AI: to be or to seem?

Magical! If you don't have a good grasp of grammar, or if communicating and organising your ideas is a problem, AI can immediately provide you with well-written text and structured ideas. At first glance...

Many employers today choose to recruit employees whose writing skills they have verified, i.e. without resorting to the magic tool.

This assumes that the employee is independent and does not rely on digital supports. This independence shows that the employee truly has the ability to spontaneously debate, argue, interact with others in high-quality language, distinguish between two synonyms, choose the appropriate register of language, and prioritise relationships with others. Moreover, many situations require a perfectly mastered grammar.

What can be said about a professional whose writing seems perfect, but whose spoken language is approximate and whose ideas are unstructured and lacking in argumentation? How much confidence can be placed in them when it comes to a task that requires rigour and responsibility, when a face-to-face response is immediately required?

Vocational training for adults is attracting more and more employees who find themselves stuck in their careers due to their insufficient language skills. This is because written and spoken language complement each other, and an imbalance in one cannot be compensated for by the other. The illusion provided by AI is quickly and inevitably fading.

AI is useful if its user has basic knowledge; the tool does not compensate for gaps in knowledge in the sense that it does not fill them. Its widespread and frequent use carries the risk of weakening the language by offering a standardised and bland solution, devoid of the personal touch to which humans remain psychologically sensitive. Let us remember that AI is trained by poorly paid and anonymous individuals whose thinking and culture are unknown to users. Even though attempts are being made to offer responses that are as diverse as possible, bias persists. Would you agree to drive a car whose safety guarantees are not disclosed to you?

Trainers and teachers will always benefit from offering programmes that they truly believe in, where they have weighed up every term and every idea, beyond the ethical statements on the use of AI that are constantly popping up. Learners will thus benefit from human learning, i.e. learning that is lively and authentic.