Who is David?
David is a freelance professional technical writer with over 30 years’ experience in the fields of engineering and materials science. He now specialises in future technology, including XRworlds and devices, and AI applications. David is the team writer and tech guru for the Unity Developers website, and explores the impacts of new developments in these fast-moving technical areas.

Undoubtedly, AI will be the most powerful influence on our industry in 2026 and beyond, but we need perspective on its role. This disembodied intelligence is not industry-destroying; it is industry-enhancing. It will undoubtedly make you better at your job, but only if you allow it to.

Fully embrace select AI tools

Artificial intelligence has encouraged creative types to reevaluate their working goals. My early experience was that some of my clients quickly found that they could have their blog articles written for free by AI systems instead of paying me to do them, which made AI a major competitor of mine. Initially, I found it frustrating, but I soon realised that the only work drying up were mundane articles, which was a relief and allowed me to move on. What AI accomplished for me was making it plain where I should focus my efforts. This gave me a defined path forward.

It became obvious that technical and scientific writing was the work that AI wasn’t taking on, so I needed to focus on those rather than everyday blogs and articles. I now write extensively for technical companies and websites, particularly focusing on advances in AI and its place in Extended Reality (XR), which is a fast-expanding niche. Early on, I found that some AI tools were better than others, so it’s important to get experience with different tools and to see what works for you.

Reevaluate your target market

XR represents a substantial advancement in virtual reality, a field that has experienced significant transformation due to the development of smaller yet increasingly powerful headsets. Twinned with AI, XR is rapidly advancing towards an immersive world akin to the one portrayed in the film Ready Player One, a world that is both frightening and fascinating, yet unquestionably represents the ultimate goal of immersive connectivity.

Because the VR industry and its derivatives are characterised by rapid evolution, ongoing research is required to stay informed about the latest trends and future projections. It is essential to possess strong, factual information to present to readers, as there is no allowance for inaccurate information. AI fact checkers can be used to guarantee that writing is accurate and comprehensible. Numerous technical fields, including XR, may alienate readers if the content is excessively complex or too dense to fully grasp – a common problem amongst some tech writers – and AI serves to mitigate this issue. AI can be used to effectively paraphrase your content and make it more friendly to the reader or more focused for the academic.

The most important lesson from current events is that AI is here to stay and will become more powerful and integrated into everything we do. My prediction for the immediate future is that AI will become more ensconced with content creation and will increasingly act as a partner to my writing. Don’t see AI as a challenge; instead, see it as a source for new skills that will enhance the quality of your creative endeavours. I am ready to fully embrace it, and you should be too.

TIP 1: Find your niche.

AI will continue to dominate blog writing in much of the internet, so don’t try chasing that work. Find your niche, and identify the type of specialist content that you are comfortable with writing. Consider reflecting on your areas of expertise and identifying markets that align with that type of content. You can likely use your education and life experiences to create content that is insightful and appealing to your audience. If you are unsure what kind of content to target, use AI tools to suggest niche writing markets for you to break into. Rather than being an industry killer, AI has forced us to adapt, so use it. The writers who will lose out in the long term are those who cannot accept that change and modify their working methods to suit the new paradigm.

TIP 2: Quality remains paramount.

AI is good – very good, actually, and getting better all the time – but it is still prone to make mistakes and can suffer from dipping into the growing reservoir of fake information that is flooding the internet. Your clients will want factual information, and they will want to have a perfect piece of work delivered to them. To stay ahead, it’s crucial to conduct thorough research and ensure the accuracy of your writing.

People want to read authoritative pieces, but more than ever, they also want information that they can believe is reliable. Check everything and make sure of an article’s authenticity before putting it out there. Use well-known authoritative sources and employ citation checkers to make sure not to pollute the knowledge pool with fake information. Every other writer will thank you for doing that.

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