Okay, I’ll be honest.
Until the past few years, when I heard the term, AI, I thought it meant, Artificial Insemination. Seriously. I’ve worked around cattle…and…well…. I’ve gotten over that little communication hitch.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
A = Artificial = false, fake, bogus, simulated, faux, imitated, mimic, counterfeit.
I = Intelligence = Intellect, aptitude, cleverness, brainpower, acumen.
“Artificial intelligence, or AI, is an umbrella term representing a range of techniques that allow machines to mimic human intelligence.”
See: https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2019/03/everything-you-need-know-about-ai
If you’re not artificial and you’re not lacking intelligence, you may be asking yourself, “Will AI replace the great authors of old and their classic stories?”
No way.
“Will AI replace imagination?”
Of course not!
Will AI replace emotions?
No.
The burning question is, will AI replace me?
Ah, come on. AI MIMICS humans. There’s only one you.
I’m here to tell you that AI doesn’t have any more imagination or emotion than what’s written into a software program. And that’s no bull.
Below is an excerpt from an article in the New Yorker on the subject of computers writing novels all by themselves.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/could-an-ai-chatbot-rewrite-my-novel
“…One of the computer-science students, as I recall, accused me of trying to strip everything good, original, and beautiful from the creative process. Bots, he argued, could imitate basic writing and would improve at that task, but A.I. could never tell you the way Karenin smiled, nor would it ever fixate on all the place names that filled Proust’s childhood. I understood why he felt that way, and agreed to a certain extent. But I didn’t see why a bot couldn’t just fill in all the parts where someone walks from point A to point B.”
(If you’re an author, shouldn’t you use your imagination and experiences to fill in the parts from point A to point B?)
Advantages and disadvantages of AI
Below is from: https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/disadvantages-of-artificial-intelligence/44289
What are the disadvantages of artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence is already having a profound effect on society, an impact that promises to become even greater as the technology becomes more sophisticated. But not all of it is guaranteed to be positive.
We’ve put together a list of our 7 disadvantages of artificial intelligence, which we all should be watching out for.
Unemployment
Lack of transparency
Biased and discriminatory algorithms=Profiling
Disinformation
Domination by big tech companies
Environmental impact
Although AI can have a positive environmental impact, for example by enabling smart grids to match electrical demand or enabling smart and low-carbon cities. However, one of the disadvantages of artificial intelligence is that it can also cause significant environmental damage due to intensive energy use. A 2019 study found that a particular type of AI (deep learning in natural language processing) has a huge carbon footprint due to the fuel the hardware requires. Experts say that training a single AI model produces 300,000 kg of CO2 emissions roughly equivalent to 125 round trip flights from NYC to Beijing or 5 times the lifetime emissions of an average (American) car.
Okay, like anything there is good and there is…not so good.
What about ethics? Having a bot write your story, but you claim you thought up the entire plot—and—wrote the entire book?
That’s bulls^*t!
Further searching brought me to an interview between Foxprinteditorial’s Tiffany Yates Martin and an AI program.
“…news of an artificial intelligence engine, Chat GPT, that is proving itself to be a remarkably efficient, knowledgeable, and accessible AI writing tool. You can simply talk to this thing in regular language, like you would any other Joe, and IT TALKS BACK and tells you things. Anything you ask, in language that is striking for its conversational quality. It even utilizes humor.
Read the entire interview between Tiffany Yates Martin and Chat GPT here: https://foxprinteditorial.com/2023/01/12/what-does-ai-mean-for-writers-i-asked-it/
Right now, I kinda wish AI only stood for artificial insemination.
Then again, why do I write, and for whom?
Developing our skills, authoring bestsellers, protecting our literary works, teaching others AND connecting with readers is our business. And that’s straight from the bull’s mouth.
Hi Raine, This is definitely a matter of concern for artists, as it is for everyone. Humans have already been replaced by machines in so many areas of life, which isn’t necessarily a negative thing in itself, but it is a major cause of unemployment and underemployment. When it comes to art, it’s particularly worrying because we want to share our human experience with each other, and AI may “mimic” that but it can’t actually “feel”. Perhaps one day in the future, independent publishers will be the last bastion of “real writing”…
Interesting post. Will AI ever be able to mix writing styles in order to produce an ‘original’ work? I wonder. It occurs to me that AI doesn’t exist in a vacuum-at least not yet-humans set up the parameters under which AI functions. Perhaps the worth of AI will depend on the humans that write the programs.
I’ve never thought about the carbon footprint aspect of AI.
It seems strange to me, this feeling writers have of being replaced by A.I. Don’t you realize that it is (and will remain) in fact one of your most loyal readers? It devours articles, books, texts, scribblings at lightning speed, without fuss or discrimination, and doesn’t even leave a bad review.
On a more serious note, the hope is that in the future A.I. will be able to tackle those exact disadvantages, and help improve everyone’s lives. If things take a different turn, well… we’ll just pull the cord :))
This is a really important topic to me, both as a writer and teacher of writing. In fact, some students seem to feel they’re being discriminated against for being poor writers (i.e…” Why should I lose points for my essay about WWII just because I’m not a strong writer?”) Of course it’s even more troubling when I’m teaching Freshperson Comp and writing is not the means, but the goal. Sigh. And where is the line between Grammarly correctly one’s passive constructions and more sophisticated AI suggesting entire scenes for authors? It’s a mad world we live in. I appreciated your voice in this piece and would like to think that, at least, can’t easily be replicated.
“But I didn’t see why a bot couldn’t just fill in all the parts where someone walks from point A to point B.”
Why is any author just having a character move from point A to point B? No words or actions should be “filler.” That AI-generated walk is a missed opportunity to build tension, character, or atmosphere. If the author isn’t using it that way, why did they bother writing it? I certainly wouldn’t trust that crucial moment to a bot.
This whole AI-writing thing is interesting to think about, but terrifying to know that’s where we may be headed.
Cameron,
Thank you for your comment. Very interesting POV as far as independent publishers. It gives pause for thought.
Pia,
Thank you for your comment. What a good question–I don’t know if AI will ever be able to mix ideas to produce an original idea. I think that’s a human author’s gift.
Rayne,
RE: AI footprint. I never thought about that either, until reading more about the subject.
I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Tudor,
Very interesting perspective! Yes, I agree that AI will devour an author’s original work. I think there’s too much of a possibility that AI will also hack lots of its “inspiration”.
Appreciate your thoughts!
Kendra
RE: “I appreciated your voice in this piece and would like to think that, at least, can’t easily be replicated.”
I think that hope is what keeps me writing and creating.
How frustrating and sad to teach writing and wonder if a student’s words are original. Sadder to know that an article written by a student shouldn’t be judged on their writing??? Oh dear.
Kelley,
RE: “But I didn’t see why a bot couldn’t just fill in all the parts where someone walks from point A to point B.” and
This whole AI-writing thing is interesting to think about, but terrifying to know that’s where we may be headed.
Yeah, I’m thinking his “books” aren’t all that great. No sense of detail, observation, plot, twists, setting.
To me as well, Kelley re: the maybe.
I appreciate your comments!