Writing is a superior form of communication. I am beginning to realise this as it feels like my whole life has been GPTed of late. GPT stands for generative pre-trained transformers, which are widely used in LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, and others.
By GPTed, I mean a transformation in the way of life that places text above all else. On a smaller scale, voice/audio is great and efficient for communication, and the same holds true for video. Yet, when it comes to expressing the intricacy and interconnectedness of thoughts in a seamless manner, audio or video seem to fall short of the depth offered by text or written work.
In my earlier articles, I explored the unquenchable thirst of men for writing and why it remains an enchanting journey. Today, I want to share that every language is a code in itself, with its own rules for deciphering and understanding. Even for GPTs like Grok, Gemini, Claude, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the primary input and output is text, not binary language, and abstraction unfolds through higher-level text representations. This abstraction involves understanding the probabilistic relationships between tokens that are derived from text patterns.
Even when you feed an image or a video to a GPT, it is first encoded into a text-based format that the GPT can comprehend. My point is that striving to understand the world predominantly through GPTs has been a fascinating journey thus far. It has reignited my passion for text and written communication.
Take, for instance, the movie and book franchise of The Lord of the Rings. Both the books and the movie series are highly rated and acclaimed. Some prefer the books over the films, and vice versa. Yet, the way the books weave the story is far more intricate than what the films achieve. By no means am I disparaging the movies and they are, arguably, among the greatest cinematic achievements ever made. But the books, in my humble opinion, are equally extraordinary.
Please do not think that I am trying to subtly lower the esteem of audio or visual forms of communication or content. They are remarkable, but so is writing and text, a unique medium that stands apart, incomparable in its own right.
Moreover, I wholeheartedly reject the notion that GPTs will make humans lazy or lower the writing skills of the average person. Nothing could be further from the truth. By leveraging GPTs, we can bring our imaginations to life on the screen with AI’s aid. GPT is a promoter rather than an inhibitor. I’ve been writing more than ever before, and I never feel burdened by it. The reason is clear, the magic of GPTs is here to stay.
Rather than fighting a losing battle, we should embrace the technology of GPTs with full faith and credit. As I’ve said before, it is one of the greatest tools a writer could ever imagine.
I will leave it here, for now.