All creatives, and writers in particular, have to be vigilant and sceptical about A.I. Artificial intelligence applications are a threat to our thinking and imagining abilites and to our enduring ownership of our creative output. This is not a far-fetched conspiracy theory. A.I. is here and it is watching, observing, recording, manipulating and controlling nation states and their citizens. It will only accelerate while our democratic governments appear frozen in its headlights.
Even music legend, Sir Paul McCartney, is up in arms about what is happening to the creative works of the talented people who write the songs, the musicals and the operas, especially the young and future artists.
Check out this BBC interview with Sir Paul: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xqv9g8442o
This same principle of copyright and ownership applies to authors - past, present and future - who pour their hearts and souls and thousands of hours of their lives into writing their articles and books.
We are the people, You are the government, You're supposed to protect us. That's your job." - Sir Paul McCartney
Following Sir Paul's example, I imagine him sitting at his piano for many hours, playing this chord and that note and creating the beautiful melody of "Yesterday." It was born out of his unique talent and his unique brain. Not only that, he wrote the poetic lyrics to this unforgettable ballad. In spirit, we could say his extraordinary music belongs to all of us, but we did not create it and we do not own it. The artist's rights over their own creations must be protected by stronger laws.
A.I. is the thief in the night, sneaking into our lives, sucking up the information and creative output generated by humans for the benefit and enrichment of nameless corporate entities.
For many of us not immersed in the 'deep state' of technology, our knowledge and understanding of A.I. is sketchy and vague. Is it really artificial? Was it created by experimenting with bits and bytes in a computer lab?
As I understand it, A.I. is information and knowledge that has been sucked up from human sources too numerous to list. Like a vampire has to have human blood, so the A.I. system depends on its human source. Hence, it can be argued A.I. is not 'artificial' as its 'data' is derived from human sources. Whether is it 'intelligent' is also questionable. If it is, its intelligence is limited to certain types of intelligence such as the logical-mathematical. It cannot match human intelligence which is complex and multifarious.
But here's the thing: the computer intelligence I like best is my own brain. Our human abilities to think, to learn, to compare, to analyse, to judge, to feel, and to create are what truly matters. This sentiment is summed up by a Don Yanapaqui who replied to an online article on A.I.
"Creativity is an exercise, you lose it if you don't use it."
My advice to all writers is to steer clear of the siren call of A.I. Avoid what seems easy and quick. When you are grappling with some aspect of your writing, don't hand it over to an A.I. program such as ChatGPT or ProWriting Aid. Solve it yourself! Think harder about it, sleep on it, leave it aside for a couple of days. Before you go to sleep at night, tell your brain to generate some ideas while you're sleeping.
Of course, there is the argument that using A.I. is time and cost effective because I don't have to do all the grunt work. But the grunt work - thinking, reading, analysing - is what continually sharpens the saw of our mental faculties. If we fall into the habit of outsourcing our thinking, even in the short term, we diminish our own mental capacities. We become dumber, not smarter, when we routinely click on a button to do what we are perfectly designed to do ourselves. Don't take your own onboard personal computer for granted. Use it and you won't lose it!
On a closing point, I envisage authors differentiating their books by means of stamping the cover "AI-Free.' It is a strategic advantage because readers don't want to read regurgitated books. They want something original, fresh and authentic. As far as the LLOYD MOSS editing and self-publishing services are concerned, they are, and will remain, AI-Free.
Let's talk about it. I welcome your comments on this contentious topic, whether fore or against.
Lynne Lloyd
editor and publisher
LLOYD MOSS
editing and publishing
0421 998749
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