Honest advice from an author, researcher and reviewer

I am a postdoctoral researcher with a track record of 30+ journal articles, 6 books (with commercial academic presses instead of self-publishing) and a list of op-ed or analysis articles published with different newspapers and magazines throughout my seven years of experience in journalism. I am also regularly invited to review journal articles, book manuscripts and research grant applications.

In all kinds of writing arenas, I have come across many articles that are at least partially written by artificial intelligence (AI). Even in top-tier journal and book publishing outlets, many writings that require rigorous peer review are partially written by AI, or at least polished by AI.

I’m not writing this article to highlight the potential ethical and responsible research risks of using AI in writing, as many academics and editors have already done so. Instead, if you really need to use AI in (polishing) writing, you should please (please, please…) at least be aware of the following two pieces of advice. Otherwise, you would easily piss the editors or reviewers off, discouraging them from considering any of your submissions.

Don’t Use AI to Draft Full Answers

First things first, you should never submit job, fellowship or grant applications by using AI tools/software to answer the application questions. Over recent years, a lot of professors, even in leading universities such as Oxford and the Ivy League, have instantly rejected many applications for post-doctoral positions when those applications were, partially or not, written by AI. Even for (research) grants beyond academia, very often academics, such as professors, are invited to peer review the submitted applications.

These established researchers/writers are very sensitive to writing style, use of language and sentence structure. They can easily identify whether the applications are written by AI. Once detected, very often the application outcome is an instant “no-no.”

Draft Manually First, Followed by Using AI to Improve the Language (Here’s Why)

A wiser and more acceptable and humanised approach is for us to manually write the first draft of any publications or applications. Here not only are we contributing our manual labour, but also our intellectual ideas and creativity. To date, AI-written work, while being grammatically correct, often standardises the intellectual and creative outputs. Using AI to write publications or applications, therefore, bars editors or reviewers from seeing your characters, thought processes, unique ideas or encounters, and expressions through your writing. These core elements, which are essential for writers, grant applicants and researchers, cannot be offered by AI-generated writing.

Good writing is far from simply being grammatically correct or fluent; otherwise, all of us writing in our native languages would necessarily be producing exceptional writing outputs.

Good writing is, instead, showing your characteristics, values, encounters, expertise and beliefs through coherent writing where writers themselves can articulate all information and ideas through outstanding storytelling.

Such work cannot be completed by an unhumanised machine at all.

Therefore, if using AI for writing is necessary for any of you, at least you should use your own thoughts and words to develop the first draft. Then, you can restrictively command AI tools or software to improve the overall presentation and check for grammar.

This helps preserve you characters, values, personal experience, expertise and beliefs in AI-assisted writing.

Final Thoughts

Over the years, I have heard of many professors rejecting any applications they review simply because the writing itself is, partially or in full, developed by AI. Even though the writers or applicants themselves may be well-qualified for the jobs, fellowships or grants, they cannot convince the editors or reviewers that they are capable and qualified unless their writing remains humanised.

I know that writing is so much more convenient with the availability of AI tools and software. I have also learned that many substandard writers reckon they can now publish whatever they write by taking advantage of available AI tools and software.

Yet, writing is far beyond a functional matter (whether you can or cannot write properly). Writing is an expression (of thoughts and emotions) and exhibition (of talents and expertise). Proper writing, let alone outstanding writing, still needs to be humanised.

---

Thanks for reading my sharing on (AI-assisted) writing. If you would like to learn more about (mental) health, personal development and/or (online) education from me, please feel free to subscribe to my newsletter below. Also please feel free to browse my blog — Society & Growth — for more content at https://jasonhungofficialblog.com/.