The Impact of AI on Writing: Finding Your Voice

Featured ~ Rusul Alrubail

The first time I used AI when it first came out, a quiet voice crept: “will this make writers like me obsolete?” As a writer, that was my gut reaction.

Photo by Robs on Unsplash

I’m not sure that AI will be able to replace the human touch and authenticity of our voices and stories. It might get close, but it still lacks the nuance our voices are carried over through our composition of words.

Many of us are probably familiar now with the sentence structure that AI uses, and can identify most content written by AI. Especially those on linkedin. “And here’s the truth”, “it’s not this or that it’s that”, “I didn’t see this and so i decided to build it”.

You’ll know it’s written by AI from the sentence structure, and right now, many posts carry these common elements.

My last article was published on March 3rd on the Globe, you can check it out here! ChatGPT can be so helpful when it comes to organizing your writing, and I’d like to share how I used it to support my work. I’m working on finding the right balance to use AI to help with the process of writing, research, and fact checking without compromising my storytelling.

And believe me when I say, you also have to fact check the AI’s research yourself.

I used OtterAi to record the interview and leaned on its chat feature to help organize the conversation. I asked questions like, “What are Megan’s biggest pain points? Please pull exact quotes,” or “Highlight her strongest responses on X topic.” It even flagged missing pieces, letting me know when a response needed follow-up.

This was helpful to get the conversation organized in the way that you’d like to structure the article. Sometimes it even told you when we’re missing pieces! It needed more information, or the question wasn’t answered fully.

You have to fact check every single piece of information to make sure that your work is on point, factual, and doesn’t contain anything made up by the Ai. Because it does make things up a lot of the time. In its initial phases, when I asked it who Rusul Alrubail was, in addition to writing about my writing, education, and Parkdale Centre background, it added that I have “stepped down from my role in 2020” and someone named Debbie is going to be the ED. This was not only inaccurate, but completely false.

Relying on Ai to do your research and content writing without fact checking puts you in a detrimental territory.

As a writer, you can use AI for the various stages of writing: interviewing, brainstorming, research, it can also support with your draft/editing and polishing, but the key is not to rely too heavily on the content creation. In addition to fact checking, originality, creativity, and voice still need to come from you as a writer.

AI can also support with confidence building as a writer. Have you noticed the increase of “thought leaders” on linkedin? Those linkedin posts that are bulleted with emojis and green check marks? The majority of these posts are created by AI now and not actually original, some of them of course are, but the majority of the ones that pop up in your feed, are likely created by AI and not the poster.

This means that writing, and publishing has become accessible to the masses. Of course, this already happened with access to social media, but not everyone has the confidence to create posts, write them, and publish. Now there’s almost a mask that people can put on and pretend that this content was made by them.

Prompting an AI in all the right ways for writing, one can argue, is content creation in and of itself, but original thought, here is key.

I worry that’s what we’re losing now. Originality and creativity.

It’s tough out there, and many roles, jobs, and positions will be obsolete with the development of AI. I do think though that it will push our humanity to go above and beyond to find our footing and still gain control in a world that is heavily generated by human-made artificial intelligence.

AI generates content, but only we can generate and decipher true meaning. The future of writing still belongs to those who choose to tell the truth, and tell it well.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a blog about AI without using AI for a list of AI resources and tools for writers.

How has AI impacted your writing?

🛠️ AI Tools for Writers

These can help with brainstorming, drafting, organizing, and polishing writing:

  • ChatGPT (OpenAI) – For idea generation, drafting, and editing support.
  • Sudowrite – A creative writing tool built for fiction writers (great for character dev, plot help).
  • Notion AI – Good for organizing notes, outlines, and getting early drafts written.
  • Otter.ai – Transcription and summarizing tool for interviews; great for journalists and content creators.
  • Wordtune – Offers suggestions to rewrite sentences in different tones or simplify content.
  • Jasper AI – A marketing-focused writing assistant for content and ad copy.

📚 Learning & Skill-Building

Resources to understand AI’s role in writing, and how to use it responsibly:

🧠 Courses & Workshops

For those wanting deeper knowledge or structured learning:

🌍 Communities & Newsletters

To stay connected, learn from others, and see what’s evolving:

  • Substack’s On Writing + AI newsletters – Many writers are sharing their experiences with AI tools.
  • The AI Exchange – Great for staying up to date on AI developments in plain language.
  • WritersMosaic – A platform spotlighting underrepresented voices in literature; not AI-specific but useful in centering voice and originality.
  • Women in AI Ethics – For those interested in deeper engagement with AI policy, equity, and ethical frameworks.

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