Introduction

With the growth of Artificial Intelligence, there are many different discussions happening around its use and the risks it poses.  One of these debates involves the role of AI in the human creative process. This is an issue I am personally thinking through, due to having written a book that has just been published that discusses some of the impacts that AI might have and how we can best navigate those changes. As part of that process, I used an AI platform to help in the editing phase. I didn’t realize that was a controversial thing to do or that I should disclose it. But it was brought to my attention, and so I wanted to address this issue in an honest and open way.

I did use AI, but as one step in a much larger process. This helped me create something meaningful, even though I lack time, money, or institutional support. Like any tool, AI when used correctly doesn’t take away from skill, it can help extend it. I started using AI in my construction job. And as I show in this essay, AI can help people working under real constraints produce quality, meaningful work. I’m one of those people.

How I Use AI in Construction

I incorporate AI in my primary job, where I’m a carpenter and a foreman who works on commercial renovations of historic buildings. I used it to help create an Excel form—with drop-down menus—that allowed me to standardize the way I do estimates.

When doing the actual bid estimate, I use it to calculate all the different dimensions that I need for each room in the building such as the perimeter linear feet, ceiling square feet, wall sq. ft., etc. There is a massive amount of information on site plans, and AI helps organize it. I always go back and check it, and it is never perfect, but I haven’t yet met a human who was either.

Every once a while in a project there is an issue that needs some complex calculations. A good example is trying to fit new stairs in an existing space to where it is within modern day code. I’ve used AI to figure out the different layout possibilities that we can use in the area with which we have to work. Sometimes I can do the math in my head, other times it helps to be able to run it through an AI program.

But I still pound the nails, screw the screws, and cut straight lines. Part of my job is thinking through scheduling of different trades, deliveries of material, and a thousand other variables to keep a project running without lags or delays. All of my knowledge, skills, and physically demanding work isn’t cancelled out because I use AI. It is one step in a thousand other steps.

How I Use AI in Writing

I feel the same way about using AI for writing. I use it specifically in the editing phase, which is far along in my writing process. My overall method is that I’ll begin by brainstorming on a piece of paper, writing the main theme in the middle, then all the different concepts that branch from it. These usually become my chapters or essay sections.  Then I’ll draft a skeleton outline that includes the sections of each chapter and subsections.

The next step is fleshing out that outline with one- or two-word prompts for each paragraph idea. I’ll keep on with this process by going back through and filling out the prompts, sometimes with full sentences, other times with phrases. Once it is all filled out, I then go back through and start rewriting it to form it into a draft. For each prompt, I’ll write a paragraph or two. This will usually consist of two or three rounds of reading it through and adding or developing content where needed.

From this, I have my first draft. For this book, I had six saved drafts before sending it off to test readers, and each draft really consisted of multiple revisions. After I received the test readers’ input, I made more revisions. At this point, I ran my draft through an AI program to edit it. One of the main things I wanted to look for is that I can be overly wordy in my sentences, so I wanted to cut some of that and have a smoother flow.

After this step, I then read through it and made a couple more revisions to my manuscript before sending it to prospective publishers. Once it got accepted, it went through more rounds of revisions, including a professional editor looking it over and making corrections and suggestions.

For comparison, here is an example of a paragraph before editing with AI, and then after:

In addition to the above attributes of consciousness, humans possess even more abilities. We have an awareness of our awareness. We know that we exist and have an individual consciousness. Furthermore we can talk about it, using abstract symbols in the form of words to signify the thoughts in our head. We can take this even further and write down these thoughts about our awareness of our own existence so that humans in the future can read those thoughts. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it, our ability to capture a thought in the moment and preserve it through time.  

Beyond these capacities, humans possess something even more unique: we are aware of our own awareness. We know that we exist as individuals with consciousness. Moreover, we can communicate this awareness, using abstract symbols in language to express the thoughts in our minds. Even further, we can record those thoughts in writing so that others, even generations later, can read them. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it, our ability to capture a thought in the moment and preserve it through time. 

