Using AI for Writing
There’s been a lot of discussion on this topic over the past year. Ever since Chat GPT became so widely available and widely used, it seems the writing/bookish community has been actively considering and debating the implications such a tool might have on the future of the entire publishing industry. While I’ve largely been unconcerned with the introduction of AI into the mainstream, it is impossible to ignore some of the effects it’s already having, from stolen artwork to nonsense books flooding the market.
Disclaimer: These are my current opinions and my thoughts are subject to change.
When is it unethical to use AI?
Some purists will say a writer should never use AI at all, and I’m not here to debate with anyone. While I do think there are appropriate uses, let’s discuss some of the very valid concerns, and the negative impact we’re already seeing in the writing world.
Using AI to Generate Entire Stories
I think this is one of the more obvious concerns, especially as we’re seeing Amazon being absolutely flooded with AI-written novels. Bots have popped up everywhere, and last time I looked into this there were literally thousands of books published within the prior month, all notably lacking an actual real person as the author. Some went as far as to generate author images and author bios for completely fake people. The books themselves are horrible, and most readers would be able to tell within a few pages—if not a few sentences—that the book wasn’t written by a human being. So, not only is the market being saturated by these books, pushing out the legitimate authors, readers are also paying for material that is poor at best. It’s a bad situation on all sides. People buy books and read stories to connect with characters and experience lives and worlds outside their own. These generated works have no soul and nothing to connect with. Writing is a creative endeavor by the author, and an algorithm (no matter how sophisticated) simply cannot replicate that. If you’re a writer utilizing generative AI in this way, I’ll say it straight out: You’re not a writer.
Using AI for Cover Art
Visual artists have come together to sue Chat GPT and other AI models for stealing their work to train their AI. This is an ongoing issue, and it’s harming true artists. Like when using it for writing entire stories, I believe that AI-generated cover art feels as hollow as the written work they’re being used for. There are some really talented digital artists who cannot compete with the cheap, AI-generated art, which is on its own a problem. But beyond that, the literal theft and misuse of real art to create these images make it unethical to use. You can learn more about this here.
Using AI Without Disclosure
In the gray area, some people are fine with authors using AI to assist in their writing so long as they disclose it. Aside from obvious issues of potential plagiarism and lack of proper crediting, something about it feels inherently deceptive to many readers. This is because the ideas themselves may not have even come from the person’s own creativity, so how can a reader trust that person as an author? For many it feels like a capitalistic money grab rather than the creation of art. As authors, we rely on the relationship with the reader, which is typically created through authenticity of the work, and using AI places a barrier where there needn’t be one. It also calls into question anyone in the publishing industry who platforms AI-generated work. I recently attended a live virtual pitchfest for novels where one of the winning entries was clearly written by Chat GPT. I went and prompted GPT myself and there it was, almost word for word. Others in the chat for the event did the same and came back with the same results. It caused quite a discussion in the chat, and when it went on to win its category, I noticed lots of people leaving the event. Out of 1500 entries, they’d selected 2 in each category, and ended up choosing an AI generated pitch over the ones submitted by actual human beings. The immediate loss of trust was evident as commenters asked very valid questions regarding the lack of vetting process in these submissions and experts being unable to identify AI-generated work when dozens of people attending the event identified it immediately.
Other Considerations
AI models are trained. This means that they come with their own biases and misinformation based on the input they’ve received. They are not a creative human being capable of critical analysis, so they have limitations which cannot be ignored. When using generative AI, it’s important to keep that in mind, always. We’ve got the other downsides as well: job displacement (as demonstrated above, an AI pitch won its category during a pitchfest with a reputable entity in the industry), poor quality in long form especially, cliché/generalized stories and characters, lack of diversity in responses (again due to the way they’re trained), artistic integrity, and potential copyright claims since it isn’t especially clear who gets authorship rights. Recently, on one of my query forms, the agent specifically asked if I used AI for any of this manuscript. I wrote the entire story, and it’s my brainchild, but I did use Grammarly. And since Grammarly is AI, I had to disclose that. For what it’s worth, I’m choosing personally not to use Grammarly anymore for this reason. Perhaps once more of this is sorted out, I’ll utilize it again, but for now it seems simpler to rely on my own editing skill.
