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Hi folks, it’s Brad. A new wave of AI-powered text editors claims to make writing easier and promises to even automate the craft. But first… [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi folks, it’s Brad. A new wave of AI-powered text editors claims to make writing easier and promises to even automate the craft. But first… Today’s must-reads: • Meta [unveiled a new AI training tool]( • Wall Street [cracked down on ChatGPT usage]( • Australian regulator will [review Binance’s derivatives business]( Can robots get writer’s block? Writers over the years have posited a variety of jobs that could be most ripe for disruption by artificial intelligence: warehouse work, professional driving, customer service. We somehow overlooked the prospect that the most susceptible vocation might be the act of writing itself. ChatGPT, the easily anthropomorphized software released in November by OpenAI, has enabled several companies to develop word processors that plug into the chatbot’s underlying service, GPT-3.5. The startups say they can make the perennially demanding process of writing — even the very concept of being creative — easy and fast. These new writing tools are multiplying in part because tapping into OpenAI’s system is relatively simple. One called [Boo]( bills itself as a “beautifully simple writing tool that gives you superpowers.” [Lex,]( developed by a collective of newsletter writers, claims to “eliminate writer’s block.” It’s still in private testing, and the company said more than 16,000 people are on the wait list. OpenAI unveiled GPT-3 a few years ago, so some of these services have been around for a while. [Sudowrite]( describes itself as “your always available brainstorm buddy” and targets writers of fiction with AI-generated feedback and a “show don’t tell” button that can suggest alternatives for text it finds too expositional. Leading the pack is [Jasper](, the “AI copywriter” for companies that need to generate content like blog posts, sales pitches and marketing emails — and don’t exactly care about the vitality of the prose. In a stunning reflection of either the potential or hype attached to these kinds of services, investors recently valued Jasper at [$1.5 billion](. Grammarly, an AI-powered writing tool that has existed for over a decade, is [valued at about $13 billion](, although it doesn’t use GPT-3 or generate ideas and prose in the same way. Using these newer tools can feel like working with a cloying writing coach staring over your shoulder. They aim to generate titles, finish sentences, suggest entire new paragraphs in the author’s voice and even respond to specific prompts (“Write a blog post about the new AI writing tools”) and furnish rough drafts. The quality of AI-generated material is iffy at best — I’m not worried about my job yet — but it will improve when OpenAI releases the next version of its language model, [GPT-4](, and companies like Google speed up and make their own AI engines available to developers. The economics behind these services amount to a kind of arbitrage. Customers pay the startups for access, and the startups pay usage fees to OpenAI. (Since we’re talking about venture-funded businesses, whether there’s a profit in there is anybody’s guess.) Boo, for example, offers an $8 a month starter plan, and then charges $1 per 1,000 words. “If you are a real estate agent and spend four or five hours writing property descriptions and other things you don’t like to do and can cut that down to half an hour a week instead, that is pretty easily worth 10 bucks a month,” said David Kaneda, the founder of Boo. Despite all the interest in these services right now, the likes of Boo could be in for a scare. Microsoft Corp., which [committed $10 billion]( to OpenAI, is considering adding GPT technology to Excel, PowerPoint and Word, the Information [reported](. Google will almost certainly do the same with Google Docs, obviating the need to pay for outside text editors. There’s already way too many of these programs; and for the time being, AI is more likely to generate a million spam emails and SEO marketing websites than the next great American novel. Personally, I take objection to the idea that writing should ever be “easy” or “painless.” Writing is and should be hard – a lonely walk in the dark with the facts, your ideas and your facility with language. The robots will need to get a lot more neurotic if they ever hope to become true writers. —[Brad Stone](mailto:bstone12@bloomberg.net) The big story US government officials are among those investigating a link between the Chinese government and an ex-employee [accused of stealing data from ASML](, a Dutch multinational critical to producing the world’s most advanced computer chips. Get fully charged China is gearing up to police the use of AI services as the [frenzy over large language models like ChatGPT takes hold]( across the country. Indian telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal is seeking a stake in Paytm by [merging his financial services unit]( with the fintech giant’s so-called payments bank. Ericsson, a major provider of 5G networking equipment, [plans to cut 8% of its workforce](, or 8,500 staff worldwide. Watch: a discussion of [the internet and Section 320]( with Nora Benavidez from the organization Free Press. A Chinese cloud service provider is considering a $200 million initial public offering, [potentially in the US](. More from Bloomberg Listen: [Foundering: The John McAfee Story]( is a new six-part podcast series retracing the life, the myths and the self-destruction of a Silicon Valley icon. Subscribe for free on [Apple](, [Spotify]( or wherever you get your podcasts. Get Bloomberg Tech weeklies in your inbox: - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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