I didn’t just copy and paste, I used it as an editor reviewing suggestions– accepting some, rejecting others, and modifying many. I feel the end product is what a good editor would help produce. I think it reads better, and it does not alter the concepts that I’m conveying in any way. It is interesting that when I put the above paragraph in Scribbr, it came back as 100% AI generated. It didn’t recognize it as human written and AI refined.

Why I use AI

Time

I’m a foreman for a construction company with a crew of seven other people. We work four 10 hour days, and during those four days I’m almost completely focused on work. My days start at 4:45 and I get home at 6:30. My cat needs attention after being home all day alone, then I can shower, eat some food, and it’s 8:00 or after. During the summer I work on the weekends as a whitewater guide.

In addition, I’m a slow writer, in comparison to other people that I have been around who write, such as in grad school. I had to spend so much extra time writing, and even though I’ve written a substantial amount after grad school, it hasn’t changed. Even during that time in graduate school, I had a support system where we all helped each other. I do not have that support system around me now, so I have to rely on AI. I’d rather have the support system, but that’s not my reality.

In addition, I have chronic back and shoulder pain from sitting at a computer for 4 years of undergrad and 7 years of graduate school. One of the reasons I like construction is that I’m not sitting in front of a computer all day. There are a thousand other things I’d rather be doing than computer work. I’ve spent two years doing that writing this book, in almost all of my available free time. I’ve spent so many evenings after work, Friday evening, and all day Saturdays, then all day Sunday in front of a computer. I’ve sacrificed so much time for this book.

Writing is already a lonely and isolating process. Should I isolate myself more? Spend less time with the people that are important to me? Because most of all, I want to be present for my friends and community. I’m already not a factor in my nephews’ and nieces’ lives the way I want to be. I have close friends that need help here and there, or who have Sunday dinners that I like to go to.

Money

Another reason I turned to AI for some of the editing work is that I don’t have the $500-$700 for a professional editor before sending it to publishers. I’m not a strong editor, and AI programs can help point out where I am being wordy and where I can have better flow.  And again, I’m not around a community of writers like I would be if I were in academia or a larger city.

In addition, this was personally a difficult book to write, and I had a lot of inhibitions along the way as I was writing it. I didn’t want to share it with others up until it was in its final polished form after the professional editor edited it. Writing about the potential end of the world can be seen through some negative lenses, and although I tried to thread the needle with how I approach the issue, I wasn’t comfortable sharing it.

Not Knowing the Controversy

While it probably should have, it never really entered my mind that this was a controversial thing to do. I’m not part of writing communities or in academia where these debates are happening. And while I should have realized that with everything AI, there is controversy, I had my blinders on in that regard.               

After a friend brought it up, I did some research and found out that there is indeed a debate and a controversy. If I would have realized that before publishing my book, I would have put a couple sentences disclaimer in it saying I used AI in the editing stage. But I do not have any acknowledgements, or preface, in my book. I just get straight to the point. I wasn’t trying to deceive anyone by not disclosing that I used AI, it just didn’t register that I should.

My main concern was communicating a vision and message that I think is important, and the fact that I used AI to help in the process of communicating it doesn’t take away from the message itself. I poured my heart and soul into this book. Using AI does not change that.  

To promote my book, one part of my strategy is to consistently write articles for my WordPress blog and Substack. I’ll continue to use AI in the editing process, because I do not intend on spending every weekend, all weekend, editing my articles.

Conclusion

While I do personally use AI, I also believe there are inherent dangers that need addressed, some of which I discuss in my book. But for me, it’s not whether someone uses AI or not in their creative process. We must use our judgment about the person and their abilities. I understand that there may be some stylistic qualities from AI editing that some people may not like. That’s a matter of taste, and I get that. I probably wouldn’t use it for a fiction book, where I feel the craft of writing and a completely human touch is more necessary.

I’ve done original research and writing at a high level, including earning a doctorate from Berkeley. For this book, I did a great deal of original research and writing as well. I wanted to convey complex ideas in a simple and accessible manner. AI helped me do that more effectively and within the constraints I’m working under.  

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Note: I did not use AI in the writing or editing process of this particular essay.