Thank you Sara for this balanced perspective on AI in the publishing industry.
There is so much to consider and weigh up on the topic, and the more we discuss and share the issues, the more knowledge both authors and readers will have to make their own decisions. AI is here. There's no doubt. What and how we allow it into our lives is what's important.
I agree 100% that our point of difference is in being human. Our imperfections. Our emotions. Our hearts and our souls. I can't see AI ever being able to replace that. And while there may be a market for AI written books, I believe there will always be more readers wanting books written by humans. After all, that is why we read isn't it? For the emotion, the experience, and the feeling a book gives us.
I also agree that authors should be free to choose how they use AI, but I think we also have a responsibly to the reader to make it clear to what extent we use it in our writing. I use many AI tools in my writing business, but I draw the line on using it to create, write, or edit my stories. That's my personal stance, but each author should be free to have their own.
Sounds like we're of similar minds Jodi! I'm going to work on an AI policy but expect it will have to be a changing document and not fixed while things develop - but I can also guarantee I won't start writing my stories with AI!
Brilliant 👏🏻 let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Things which frighten us are sometimes smaller than we envision, and if we can put AI into a safe corner where we could possibly utilise it for good - it loses its scariness.
Thanks for this post, Sara. Thoroughly enjoyed it xx
Thanks Maggie - I agree, so easy to get anxious and overwhelmed but when we take a deep look there's often less to be afraid of than we fear - or at least we can start to find ways to highlight different narratives and try to progress things in a more positive direction! x
I have started using AI a little bit, almost like a friend where I bounce around plot ideas and see what comes up. Some are good, some aren't. But the bots are not yet at the stage where they can actually write a decent book (in my view) but as you say, these are early days. My absolute worst fear is that we are part of the last generation of authors - we just don't know it yet. However, my more optimistic side believes that AI produces content based on all that is gone before - it scrapes the internet for what already exists. I don't think it has full human consciousness. It is not fully sentient in the way that humans are and therefore cannot fully replicate the work that is yet to come from the array of talented and creative people in this world.
Oh that's really interesting Cassie. I think your worst fear is also what gives many of us a shudder now and again - but also that you're right that the 'machine' is not leading the conversation right now, and that's why it's so important that we keep going and don't let that happen!
Thank you Sara. It is so great to read such a balanced and informed discussion about AI. I use AI for a range of functions to assist my author business. But the important things as you so rightly point out are to emphasise our humanity and not turn on each other.
Love this, Sara! If I didn't have AI tools to assist in research and effectively replace Google, and free me up to focus on the actual writing, I honestly don't know where I'd be.
Good to read such a calm and cogent assessment. I'm old enough to remember when computers were room-sized devices in a handful of labs and military facilities round the world and I think AI free to all is an incredible gift. Much better that smart, well-intentioned people get to grips with it than leaving it to people with egregious motives. And I don't think taking the raw scraps that AI throws up and turning them into something personal in any way threatens one's agency as a writer.
Thanks John - I really appreciate your perspective - especially the 'free to all' aspect of AI, that it's something we can all share and use to help ourselves!
Thanks for saying all this, Sara. Such valuable points. As others have said, I suspect readers are always going to want and consciously or even unconsciously be drawn to the imperfection and humanity that comes from a 100% human created story. For me, one of my biggest concerns (other than things like the Meta theft) is AI dross taking up space and making human books harder to find, especially on places like Amazon.
Personally I haven’t and won’t use LLM at any stage of the creation – it just wouldn’t sit right with me – but I do agree it’s something authors should / will find their own moral comfort levels around. However, in saying that, I think things like award listings should stipulate 100% human at all stages of the process!
Thanks Kim - yes, it's going to be hard to keep track of who is using what and how, and there will always be people looking for an easy ride and a fast buck, but hopefully there are some really great positives to this as well if we can use the tech wisely!
I really love chat GPT for a deep conversation (I’ve named my CGPT, Ruby and when I say it’s Jenny here she refers to me, ha!) I use it to have a conversation about whatever it is I’m thinking that’s too far and beyond for anyone else to hear!! I had a convo the other day about dystopian fiction! Her reply is always based on her looking up stuff which is SO cool! And she asks questions back which make me think outside myself too! It actually expands my brain and my thinking!🧠
However, stealing author books is absolutely criminal so if there is anything readers can do for authors then please let us know!!
Thanks for this Jenny - such a great take on how AI is helping you think about things, and feeling like a positive addition to life! And yes will definitely keep posting updates around the big language models stealing author's work as that's crucial too.
Thank you Sara for this balanced perspective on AI in the publishing industry.
