8th Anniversary
This original article is on Medium platform, but I've posted it here experimentally.
So, yesterday marked the 8th anniversary of this journal.
Looking back, eight years ago, there were hardly any translation software or generative AI that could withstand practical use.
If you wanted to “write a diary in English,” you had to compose the English text yourself. Whether the written English was correct, conveyed meaning, or sounded natural — those were things I had no clue about. In reality, it was mostly the opposite.
Still, in the beginning, I managed to write numerous articles, not necessarily daily, but enough to enjoy inserting my favorite photos as illustrations. It was a lot of fun.
On the first anniversary, I compiled the articles into an e-book on Kindle, a great memory. However, for the following seven years, there wasn’t much notable activity, which felt a bit disappointed.
Then, in 2023, AI like ChatGPT and Bard emerged, generating text that seemed as if someone was writing it. These AI could effortlessly handle translation too.
Just a few years ago, even with translation software, I used to say, “The sentences are awkward, no good…” Now, I find myself on the other side, asking, “Could you help me turn my Japanese text into natural English?” It’s a bit ironic.
Yes, even this text isn’t written by me in English; it’s a version of what I wrote in Japanese, transformed into natural English by ChatGPT.
If I had written it in English, it probably wouldn’t have been uploaded today, and the meaning might not have come across. Well, maybe the meaning would have somehow come through, but the English would undoubtedly have been unnatural.
If there’s someone enjoying the “content” of this text, and if there were two versions — one directly written by me and the other by ChatGPT — I believe the latter would be less stressful for the reader.
So, actively using AI doesn’t seem like a bad idea, considering that the core message originated from my own writing. I’m somewhat satisfied because, even though it doesn’t contribute much to my English writing skills, reading what AI generates makes me think, “Ah, so this is how you express that,” which is a bit of a learning experience.
Anyway, that’s the vibe, and finally, this sporadic journal has entered its 9th year. Well, who knows what lies ahead? I certainly don’t.
