Is being able to write – and write well – a lost art?
I have been told many times that having the ability to write compelling stories or copy is a craft and a skill. Some people envy that ability. Yet how will our children find, practise and learn to love this craft? How will fresh employees test their knowledge and grow their skills if they’re not writing drafts and getting feedback (from people) to refine? What will our experiences, learnings and actions be if what we read is filtered by bots to reflect what’s ‘already out there’?
I know and appreciate that AI has a role to play in enhancing efficiencies and accessing new ways of thinking. It’s clever, exciting and powerful. It can be a teacher (though should not the only one). Yet as we begin to rely more and more on AI tools to undertake and improve our writing, is individual skill and creativity being lost? If so, will we find other ways to express our creativity?
Being creative, and importantly thinking creatively, is known to improve our mood, give us meaning and teach us empathy (Psychology Today 2025). If our work now involves less time for pondering, brainstorming and questioning; if our daily lives offer fewer opportunities to reflect, imagine, paint, play an instrument or draw – where do we truly express ourselves?
I relish the idea of pulling words together to create meaning. There’s nothing quite like compiling a sentence or paragraph to spark an emotion, a thought, a promise, an action. It’s a form of creative expression and uses multiple regions of the brain in important ways. And reading well structured, thought-provoking and insightful posts, stories, books – even reports – is a pleasure.
Humans offer brilliant ideas, innovative solutions, thoughtful interpretations and playful challenges. Let’s not lose our inner authors – our unique voices and expressions. Write because it’s good for your brain. Write because it’s freeing and fun. Write because we need human communication that’s untouched by bots. Let’s keep writing for our future.
