Why Chatgpt Can’t Make You a Better Writer Meaning comes from intent not from smarter prompts

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Gurteen Knowledge Blog   October 23, 2025, 08:56. 

If you spend a lot of time writing with GenAI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, this Substack post, The Vending Machine Mistake, is well worth a read. It offers a clear reflection on how these tools shape the writing process.

The author argues that the real difference between generic AI output and meaningful writing isn’t prompt technique but whether we already have something to say. AI can help us test ideas, clarify meaning, and strengthen our voice, but it cannot provide the substance or intent behind our words.

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Tags: AI-assisted writing (5) | writing (22)

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Photo Credits: Midjourney (Public Domain)

5 thoughts on “Why Chatgpt Can’t Make You a Better Writer Meaning comes from intent not from smarter prompts”

  1. When using AI, I ask the right question in the right way and ensure that ChatGPT4 always provides me with alternatives. I then ask for a justification for each, and if there are alternatives buried in them. My final step is research by other means, such as Ebscohost and other online resources. It takes time, but the AI response gives an excellent kick-start.
    Dr. Peter Carrillo, DM

  3. Thanks, Peter. I like your process. I take a similar approach, never trusting the answers but using them as inspiration to dig deeper. And I completely agree that information alone isn’t enough. It’s how we interpret and connect it that turns it into knowledge. David

  4. Having worked in the futures field, my issue with ChatGPT is that it is good at finding and consolidating information and facts about the present, but our futures are unknowable in the present – there are no future facts. One question: does ChatGPT have imagination?

  5. Interesting question, Maree. I think that depends on what we mean by imagination.

    If imagination means having an inner sense of seeing or feeling new possibilities, then no, genAIs don’t have it. They don’t see pictures or feel emotions.

    But if imagination means coming up with new ideas or combinations, then yes, they can do something like that. They mix patterns, connect ideas, and create new things.

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