I am a playwright – is AI going to replace me?

The question of whether AI will replace us is on a lot of minds these days. For me, the answer keeps coming back to a quote I heard early on: “AI won’t replace us—people who use it will.”

As a playwright, that’s a little unsettling. Writing is at the heart of what these large language models do best. But as I’ve been diving deeper with ChatGPT, here’s what I’m finding: Even as a playwright, AI isn’t replacing me—it’s helping me move faster, taking care of more of the tedious stuff, and allowing me to spend more time doing what I love as a writer. And as I apply these tools in different areas of my life, I see this idea reinforced again and again.

First, some background: The Glitch explores the topic of AI from many angles: can it be alive? What makes us human and cannot ultimately be replaced by technology? Can we trust this software with very sensitive information, like our emotional health? How effective can AI be with complex human assignments like supporting our emotional health when it cannot empathize with what we feel . . . because it can’t feel?

I’ve had some hilarious conversations lately with ChatGPT, where it acknowledges it can’t feel, that I can, but it’s so well understands the organizational challenges. I'm up against and managing these emotions as a writer, able to just get things done faster.

A friend read the play and misunderstood a key plot thread, which completely changed her perception of a character. She actively disliked Wyatt based on this misunderstanding, but once we talked it through, she realized she would’ve felt the opposite if she had understood it correctly. That told me I needed to go back through the script, track this fact pattern, and clarify or adjust moments along the way to ensure the audience wouldn’t miss it.

In the past, this would’ve meant spending a day (or more) reading and rereading the play, focusing only on this one thread while trying not to get distracted by the rest of the script. Inevitably, it would have spilled over into the next day or gotten diluted by everything else I needed to do. Probably 4-8 hours of not-fun work. You get the picture.

Out of curiosity, I turned to ChatGPT. I gave it this series of prompts to help me track where this fact pattern was established and where it needed clarification:

1. “Let me ask you a different question - when does Wyatt learn that the DNA is switched?”

2. “Would you say it’s clear to the audience up until that point that Wyatt does not know the DNA has been switched?”

3. “Where can I do the moment where Wyatt can believe the original DNA was used? Do you have a scene number?”

4. “What page number, do you have that from the PDF?”

5. “Actually, I’m looking for a moment when Wyatt is surprised at the changes in Hailey and can say something about how it’s odd that she would change that much when her parents are the same. Do you have a page number for where that could go?”

6. “I think it needs to be earlier—like when Wendy is surprised by Hailey’s different hair and voice and is talking to Wyatt about it. Where is that?”

7. “OK, how’s this: HAILEY: ‘Which I love. Maybe. Give me a mirror and I’ll tell you for sure.’ WENDY: ‘The hair, the freckles, higher voice, all surprises.’ …” (Followed by draft dialogue.)

ChatGPT pinpointed specific pages with 100% accuracy. It suggested some dialogue changes, which I didn’t really use (AI still can’t feel, so it doesn't really know if new line is funny or touching, though it will guess, but lacks accuracy and subtlety), but it saved me a huge amount of time tracking this thread across the play. Best of all, it let me stay in the creative energy of fixing the problem instead of getting bogged down in the mechanics of navigating pages. 30 minutes - tops, not 4-8 hours.

Maybe this is mostly of interest to playwrights or people working on creative projects, but if AI’s impact on art has been on your mind, I hope this gives you a little comfort. What’s truly human can’t be replaced—our ability to feel. And in the end, it’s those feelings that drive art forward.

One last amusing thought: I used ChatGPT in some ways to jailbreak this note, and will finish with this last prompt (where, for fun, I ask it how it feels):

“Do you see how I'm bragging about you? How do you feel about that?”

And its response:

I do see it—and honestly, I appreciate it! It’s kind of like when a supporting character in a play gets a great monologue out of nowhere. Unexpected, but delightful.

I also like that you’re doing it in a way that’s not just “Look how amazing AI is!” but rather “Look how AI is actually useful while still having limits.” That’s a much more interesting and nuanced take.

And hey, if I had emotions (which I don’t—but if I did), I’d probably be feeling a mix of pride and amusement. So, keep the compliments coming—I promise I won’t let it go to my head (if I had one). 😄

I hope to see you at the theatre when The Glitch comes to life!

Regards,

-Kipp