Why We Write

I have promoted the work of the CPX (Centre for Public Christianity) before, especially their podcast. This week, in an interview that had much that was compelling on other subjects, Oliver Burkeman made what i think is an incredibly important point about Artificial Intelligence (link to podcast episode in comments).

I work in a field (higher education) that has experienced a great deal of upheaval about developments in AI. Oftentimes the response feels desperate or even panicky about the potential of machines writing like human beings. I have heard too many weak statements that claim that computers will never write like human beings and that AI is some kind of scourge. Burkeman, in a significant recasting, says that, in the end, it is not really a question of whether AI could generate a novel like those of Austen, Dostoevsky, Dickens (insert other great authors here) or could generate poetry. Rather, he says: "The important thing about a novel written by a human is, not that it couldn't be approximated or exceeded on some technical by a machine, but that it was written by a human." What is important about humans writing and interacting is precisely that - that it is humans connecting with one another on some level. In one sense, this is a great example of something that is not a "measurable" difference, but one that is nevertheless essential.
What recognizing this truth did for me was to reiterate the cultural folly that has been absorbed and that has caused so much angst about AI. Specifically, across cultural categories and groups, there has been a move to viewing life as transactional and to think of everything in terms of monetization. While not universal, the seeming panic of some in the face of AI is because, for writers and artists it has the potential to take away their livelihood. This boiling down of everything to a question of economics is endemic and troubling. We follow long-standing spiritual and philosophical errors (including Marxism) when we view all of life as just economics. It undermines much deeper truths about who were are as human beings and how we flourish. It cultivates a love of money and the deception (exposed by Jesus in Luke 12:13-21) that such a thing as economic security exists.
Burkeman's insight is also an important reminder to those who feel that they have the gift of writing. I have noticed how often, even in myself, writing becomes something that is not primarily done in order to connect in a meaningful way with other human beings. Instead, there is an internal drive to have the writing recognized. So many people talk about wanting to write or publish a book. But why is that so important? Surely if we look carefully at ourselves, it is too often the need to feel validated. Of course, for others, writing has simply become an economic transaction - a way to make money.
All of this is to say that perhaps more of us, as writers, should not be exercising those gifts primarily to gain a wide audience (which may well be about my own ego or need to feel special). Instead, perhaps, we should be doing so in order to connect with and bless those around us.
Writing does not need a large audience to make a difference. We do not need to make money in the sales of a book or the monetization of a blog in order for our writing to be valuable. We must reject the business mantra that everything must be scalable. For most of us, writing will never be a livelihood. But it makes us feel more alive and it can enliven and encourage those who know not only our voice but our life.

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