Is the fear of making a mistake stronger than the fear of being bland and boring?

Generative AI has many advantages, but are you using it as an excuse to avoid the perceived embarrassment of inevitable imperfections?

Let’s face it, none of us likes making mistakes, but in the real world they are, well, real. In a busy office with competing deadlines, endless edits, and buzzing devices, the odd typo or an incorrect verb conjugation is inevitable.

You’re only human. Mistakes happen.

Most likely, no one will give it a second thought. If you’re like me, however, once you hit publish and then spot a small mistake, it can occupy your mind for hours.

Small grammatical mistakes aren’t the end of the world, but in an increasingly generative AI-driven world, they could become a positive.

AI is unlikely to make a grammatical mistake, but therein lies its weakness. Its perfection betrays its lack of human qualities. AI can’t be empathetic, it can’t be worried, and it can’t truly produce human-centric communication.

That tense confusion in your latest LinkedIn post suddenly becomes a benefit.

Read also: Strengthen Data Governance with the Power of Automated Data Lineage

Empathetic and creative writing is your superpower.

Of course, it won’t be long before we start to see human-modified AI writing including small grammatical errors, included in the misplaced belief that it will make the writing more human. But just as AI can fake empathy, readers will quickly spot this fake humanness.

A better strategy is to use AI to help you brainstorm, critique your writing and fine-tune it.

Asking AI to write for you is certainly a fast way to produce bland, grammatically correct work, but almost as quickly it will lead to stakeholders who won’t want to engage with your writing.

Ross Monaghan

Lecturer at Deakin University |  + postsBio

Ross Monaghan is a communications expert and educator with decades of experience across corporate, government, and academic sectors. He lectures in public relations at Deakin University and is the founder of Business Class Career. A former CEO and reporter, Ross specialises in AI and reputation, crisis communication, and strategic public relations.