AI- There and back again

Recently, I ventured down the rabbit hole of AI. It has been an intriguing journey, but I’ve finally clawed my way back to the surface, my flesh having triumphed over the machine- for now.

I don’t need to tell you that AI is a hot topic, a controversial one too. Many proclaim doom approaches, and it takes many forms. Could this be the end of art? Could it be the end of the authoring trade? Could it be the end of the world? I wish I could say no, but the best I can do is say not yet. Unfortunately, with any technology, there is not much purpose in opposing it. If history shows us anything, it is this. It will come, and it will change the world. Will it be for the better or the worse? That is for future generations to decide, but the best thing you can do now is embrace it, for resistance is futile- and probably a waste of your energy.

So that is what I did. I found both positive and negative aspects. Things that excited me and terrified me- enthralled me and disappointed me. Join me on my journey.

The first AI tool I use is Grammarly. This isn’t new. I’ve used it for about three years, but it is still an AI tool. I’m actually using it now- I draft all my blog posts right in the portal to save time. I know it has its faults, but for an indie writer, it is still invaluable. I use the paid version that I get through work (as I use it for embarrassing email typos and to draft important documents). Does it catch everything? No. Does it always provide the best suggestions? Certainly not. But if you are reviewing a 150k word document, it cuts down the time considerably and catches many things that your brain, which is largely a heuristic engine, misses. When I finish a first draft, I read through for content several times to ensure I catch big things and get the story just right. I then run it all through Grammarly chapter by chapter. I then read through it again to ensure I didn’t create any awkwardness before passing it through Word’s new grammar and spell checker (another AI tool) for some redundancy. You know that there are flaws in AI grammar tools because these two systems find different problems and sometimes conflict, but at least you can isolate them and apply the human ear. Does it replace a human editor? Not yet, but it is the next best thing for a writer on a budget.

I then moved to ChatGPT. My wife was experimenting with it to help with her dissertation, and like her, it intrigued me. As a quick and dirty research tool, it has potential. Though, if you’re writing a scholarly paper or your dissertation, not so much. My wife has since abandoned it. Sourcing is a real problem. Yes, it will find the answer to a question quicker than Googling, but the problem arises when you ask for a source for this information. Yes, it will give it to you, which is fantastic, until you check the source only to discover the link doesn’t work. There are two issues here. One, the data source currently used for Chat GPT is several years old (it’s not live data). This is probably a good thing- check the plot of Terminator 3. Second, it knows how to run through the motions of providing a source but can’t determine if that source is a good one. Sometimes, it almost seems deceitful, especially if you further probe its sourcing.

But for writing fiction, when you only need plausible and not necessarily fact, it comes in handy. That is unless you touch on subjects that are even minutely taboo. The old version gave you anything you wanted, but it has been tamed after some backlash. This is frustrating because, often, the things you need answers to in writing dark fantasy are the seedy things you don’t interact with daily. I ran into an issue with dark magic using fetuses- which is real. Apparently, ChatGPT was concerned I would venture deep into the realm of necromancy and dive into the nefarious dried fetus trade. AI couldn’t understand that the information wasn’t for me but for one of my characters who wanted to harness the power of unrealized life. It wasn’t the end of the world. I could still find some source material to spur my imagination with a little Googling. I hope the FBI understands better than ChatGPT that I am an author, and sometimes I research strange shit.

All in all, I was impressed. But then came the worry. Could it replace me as a writer? Thanks to algorithms, it was around this time I started to see news articles about people using ChatGPT to write books. I grew curious and began to explore if it could write a scene. I will admit, at first, I was impressed. It wasn’t great, but it was close. So I tried it again, and then I realized the flaw. It was using a template. The words were different, true, but the structure was the same- over and over again. If you tried to use it to write a novel, at the minimum, the reader would be bored after the first few pages, but worse, once you’ve seen the form, you would instantly know AI produced it. This dependence on a template is how teachers began to discover students using it for assignments. But it does have a use here, too, and that is to inspire ideas. The human imagination is currently more powerful than AI, and the lived human experience is far more fruitful for stories. ChatGPT’s scenes opened new doors for my mind to wander- new angles to focus on, images, sounds, smells, etc. If you find yourself stuck, it can sometimes give you that push.

I then tried ChatGPT for dialogue, and the real issues became immediately apparent. AI doesn’t know how people speak or even think. The product was a conversation, but something about it was off. It was the uncanny valley, the realm where things get too close to humanity but miss the mark and become creepy. I wish I could say it will never get there, but that would be naive. It would be hubris to say that we as a species are so gifted a machine will never capture our essence. If you don’t believe me, explore AI-produced art. Some of it is very interesting and has won awards bestowed by art experts who couldn’t tell the difference. In this sense, it is not the creators of the book’s content that needs to worry, but those who produce the cover. If you play with some AI book cover design tools, you’ll soon see the dependence on templates there too, but if you scroll through Amazon and know what to look for, AI has already permeated that industry, and there is no turning back. A free book cover that captures attention is far too enticing.

So, I’ve discovered that AI is a helpful tool for proofreading, researching, and getting ideas, but it can’t be used for actual writing, especially dialogue. But could it address the bane of all writers- the dreaded synopsis? Like most authors, I can produce a 150k-word manuscript in six months if given the time (and enjoy it very much), but condensing that into a page summary that will push people to buy the damn thing is a nightmare. So I put the current synopsis of one of my books into ChatGPT and asked it to make it better. What came out was intriguing but a bit long, so I asked it to tighten it, and there it was- a decent synopsis (side note- if you are having trouble getting something down to Tweet length, ChatGPT is very helpful here). There were some issues, like dependence on adjectives. I suppose in the AI brain adding superlatives makes something better. But that’s ok because we, as writers, do that too and know how to cut or use active verbs in their stead. I immediately put it up on Amazon, dusted my hands, and waited for the fruits of the AI’s labor.

They didn’t come. I waited—still nothing. I then reread the synopsis, and my grin collapsed. What the hell was I thinking? This isn’t any good. I immediately scraped it and went back to my old one. Something sinister had happened here. In the thrill of producing a summary without all that wordsmithing and pulling out the little hair I have left, I attached a value to the product that was an illusion. It didn’t have any flare or pop; most importantly, it wasn’t my voice. I don’t always like my voice, but it is mine and makes me who I am as a writer.

Dependency is the single most terrifying thing I discovered in my exploration. It was like being able to walk perfectly fine but deciding to get into one of those motorized carts at the grocery store. Sure, it was less labor-intensive to get around, but I couldn’t dance- I couldn’t perform. I was automated, sterile, and mass-produced- a machine going through the motions. Do I regret my exploration? No. Will I continue to use AI tools? Some. Have I lost all hope for humanity? Not yet. There is still a place for a human writing fiction, but I better get going and produce my greatest works because the Terminator is coming.

Cheers!