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Updated on April 20, 2024
I hate that text-based and image-based artificial intelligence has been trained on copyrighted works. But while we wait on court decisions or new laws and regulations, it has become impossible to avoid.
Anyone who’s tried it knows that it’s very effective at many tasks. I think it’s here to stay, even if the courts force the big tech companies to start over in a way that respects copyright. One way or another, we’ll be living and working with AI from this point forward.
I need to be up to speed on its capabilities and uses to stay current. Which means using the existing products—selectively—while we wait for the legal dust to settle.
But if we are to continue valuing the creativity that is only truly possible with human effort, we must be open and honest about how much of our work is original and how much is derived from AI. To do anyting else is disrespectful to our readers.
So, this is how I’m currently using—and not using—artificial intelligence as an author and business owner.
NOTE: The following comments apply to people who write for a living (e.g. fiction authors), not people who just write as part of their job or interest—such as blogging. The writing itself isn’t their central focus, or the thing they are trying to sell to readers.
I do not believe in using any kind of computer generated writing assistance beyond spell checking. I do not even use the grammar checker in Microsoft Word. I don’t use popular writer-assistance programs such as Grammarly or Pro Writing Aid. And I don’t ask chat bots for any assistance whatsoever.
This applies to both my fiction writing and my website.
The purpose of these programs is to “correct” your writing to make it conform to established conventions, which is an excellent way to remove all traces of unique author voice. Author voice is the main thing that distinquishes one writer from another. Readers don’t want same, they want one of a kind, they want different…because otherwise, what’s the point of reading over author vs. another?
Any author who starts using AI to sand off the rough edges of their prose is on a pathway that will end with them sounding just like every other writer.
Remember, AI cannot, by definition, come up with anything new. It can only rehash what it’s been trained on in ways that may appears to be new, but will never be truly novel and certainly won’t be groundbreaking.
I do use AI processing when I dictate ideas using an app on my phone. I don’t write scenes by dication, only record thoughts that occur to me. I have the AI set to do a light edit to remove jumbled words and ums and ahs, etc.
I use AI to create small bits of simple code for my website, such as altering the way buttons work or the size of certain fonts.
And that’s all. Writers who offload any amount of the mental work of writing fiction onto computer intelligence are only hurting their craft in the long run. Their stories will inevitably suffer for not having forced themselves to do the hard work of creation.
I include an AI Transparency Statement in my books that mirrors the policy outlined above.
As a supporter of several artists, the theft of images particularly pains me. My commitment is to never use an AI-generated piece of art in any work I publish, including both books and this website.
I have used a combination of AI-generated art and a graphic programs to play around with how a book cover could be laid out. Creating a cover in advance of writing is part of my creative process, and I lack the ability to do it effectly any other way. Also, this approach is an effective way for me to communicate my thoughts to a cover artist who can start from scratch to enhance my vision.
I will update my policies as artificial intelligence continues to develop.
~ S. A. Weigle