After Career Advice From ChatGPT I’m Trying Something Drastic

I don’t use ChatGPT for writing, as the output is a bit bland. You can probably tell by my garbled syntax.

Writing is also my livelihood, and I am mildly resentful of letting an AI do it because then I would just be doing data input. Plus, it scrapes info from people who want to be unscraped.

As an alternative to complaining to my wife about how writing is changing thanks to AIs like ChatGPT, I thought I would ask the source what I should do with my career.

And its advice annoyingly makes a lot of sense.

My main problem is that I have a day job as a journalist/editor. I write for three websites—although a bit sporadically—and for Medium and Substack. In addition to all this, I am also writing a book. It is getting a bit much.

What ChatGPT said…

The AI brain recommended that I focus on Substack and one website and then write the book.

So the plan is to say bollocks to Medium and shut down two sites – Scifi Ward and Jason Ward Writer. I linked to them, as they will be up for a while yet.

On the one hand, it makes me feel sad. I wrote a lot of great stuff on my sites and Medium, and some of it I am proud of. On the other hand, I am spread too thin, and they don’t bring in much money these days. One site was designed to get new clients, but I no longer need or want that. The other site was all about science fiction and fantasy – things I love – so I will just move the best material here.

Additionally, I will also be rewriting and repurposing all my best Medium articles (along with a lot of new material), and putting them on my Substack – Intriguing Times.

So not much will actually be lost. I will just be focusing on a couple of sites instead of several.

I’ll report back later

I don’t like that AIs like ChatGPT will probably take – or at least change – my job. But it can be damned handy when you want info, or something tedious automated. As for whether it gives good advice, I guess we’ll see.