Are content creators destined to spend their careers fixing the toothpaste robot that stole our jobs?

And would that be a bad thing?

(For context: what are you talking about?)

I’m not worried about AI stealing my job as a content writer. I’m excited about how it will evolve.

AI tools have sky-rocketed my productivity, re-ignited my excitement for work and made me a better writer. Turns out, my pain points were never about a lack of inspiration or creativity. It was the lack of efficiency.

My boss always says, “Just break the white page, get something down and you’ve done the hardest part.”

Also known in the industry as the ‘SFD’ – shitty first draft.

Now, and preferably, forever, AI does the hardest part for me.

Bringing it back to my analogy…

Mr Bucket’s original job screwing caps onto toothpaste tubes is content writing before AI.

I think this quote from the film sums up what that was like quite nicely…

“The hours were long, the pay was terrible, and occasionally, there were unexpected surprises.”

In the end, Mr Bucket gets a more interesting, better-paid role at the factory. Fixing and maintaining the robot that took his job.

I much prefer my new job of fixing and maintaining the metaphorical AI toothpaste robot.

Research is easier and more thorough. Article outlines are done for me, giving me an SEO-optimised structure which hits (and improves) my client’s briefs. I have an editor, PA, proofreader, sense-checker, and idea-suggestor, for free, whenever I need them. And we make a damn good team.

So if it can do all that, why am I not worried about it replacing me?

AI-written text can be good, but it’s not great. We all know its technical limitations, but its biggest flaw, through no fault of its own, is that it doesn’t care.

It doesn’t build relationships, collaborate with others, or get excited about what you’re trying to achieve. There’s no ‘above and beyond’ with AI.

It’s an out-of-the-box solution for a skill that’s anything but.

Maybe one day it will take my job. But I think the day humans stop writing is the day humans stop reading. In which case we’re all screwed anyway.

AI Oath🤚📕

I solemnly swear I did not open a single AI tool while writing this article. 

But I probably should have. It might have told me it’s not as funny as I think it is. And I wouldn’t have spent half an hour deep-diving the Willy Wonka fandom.

FAQs

Why did Mr Bucket lose his job at the toothpaste factory?

In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie’s dad (William Bucket) lost his job because a new robot did his job more efficiently – and for less money.

About Lydia Gill

Qualified SEO copywriter and content marketer with experience writing articles, website content, social media and product descriptions. I have worked across a wide range of industries but have a keen interest in sustainability, science and technology.