By Julia Mauro AE, Editors Queensland
I don’t use generative AI, but I know that others are using it a lot lately. It’s gaining popularity in many professions as they seek to be more efficient. As editors, we know that AI has its uses. We are also well aware of its shortcomings. It is, after all, artificial intelligence and not actual intelligence.
I am one of a group of consultants working in legal services, project management and strategic planning, specialising in compliance and governance. We work mainly with local governments and Indigenous communities.
Following recent in-house conversations about AI, I offered to deliver a team training session on editing. My boss said, “Sure, just a brief presentation of 15 minutes.”
I tailored my editing presentation to highlight desktop processing skills and language considerations that come up a lot in our work. I included a section on plain language as well.
I pointed out that AI can’t necessarily pick up on all of the things we have to consider when we are preparing documents for our clients and their stakeholders and when we are communicating with current and potential clients.
And, do you know what? My colleagues found it enlightening.
All of a sudden they realised that yes, content can be automated to an extent, but you cannot automate a real relationship with a client. AI cannot synthesise and strategise across the client’s needs the way we can when we offer holistic advice. And having that human touch not only ensures that our communications are well written, contain the correct information and conform to our corporate style, but you can also tell the difference from the quality of the final output.
We all agreed that editing and proofreading are still essential, regardless of what AI can do or learn. My boss conceded that I’d taught him a word-processing trick that’s going to save him time. And my colleagues went from not seeing the errors in the first few editing samples to switching on their proofreading brains and realising that reviewing a document thoroughly can take your work from acceptable to exceptional.
For my part, I feel that being an Accredited Editor has allowed me to value-add by making myself the in-house editing guru.
Using software to streamline low-risk processes while consciously applying editing standards to ensure quality output that suits your audience and sets you apart from your competitors? Now that’s intelligent.