Writer’s Corner: To use AI, or not to use AI?

I’m not a big tech person, but I have found uses for AI tools as they develop, as we all have. Today we use AI search engines, and have an Alexa or Seri or, whatever yours is named in nearly every household, AI creates illustrations, narrate books, and can even write our books for us. (Just because it can, doesn’t mean it should.) I use generative AI tools to work out my descriptions of places I’ve never been, or places I have been but far in the past. I don’t use the AI description given, but rather, pluck little gems from it and make them my own. I use book covers created with AI assistance. So, I definitely see the potential uses for AI.

I was the holdout parent, who would not allow my children internet access when “everybody else does” at school, because I saw the potential for the invasion of privacy. But eventually, I relented. I usually do. I still don’t do my banking online, use credit cards, or share address and phone number online. (To tell the truth, the identity theft who steals my identity would be sorely disappointed, so I don’t know why I worry.)

I don’t have a smart home device, but I do have a Google Assistant on my phone, and it scares the heck out of me when I’m talking to someone else and out of the blue the Assistant responds to something that was said, and I didn’t even say, “Hey, Google.” I have to ask myself, “Is someone listening in on my conversations?” It gives me the creeps. (Maybe there’s a story there.)

Do these things bother anyone else? I mean, don’t you ever wonder?

Now, they are telling us that generative AI has been using authors’ works without the proper permissions to train the AI, resulting in a weird form of plagiarism. I don’t quite understand how that all works, but I do understand that it is a bad thing. Our words are like our brain children and AI has committed a massive kidnapping of our intellectual properties. (My first response upon hearing about this: “Wow! If my stuff is good enough to train AI, I must be smoking! But come to find out, it doesn’t really matter whether you are a good writer. AI doesn’t care and will use anything it can get, regardless of quality.)

I also have to wonder why they name AI devices and apps? Is it to make them seem more human?

They are even making sex-robots now, which can do anything a human partner can do in addition to fulfilling all your sexual pleasures. They are actually doing this, and each one carries the same name, probably with a number designation tacked on the end. They also speak like real humans, (they were probably trained with one of my books). AI narrators, too. You can choose from several, male or female, each with a different name, but they still have little glitches that give them away as AI. You also get to the reading speed for the AI, (at least on Google Play Books you do). I have three AI narrated audiobooks on Google Play Books, but no one has listened to them to ask for opinions on them.

You know the whole NaNoWriMo thing came to a screeching halt last year, after they allowed AI writing to be used during the annual writing challenge. I guess everyone raised a big stink about it, although I didn’t hear anything about it until this year when I went to sign up. As I said, I use generative AI during my writing, but I don’t use its words. I don’t know if they submitted completely AI written manuscripts in last year’s NaNoWriMo, or if they just didn’t disclose that their story was AI assisted. But even as I peruse a manuscript with the assistance of an AI editor, (I use two, Microsoft Word editor and ProWriting Aid), I realize there is something an AI just can’t quite capture, and that is the author’s voice. How silly it is for someone to try and pass off AI written work as human created. (Could it happen? Could an AI written story be passed off as human writing? Maybe… probably. Even if it can’t be done yet, (or maybe it can), I have no doubt that it will be possible, probably in the near future.

To use AI or not to use AI? That is the question. We all have to find our own personal answer that we are comfortable with, or can at least tolerate.

What’s your answer?

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.