, and 'let's keep the messages heartfelt and write them ourselves because it means a lot more.'"
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