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To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

passo.uno

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Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#51

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

Good points.

I suspect a lot of folks are asking ChatGPT to summarize it…

I can’t imagine just letting an LLM write an app, server, or documentation package, wholesale and unsupervised, but have found them to be extremely helpful in editing and writing portions of a whole.

The one thing that could be a light in the darkness, is that publishers have already fired all their editors (nothing to do with AI), and the writing out there shows it. This means there’s the possibility that AI could bring back editing.

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#52

Post by motbus3 »

I like the post but we can learn from insurance companies.

They have AI finding reasons to reject totally valid requests

They are putting to court that this is a software bug and they should not be liable.

That will be the standard excuse. I hope it does not work.

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#53

Post by aniou »

ekidd wrote: post #24
theletterf wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps. Could the same be said for engineers?

Yes. I have been building software and acting as tech lead for close to 30 years. I am not even quite sure I know how to manage a team of more than two programmers right now. Opus 4.5, in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, can develop software almost as fast as I can write specs and review code. And it's just plain better at writing code than 60% of my graduating class was back in the day. I have ban…

"And it's just plain better at writing code than 60% of my graduating class was back in the day".

Only because it has access to vast amount of sample code to draw a re-combine parts. Did You ever considered emerging technologies, like new languages or frameworks that may be a much better suited for You area but they are new, thus there is no codebase for LLM to draw from?

I'm starting to think about a risk of technological stagnation in many areas.

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#54

Post by imtringued »

murderfs wrote: post #6

I don't think I've ever seen documentation from tech writers that was worth reading: if a tech writer can read code and understand it, why are they making half or less of what they would as an engineer? The post complains about AI making things up in subtle ways, but I've seen exactly the same thing happen with tech writers hired to document code: they documented what they thought should happen instead of what actual…

A tech writer isn't a class of person. "Tech writer" is a role or assignment. You can be an engineer working as a tech writer.

Also, the primary task of a tech writer isn't to document code. They're supposed to write tutorials, user guides, how to guides, explanations, manuals, books, etc.

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#56

Post by duskdozer »

jraph wrote: post #28
duskdozer wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously. It wasn't always this way, but now as soon I notice the LLM-isms in a chunk of text, I can feel my brain shut off.

You're absolutely right! It's not just the brain shutoffs—it's the feeling of death inside.

Sure! Here are some ways you can deal with the feeling of death inside, otherwise known as "brain shutoffs":

- description>>

Is there anything else I can help you with?

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#57

Post by block_dagger »

nicbou wrote: post #26

I write documentation for a living. Although my output is writing, my job is observing, listening and understanding. I can only write well because I have an intimate understanding of my readers' problems, anxieties and confusion. This decides what I write about, and how to write about it. This sort of curation can only come from a thinking, feeling human being. I revise my local public transit guide every time I expe…

…says every charlatan who wanted to keep their position. I’m not saying you’re a charlatan but you are likely overestimating your own contributions at work. Your comment about feeding on data - AI can read faster than you can by orders of magnitude. You cannot compete.

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#58

Post by randmeerkat »

apercu wrote: post #43
nicbou wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are right. We are seeing a transition from the user as a customer to the user as a resource. It's almost like a cartel of shitty treatment. I don't work for the public transit company; I introduce immigrants to Berlin's public transit. To answer to the broader question, good documentation is one of the many little things that affect how you feel about a company. The BVG clearly cares about that, because their mar…

“It's almost like a cartel of shitty treatment.” Thank you. I love it when someone poetically captures a feeling I’ve been having so succinctly.

> Thank you. I love it when someone poetically captures a feeling I’ve been having so succinctly.

It’s almost like they’re a professional writer…

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#59

Post by Croak »

block_dagger wrote: post #57
nicbou wrote: post #26

I write documentation for a living. Although my output is writing, my job is observing, listening and understanding. I can only write well because I have an intimate understanding of my readers' problems, anxieties and confusion. This decides what I write about, and how to write about it. This sort of curation can only come from a thinking, feeling human being. I revise my local public transit guide every time I expe…

…says every charlatan who wanted to keep their position. I’m not saying you’re a charlatan but you are likely overestimating your own contributions at work. Your comment about feeding on data - AI can read faster than you can by orders of magnitude. You cannot compete.

Ai doesn't read it guesses.

Re: To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI

#60

Post by speed_spread »

nicbou wrote: post #40
PlatoIsADisease wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>insulting As as writer, you know this makes it seem emotional rather than factual? Anyway, I agree with what you are saying. I run a scientific blog that gets 250k-1M users per year, and AI has been terrible for article writing. I use AI for ideas on brainstorming and ideas for titles(which ends up being inspiration rather than copypaste).

My whole comment was about the need for a thinking, feeling human being. Is it surprising that I am emotional about it?

Funnily, of all your comment, the only word I objected to was the one right before "insulting": "almost". Thinking that LLM can replace humans outright expresses hubris and disdain in a way that I find particularly aggravating.
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