IVE An Yu-jin refuses to accept "ChatGPT love letter," sparking heated discussion; generative AI is transforming human expression

South Korean girl group IVE member Ahn Yujin recently made a comment at a signing event that unexpectedly went viral on social media and sparked a cultural discussion about “AI and human emotions.” At the beginning of March, during a signing event, a fan mentioned to Yujin that if someone isn’t good at expressing themselves, they might use AI to write fan letters. Yujin’s response was very straightforward. She said that while using AI for homework might be understandable, if a letter written for her has the smell of ChatGPT, she would rather not receive it at all.

This video has nearly 400,000 views online because it reflects how generative AI is changing human expression. From doing homework, writing resumes, to composing love letters and confessions, more and more people are relying on AI to help organize their words. Yujin’s reaction highlights a paradox: if emotions are expressed by AI, is it still truly your emotion? Especially for Yujin’s generation, witnessing the evolution from handwritten love letters and messages to AI-generated content. Many IVE fans have grown up during the rapid development of generative AI in recent years.

IVE Ahn Yujin: If you use ChatGPT to write fan letters, just don’t write them

It all started at a fan signing event in early March. A fan told Yujin that many people now use ChatGPT to assist with writing, such as homework or essays. The fan then said that if someone isn’t good at expressing themselves, they might use AI to help write fan letters, making the content richer and the words more beautiful.

Yujin’s response was very direct. She first said that using AI for homework might be understandable, but if it’s a letter written for her, it’s different. She even joked that if she receives a letter that smells of ChatGPT, she might not just ignore it but refuse to accept it altogether.

Yujin’s reply received widespread praise, with netizens commenting that she probably takes fan letters seriously, which is why she said that.

AI Can’t Replicate Human Emotions and the “Imperfect Beauty”

After fans recorded and uploaded this conversation as a video, it quickly spread across social platforms. Many online users supported Yujin’s view, believing that the most important thing in fan letters is emotion, not writing skills. But this also reflects a larger societal issue: AI can write better, but is it still “your words”?

Generative AI is rapidly transforming how humans express themselves. From doing homework, writing resumes, to composing love letters and confessions, more people are relying on AI to organize their language. However, Yujin’s reaction points to a core contradiction: if emotions are expressed by AI, is it still truly your emotion?

Fan letters were originally a very “clumsy” cultural form. Many letters have imperfect grammar, broken sentences, or are very simple. But because of this imperfection, they feel genuine. When AI can generate perfect, well-structured, emotionally rich letters, the words themselves lose the ability to prove “this was written by you.” Just like how vinyl records have made a comeback in the digital music era.

The video of the signing event quickly went viral online, approaching 400,000 views before publication. Below is a verbatim translation of the transcript from Link News:

Fan: But recently, everyone has been using ChatGPT a lot, right? Like for homework or essays.

Yujin: That I can understand, but if it’s a letter written for me…

Fan: Because I’m not very good at expressing myself, so if I use GPT, the content can be richer, and the writing can be better.

Yujin: Even so, if you’re going to use ChatGPT to write, then don’t write it. I want to make this clear. If I receive a letter and smell ChatGPT, I won’t tolerate it. For me, that just won’t do.

AI-Generated Content Lacks Soul

Regarding AI-generated content, this can be extended to Paul Graham’s point: in the age of artificial intelligence, taste will become even more important. Tofus further emphasizes from a writing experience perspective that in the AI era, the value of a work isn’t in how much content is generated, but in how “soul” is infused into that content.

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He breaks down creation into two levels: thinking and organizing viewpoints, and writing and presentation. AI can significantly reduce the cost of the latter, but the choice and organization of viewpoints still depend entirely on the creator. If you just give scattered ideas to the model to generate, what you get is often just a collage of tone imitation, smooth but lacking layers. This echoes Yujin’s intuition: a fan letter perfectly generated by AI might have more beautiful sentences, but it lacks the rough, authentic emotional traces.

Tofus believes that in the AI era, the true key to creation is not “adding” and piling up information, but “subtracting.” Through repeated deletion and reorganization, core ideas are refined into shapes perceivable by others. Only through this process can works develop structure and viewpoints—what is called “soul.”

This article about IVE Ahn Yujin refusing to accept “ChatGPT love letters” and how generative AI is changing human expression was first published by Link News ABMedia.