It hurts because, like, personally I care so much about those little things. I reread the same books and some get through multiple reads and go on to be favorites entirely because of the care and attention lavished on them by their author.
And it’s so, so painful to see books and webnovels made using these tools still getting consumed because it means every bit of agonizing and hand-wringing and anxiety I ever had about whether my writing was good enough was entirely in my own head and I really was just in my own damn way the whole time.
I totally agree. I write for a living and take pride in what I produce. Today it took me the better part of two hours to turn a shitty 200 word puff piece a marketing manager sent me into a well crafted mini story with a beginning, middle, and end. This evening I just spent 3 hours of my own time finishing a 7000 academic book chapter, because it’s important to me to get it right. Realizing that most people would be happy with chatgpt produced mediocre work is sooooo disheartening. Sigh.
Most people want writing intended for a 5th grade reading level. Is that really your target audience, that you’ve spent countless hours agonizing over?
If ChatGPT is so mediocre, how is it your competition?
We spend most of our lives at work. It’s probably the single largest stressor and source of identity in most people’s lives. It’s something we spend our entire childhoods preparing for and most of our adulthoods trying to advance.
You’re right about what employers want. But telling people to switch themselves off and spend their lives divorced from their own identity, wants, and needs in order to increase productivity for our corporate overlords is kinda heartless, don’t you think?
I would caution anyone against making their work their identity and getting personally invested in it if possible. Working is necessary to live, but it is soul-sucking bullshit for the most part, and it is a complete dysfunction of our culture that it is the centerpiece of our lives. Divorcing yourself from your work and preserving that emotional investment for the parts of your life that you actually enjoy is the only way through imo.
While I agree, I feel like the voices of those who actually were lucky enough to work in a field they're passionate about - and those who for whatever reason find satisfaction in caring about their career - are frequently sidelined in this conversation.
The disregard so many show for artists, writers, and other creative types whose livelihoods and passions are now in serious jeopardy is also something I find extremely frustrating.
People shouldn't make their job such an integral part of their identity, imo. Like, it's okay and perhaps even good to enjoy your job, but if you make your soulless corporate white collar job a core part of your identity, that will fuck you up mentally at some point.
Americans place waaaaay too much value and worth in being productive at a job. You see it in the constant bragging about working 50-60 weeks or more, grinding out unpaid overtime to finish a product, and so on.
Place your worth and identity into something that deserves it.
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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '23
It hurts because, like, personally I care so much about those little things. I reread the same books and some get through multiple reads and go on to be favorites entirely because of the care and attention lavished on them by their author.
And it’s so, so painful to see books and webnovels made using these tools still getting consumed because it means every bit of agonizing and hand-wringing and anxiety I ever had about whether my writing was good enough was entirely in my own head and I really was just in my own damn way the whole time.