When is it okay to use AI?
I’m one of those people who thinks integrating available technology isn’t all bad. Like anything else, it has a time and a place. And, like any other technology, it’s going to become more and more a part of our everyday lives whether we like it or not. So, I’m in the camp of people who believe we can embrace the tool in reasonable ways, even if I still hold onto some skepticism and concerns over how it’s currently being used by some people. Here are some of the places where I think AI use is okay in writing.
Generating Writing Prompts
Every writer experiences writer’s block at one time or another, and while there are plenty of other resources and ideas for moving through that, I see no harm in asking Chat GPT for a writing prompt. To reduce the risk of influence, I do suggest using more specific instructions to the AI model. For example, instead of asking for a writing prompt for a fantasy novel, be more intentional: “I need a one-sentence writing prompt for a short story tackling themes of grief and loss. Include a simple character, scene, and scenario.” This way, you’re literally getting a 1-line prompt that encourages you to engage your own creativity, rather than relying on the AI model to generate a story for you.
Brainstorming
Like above, the key is short, specific prompts asking for a simple response. I used this myself on an old draft that I eventually shelved, but I did find it helpful. Say I want a name for an elven high lord that reflects his kingdom and personality. I would prompt something like “I need 10 name ideas for a temperamental elven high lord which communicate his connection to barren/charred woodlands, salt water, bioluminescent insects, and a palace made from the bones of his enemies.” You can further expand on the prompt if that list doesn’t generate anything that sparks creativity by adding things like how many syllables you want it to be, what emotion you want it to evoke, or whether or not you want a specific language root (Greek, Russian, Latin, Swahili, et cetera). I wouldn’t suggest using it for brainstorming major worldbuilding elements or anything, but it might be a reasonable option for these smaller details where we often get stuck.
Research
Though AI is not 100% accurate, and it’s important to fact check anything it tells you, it can be a good tool for asking a specific question if you’re unsure how to word it for a Google search. This is because these models can interpret what you mean by your question (for the most part) and distill the response to match, unlike a Google search where it can be difficult if you’re lacking key language around the concept, place, etc. you’re wanting to research. Additionally, you can ask it to provide you with academic articles, organizational or other websites, and additional resources to expand your research beyond the simple AI-generated response.
Editing
While AI cannot (at this point) adequately edit an entire novel without human oversight, there are several great AI tools writers can employ to self edit their work. Grammarly is a commonly used writing assistant. It can help a writer catch spelling errors, weak grammar, and clarity issues during the editing process. Not everyone can afford to hire a freelance editor, so tools such as this have been rapidly increasing in popular use, both in academic settings and creative endeavors such as novel writing. While it cannot replace the human editor, it can pick up on the big issues, and often that’s enough to help a writer gain confidence and polish their work. It’s important to note, however, that this gets picked up as being AI-generated when its run through an AI-checker, which may disqualify you from submitting your work at all. This is true for creative writing as well as academic work. Despite being shown to be highly inaccurate and unreliable, we’re seeing lots of people not getting credit for academic pieces due to the AI-checker flagging it. So at least for now, just know that it might cause problems if you’re hoping to submit the writing to anyone using an AI-checker. Even if you wrote the entire thing yourself, the moment it goes through Grammarly, it’s marked as AI-generated. For now, I’ll be sticking to my own editing skills and the AI editors built into whatever software I’m using; Scrivener, Word, Google Docs, and most word processors have integrated AI now for things like spell checking, grammar, and even clarity/concision.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There’s still a lot of growth and change we’re going to see over the coming years where AI is concerned. I don’t tend to fear shifts like these and am often an early adopter for technology and other approaches to things. AI is no different. I see the benefits of utilizing it, and I believe there are ethical ways to incorporate AI into my writing life. That said, I do have ethical qualms with the idea of using it to plot or write entire stories, and I certainly see the massive problems with art theft. I’m definitely curious to see how my opinions on this evolve with time as we see its effects on the industry more and more. But for now, I’m trying to find a balance, as always.
