Insecure Writers Want to Know
AI …did I ever admit to anyone that I’m tech challenged? Well if not, the secret is online now.
I get it that AI is supposed to be a tool to assist with a task. And if I were a bit savvier, I’d learn how to use this tool to help narrow research for a written article or essay. But I still need to know how to perform tasks because they are part of my business. Synopses are a case in point. No one knows our stories better than we do. Is it easy to create a synopsis? Nope. But we learn as we go.
No. To me, AI is like my fancy calculator for statistics class in college. The professor wanted us to write out those blasted frequency tables to understand all the steps before she would allow us to use our calculators for a more complicated table. It took a while for me to fully understand the steps. I wasn’t happy about it, but I agreed with this method. I would always show my children the steps to complete a mathematical task instead of just giving them the quick answer. By the way…they weren’t happy about it either.
But back to AI. What’s to stop unscrupulous people from “creating”—and I use the term loosely here—whole stories, essays, or books and putting them up for sale online?
I know I would never use AI for this. But what happens when there is a flood of “stories” online that are AI created? The market is crowded already. As indie writers, we don’t need more “books” on the market that aren’t exactly original stories. Readers don’t like to be duped. How can they distinguish between a real purchase and review from an artificial “intelligently” created review? Especially when we, as writers, may not have many reviews for our new book? How can readers know they are purchasing a story created by a human author?
And how do we stop the “AI tool” from taking OUR online data and using it in someone else’s supposed creation? There is a tremendous amount of data to be found online.
This scares me. Not because I’m someone famous and everyone wants to find something written by Victoria Marie Lees. No. It’s because I am NOT famous that I worry about my stories, my essays, my blog or social media posts being used without my knowledge, so that when I go to submit a story or essay to a publisher, they will say that they saw this before—and not from me.
We need to remember the pivotal word here. Artificial. As in not real. Not genuine. Oh the information can give us a basis. A beginning. But we need to think on our own. Create on our own. I don’t know about you, but I still argue with the grammar “errors” found by grammar—and sometimes spell—check on my pc. Always remember to put the human element in your decisions. We can think and feel. “Artificial” intelligence, computers cannot. AI is a program that can do procedures rapidly.
What do you think about this new technology called AI? Is it a blessing or a curse? Please feel free to offer any comment. I’m interested in what you think. Thanks for the input.
I’m extremely thankful to you all for being my sounding board and advisors on this scary writing and publishing journey.
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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I’d like to thank our co-hosts for March: Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages! Please visit them if you can.
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Sadly, I’m pretty sure there are Al-generated stories out there. I’m all for using it as a tool for my job. But even then, I have to rewrite sections of what Al writes and edit it heavily. But it can be a helpful tool for some tasks and is helping in other ways, like detecting cancer.
Thank you so much for offering this insight here at Adventures in Writing, Natalie. It’s always a pleasure seeing you here. Have a beautiful day!
I know I don’t want to read an AI story. It is rather frightening that it’s starting to happen already.
Yes it is, Alex. Very frightening. Thank you for sharing your opinion here at Adventures in Writing. Have a wonderful day!
Not famous at all, and last week, needing to prove ID, for legal reasons, I failed because, with no signal in our area,, I couldn’t pick up a security text. can’t currently see the point of having a smartpgone, let alone one with my ‘ whole life’ on it.
Upside of living in a ‘dead zone’ is the comparative privacy.
Last week, thinking about this question, I tested myself with an anthology of classic short stories, late 19th to late 20th C, covering the authors’ names..
Often, reading their words, it was like hearing their voices.
What if I’d grown up reading mass market AI stories ?
Orwellian, ?
And yet – as the IT savvy* member of our household points out,
I couldn’t function in 2024 without computer intelligence – he rejects the ‘ artificial’ label.
* day job,. more or less teaching computers./
Wow, Esther. I agree that AI in some form is everywhere. And yes, we’d probably have lots of problems if we didn’t have use of computers and search engines. Still, I think the future is scary with AI in the mix. Have a great day!
I totally agree, it’s hard enough to stand out without AI muddying the waters and pulling the rug out from under authors who are creating work honestly. There used to be a lot of sites that you could pay to write college essays, and they got cracked down on. The issue is authors using AI to take a shortcut aren’t getting penalised because it’s hard to detect.
And this is the problem, Nick. You are so right. I like the term: work honestly. It says it all. It’s always a pleasure seeing you here at Adventures in Writing. Have a beautiful day!
I’m extremely anti-AI in the creative world. Great post!
Hello and welcome to Adventures in Writing, Marie! I’m so glad you stopped by. Thank you for your kind words. And yes, I’m leaning toward anti-AI as well. Have a great day!
I’ve read some and they make me . . . uncomfortable. Something in the substance of them is just a little bit . . . off. Artificial. A little bit toooooo correct to warm up to. Give me a human writer with all their imperfections to provide me with the perfect read!
Absolutely right, Nancy. Creativity should be the guiding light of humans and not machines or “artificial” intelligence. Thank you so much for providing your insight here at Adventures in Writing. Have a great day!
Great post, Victoria! I agree with all you pointed out about AI. Have fun today!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Louise. I truly appreciate them. Have a beautiful week!
The competition only continues to increase, and you’re so right about not needing AI-generated stories to add more.
Thank you, Lee. Truly a scary time to be a creative. Thank you so much for your comment here at Adventures in Writing. Have a beautiful week!