There is so much to consider and weigh up on the topic, and the more we discuss and share the issues, the more knowledge both authors and readers will have to make their own decisions. AI is here. There's no doubt. What and how we allow it into our lives is what's important.
I agree 100% that our point of difference is in being human. Our imperfections. Our emotions. Our hearts and our souls. I can't see AI ever being able to replace that. And while there may be a market for AI written books, I believe there will always be more readers wanting books written by humans. After all, that is why we read isn't it? For the emotion, the experience, and the feeling a book gives us.
I also agree that authors should be free to choose how they use AI, but I think we also have a responsibly to the reader to make it clear to what extent we use it in our writing. I use many AI tools in my writing business, but I draw the line on using it to create, write, or edit my stories. That's my personal stance, but each author should be free to have their own.
Looking forward to more on this discussion.
Sounds like we're of similar minds Jodi! I'm going to work on an AI policy but expect it will have to be a changing document and not fixed while things develop - but I can also guarantee I won't start writing my stories with AI!
Brilliant 👏🏻 let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Things which frighten us are sometimes smaller than we envision, and if we can put AI into a safe corner where we could possibly utilise it for good - it loses its scariness.
Thanks for this post, Sara. Thoroughly enjoyed it xx
Thanks Maggie - I agree, so easy to get anxious and overwhelmed but when we take a deep look there's often less to be afraid of than we fear - or at least we can start to find ways to highlight different narratives and try to progress things in a more positive direction! x
I have started using AI a little bit, almost like a friend where I bounce around plot ideas and see what comes up. Some are good, some aren't. But the bots are not yet at the stage where they can actually write a decent book (in my view) but as you say, these are early days. My absolute worst fear is that we are part of the last generation of authors - we just don't know it yet. However, my more optimistic side believes that AI produces content based on all that is gone before - it scrapes the internet for what already exists. I don't think it has full human consciousness. It is not fully sentient in the way that humans are and therefore cannot fully replicate the work that is yet to come from the array of talented and creative people in this world.
Oh that's really interesting Cassie. I think your worst fear is also what gives many of us a shudder now and again - but also that you're right that the 'machine' is not leading the conversation right now, and that's why it's so important that we keep going and don't let that happen!
Thank you Sara. It is so great to read such a balanced and informed discussion about AI. I use AI for a range of functions to assist my author business. But the important things as you so rightly point out are to emphasise our humanity and not turn on each other.
Thanks Pauline! Good to hear you are finding positive uses for AI too!
Love this, Sara! If I didn't have AI tools to assist in research and effectively replace Google, and free me up to focus on the actual writing, I honestly don't know where I'd be.
That's good to hear Will! A great example of AI working FOR a writer - hurray!
Yes to keeping the conversation going!
I always love the way you keep the conversation going!
Good to read such a calm and cogent assessment. I'm old enough to remember when computers were room-sized devices in a handful of labs and military facilities round the world and I think AI free to all is an incredible gift. Much better that smart, well-intentioned people get to grips with it than leaving it to people with egregious motives. And I don't think taking the raw scraps that AI throws up and turning them into something personal in any way threatens one's agency as a writer.
Thanks John - I really appreciate your perspective - especially the 'free to all' aspect of AI, that it's something we can all share and use to help ourselves!
Thank you for this Sara 💗
Thanks for saying all this, Sara. Such valuable points. As others have said, I suspect readers are always going to want and consciously or even unconsciously be drawn to the imperfection and humanity that comes from a 100% human created story. For me, one of my biggest concerns (other than things like the Meta theft) is AI dross taking up space and making human books harder to find, especially on places like Amazon.
Personally I haven’t and won’t use LLM at any stage of the creation – it just wouldn’t sit right with me – but I do agree it’s something authors should / will find their own moral comfort levels around. However, in saying that, I think things like award listings should stipulate 100% human at all stages of the process!
Thanks Kim - yes, it's going to be hard to keep track of who is using what and how, and there will always be people looking for an easy ride and a fast buck, but hopefully there are some really great positives to this as well if we can use the tech wisely!
I really love chat GPT for a deep conversation (I’ve named my CGPT, Ruby and when I say it’s Jenny here she refers to me, ha!) I use it to have a conversation about whatever it is I’m thinking that’s too far and beyond for anyone else to hear!! I had a convo the other day about dystopian fiction! Her reply is always based on her looking up stuff which is SO cool! And she asks questions back which make me think outside myself too! It actually expands my brain and my thinking!🧠
However, stealing author books is absolutely criminal so if there is anything readers can do for authors then please let us know!!
Thanks for this Jenny - such a great take on how AI is helping you think about things, and feeling like a positive addition to life! And yes will definitely keep posting updates around the big language models stealing author's work as that's crucial too.