Brief - The Hustle

Can AI cure writer’s block?

Written by Rob Litterst | Oct 24, 2022 7:18:57 AM

In 2020, OpenAI launched GPT-3, a language model that uses machine learning to ingest and produce human-like text.

Panic ensued as writers worried they’d be replaced by AI. But two years later, the impact of GPT-3 has felt underwhelming.

Last week, Lex, an AI-enabled word processor, took Twitter by storm, garnering rave reviews from users and 25k sign-ups within 24 hours of launching.

Lex was created…

… by Nathan Baschez, writer and co-founder of Every, a collection of business-focused newsletters.

It looks and feels like a minimalistic version of Google Docs, but with a key difference — a native integration with GPT-3.

  • After writing a few lines, users can type ‘+++’, and GPT-3 will suggest what to write next.
  • Lex can also help writers brainstorm things like title ideas.

While much of the talk around GPT-3 has focused on AI writing entire pieces, Baschez is positioning Lex as a tool to help writers get unstuck so they can produce their best work.

Of course, there are some caveats

First, Lex only works in English for now, though Baschez says he’s working on adding more languages.

Second, GPT-3 isn’t perfect, so sometimes the suggestions aren’t quite on target.

But overall, the app seems like a major step forward in using AI to assist with writing.

If you want to judge that for yourself, everything after “Of course” above was written by an AI using Lex.

To learn more, check out this three-minute demo, and join the waitlist here.