BBC Future

AI took their jobs. Now they get paid to make it sound human

Original Published: June 16, 2024🔴Concerning

🎯 Impact Sentiment: Concerning

📋 Summary

  • AI tools replaced most copywriting jobs, shifting remaining roles to repetitive editing of machine-generated text for lower pay and little creativity.
  • Many early-career writers now face fewer jobs and lower compensation, as they’re mostly hired to "humanize" awkward, error-prone AI writing rather than produce original work.
  • Some established writers benefit by using AI as a productivity tool and charging more for AI-free jobs, but overall work quality and pay are under pressure.
  • Freelancers and those in routine creative jobs are hit hardest, forced to adapt to new roles or risk being automated out entirely, with job satisfaction and stability declining.

💡 JR Insights

  • 💼 Implication: AI isn't just streamlining copywriting—it's downgrading creative work into tedious, underpaid editing tasks. If your value is purely in producing words, expect more competition and lower rates, with only top-tier writers or creative strategists finding room to thrive.
  • 🚨 Risk: The biggest risk is "invisible unemployment"—skilled people pushed into marginal, low-paid gigs just to keep up with AI output, or worse: being made redundant altogether. This especially hurts people new to the field, freelancers, or those without a strong creative portfolio.
  • Takeaway: Don’t wait for AI to “take your job”—get ahead now by focusing on skills that AI can’t easily mimic: high-level strategy, original ideation, nuanced voice, or cross-disciplinary collaboration. Being versatile and comfortable leveraging (not just competing against) AI is where the future-proof jobs will be.

Read the Original Article

View the full article on BBC Future

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