No AI Shortcuts with a Human Copy Editor
Two years before it happened, an INSEAD Executive Master in Change program client had predicted this: ChatGPT will take over your work. Aren’t you worried?
I shrugged it off. At the time, I was riding on a high, with 2 clients from the INSEAD EMC program scoring distinctions and the rest having high scores of 3.4 to 3.6/4.0.
How could AI possibly replace the probing and thoughtful feedback and reformulations that I invest in my copyediting work? How could it take over my role as an experienced and objective sounding board, who is adept at plunging into my clients’ worlds?
After all, this is where the value of the thesis writing journey lies. And I have always taken pride in my ability to engage my clients to get them to embrace the struggle, to grapple with the uncertainties in the zone of discomfort. For it is through occupying this space and working through the knots and tangles in your mind that you can emerge transformed for the better on the other side. And the thesis becomes a written affirmation of the incredible culmination of your EMC journey.
Well, that was what I thought back then.
But I was wrong. Over the past few years, I have seen my EMC clients dwindle to almost nought.
Those who have sought my services have learnt about me through word-of-mouth. I am deeply grateful to my former clients who have connected me to new enlightened clients. These clients have sought my support as they work through drafts of their written assignments. Maximizing their engagement in the programme, they view this work as an integral part of their learning and a cumulative buildup of their analytical writing skills, which will stand them in good stead when they have to tackle the far bigger 13,000-word thesis. And it has been a privilege to witness their evolution.
One day, I hope to encounter more EMC clients who are willing to engage me to embark on the road less travelled with them. The self-discovery that comes with grappling with an unaccustomed and momentous task of writing a thesis - isn’t that what EMC is all about?
These are the pictures of me at the summit - Col de Grangettes - after 4 hours on a 45-minute alpine path. I was scared, I had vertigo, but I was pushing for the finishing line. That’s the person and professional I am… Join me?
Comments