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Technology has invaded almost all areas of our lives, and that includes proofreading and editing books too. Plenty of software and applications available online which can fix the work as you write it. So, with the bots picking speed with human language skills, will human editors become obsolete?
The answer is no. If you think the future of editing and proofreading is all about algorithms and automation, you’re overestimating the abilities of bots and undermining the genius of humans. Professionals spend years learning the intricacies of language, scanning hundreds of drafts with a fine-tooth comb and retaining that information on their large human brain. The bots aren’t even close to that level of proficiency, as yet.
But they do have a near unmistakable accuracy for spelling mistakes and pattern recognition. AI can fix minor grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Students can use one of the free or paid versions of online grammar applications and briskly get their essays and term papers. But…
Can it point out the bias in their findings and conclusion? Can a robot tell you how to improve an argument? The answer is no. As of now, they lack the required level of knowledge to do so. Ditto for literary writing. Authors can use robots to do the clerical work, but can they rely on bots for editorial advice? Hell no!
We aren’t saying that trust only humans with your editing and proofreading work. We are far from perfect when it comes to editing, writing, or…
