It's hard to believe October is here when it's so warm where I live. The calendar still changes even if the seasons seem to be at a standstill, which means it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Learn more about the IWSG on their website and Facebook page if you're not already familiar with them.
Our hosts this month are Natalie Aguirre, Kim Lajevardi, Debs Carey, Gwen Gardner, Patricia Josephine, and Rebecca Douglass.
Our question for October is a controversial one: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?
As you may have guessed from the title of this post, I'm not a fan of AI. Please refer to the photo below:
Artificial intelligence may be a tool, in theory neutral until used. However, in a world of late-stage capitalism, this tool comes equipped with original sin. The creators of AI steal other people's work in an attempt to replace human writers and artists for profit. AI work has flooded KPD and magazine portals, making it even more difficult for humans to gain recognition. If you consider creativity the peak human endeavor, then leave it for humans. We don't need AI to give us ideas when there so many ideas out there, waiting for the right mind to notice them. And while it might not always be easy to put those ideas into words, it's the struggle that makes writing a calling. We all need to demand tech companies stop embedding AI into everything while making it nearly impossible to escape. We need to demand better regulation of this industry. If we don't, we will lose ourselves.
What are your thoughts on using AI? Whether or not you agree with me, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Wow, AI is using your blog as a resource? How did you discover that? And the more AIs out there and the more they produce, how will we track it all down?
ReplyDeleteI really need to start paying better attention. This is disturbing because 1. I didn't even consider where they're getting the data to train the AI, and 2. that someone else can capitalize on my work because they're better at marketing. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteThat's my big issue with AI is the people who made it not compensating those they used to train it but then claim THEY deserve money for their hard work. You'd have nothing without the people whose stuff you trained it on didn't exist.
ReplyDeleteThat is disturbing. Worse than when Google was trying to build that database of books for free because how do we track this down?
ReplyDeleteAlex, a writer friend posted a link to a website that allowed you to search for websites that had been harvested for AI.
ReplyDeleteCharity and Patricia, yes, why should someone else profit off of something I do for free?
Diane, books are also being used to train AIs without author consent.
I'm with you on demanding the tech companies stop putting AI into everything. There not simply making a job easier, they are taking away the value and recognition of our own act of writing and belittling our efforts and what we were meant to do.
ReplyDeleteI supported the Author's Guild in speaking out against AI's takeover of authors' content and our role in writing. I'm glad to know that AG is suing these companies that have been using authors' work without consent. As you said, the AI companies are stealing from us. And they're not just stealing the writing itself but the very purpose that our act of creation gives us. That cannot happen. And only we writers collectively can prevent it from happening.
I'm glad you haven't had any of your books stolen by AI yet and I hope you never will. Many of us make little enough already from our writing and we don't need big tech (or any kind of) companies to take anymore of it away from us.