In today’s digital age, AI is transforming the writing landscape. Author Jimmy Soni shares his insights on leveraging AI effectively in the writing process.
3 Big Lessons from How This Writer Uses AI
Jimmy Soni is an author and former managing editor of The Huffington Post. He is best known for his biographies, A Mind at Play, which is about Claude Shannon, the inventor of information theory, and The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley.
In this interview with David Perell, he discusses why he writes at 4 a.m. and how he conducts extensive research. But the two also have a conversation about the use of artificial intelligence in writing, which we’d like to focus on.
AI is everywhere these days, seemingly stuffed into web search results and readily available on social media platforms. It’s becoming almost unavoidable. We’ve covered plenty of AI services as they tie into screenwriting and script coverage, so start there if you want to know what we think.
But is it possible to stay creative and use AI? Here’s how Soni approaches it.
Check out the full chat here.
AI Is a Research Tool, Not a Replacement
Soni says that AI excels at being “Google on steroids,” particularly for research and fact-checking. He discusses how he used Claude to verify information about Jewish burial practices while editing a grief memoir.
“I could use AI to take the paragraph, and ask AI to give me sources and quotes and texture and nuance, and please explain what this word means and what this word means.”
The point is that AI serves as a boost to existing skills rather than a substitute. Currently, he’s writing a book about Kobe Bryant, and AI is a tool he’s using to supplement the process.
As Soni puts it, “I’m still cooking the meal when it comes to the Kobe book. I’m still cooking the meal when it comes to all of my other projects. But AI is an exceptionally sharp knife, and it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
Whether you’re using Google or Perplexity, you’re hopefully still doing some solid research for your next work. Always make sure to double-check anything an AI tells you is fact, and don’t take it at face value.
AI Is a 24/7 Editor
Soni points to another breakthrough that works for him, which is having access to editorial help 24/7.
“No writer works alone. They have people who work with them. I now have the world’s greatest editor, the world’s smartest editor, who never complains, who never gets tired, who never turns off. So, if I’m working at four o’clock in the morning and I need my editor, I’ve got it.”
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He uses AI for revisions to point out any weaknesses in his writing. Soni regularly uses Claude to argue opposing positions for essays or opinion pieces.
“I will have Claude argue the opposite position for me. I will have it write a takedown of this op-ed. Please criticize in 700 words this op-ed.”
A benefit here is that you can tailor the read and have the AI be extremely critical if you want it to be. Maybe you have it act as a really mean talent agent who points out all the flaws in your screenplay.
But just as easily, you can talk an LLM out of its opinions if you feel strongly enough. An AI will almost always readily admit it’s wrong and apologize for something it has said. So again, this is a tool, but don’t forget to get human eyes on your work, too. Have a table read or at least read it out loud yourself.
An AI can’t tell you when a work just “feels” off, which is a uniquely human part of writing.
AI Can Help with Creative Blocks
Soni identifies AI as a solution to the self-consciousness that prevents many writers from starting.
“What if somebody doesn’t like it, or what if they think less of me, or what if they think—what if they think—what if they think—what AI does is actually allows you to shortcircuit a lot of that noise because it gets you to a finished product much more quickly and effectively.”
He instead calls AI an “anxiety antidote.” If you can get over that initial creative hurdle, you can get to a place of polishing faster.
We all have those feelings of doubt sometimes, and we’re not sure if AI is a necessary tool for getting through that wall. What matters most of all is that you get started. It might just be a little slower without ChatGPT.
Let us know what you think.
Source: nofilmschool.com
