Artificial Intelligence for Writing? I can't...

 

Yikes! I wrote a slow-burn romantic story as a novella with artificial intelligence, or AI, as an influencing factor. WHAT???

Let me explain.

I decided to write a short story using a “what if” scenario as inspiration. That short story has turned into a slow-burn romantic novella. I’ve never written this type of story before, so this is new for me. To increase the tension, the romance is spurned on by AI technology. Wait. What? Kind of Sci-Fi, but not really. Who’d have thunk it, right?

Yes, that’s right.

I have succumbed to the idea of AI intervention when it comes to match-making—unheard of, I know. The idea of my short story, which turned into a novella, started with a conversation I had with my brother. After the release of my book, Miss Virginia and the Sweet Sisters, he commented that “…Anyone can write a book nowadays. I did it using ChatGPT.”

At first, I thought this was a sibling dig at me for having the temerity to write, let alone publish a book, but I had to consider more than what was said on the surface of his comment. So, I asked, “Come again? What is ChatGPT, and how did it help you write a book?”

This question allowed my engineering brother to elucidate on all manner of AI technology as the next best thing to come down the pike. As a chatbot created by OpenAI, he almost persuaded me with his thinking that writing can be made easy with ChatGPT, but I had another thought. It got me thinking about the advent of AI technology as a science and where it might lead us. Or, more alarming, the depths it might take us if left to the supposed darkness AI embodies for those scared to death of the technology.

I’ve seen Terminator and 2001: A Space Odyssey, thank you very much. AI scares me, unlike R2D2, C3PO, or the ever-cute BB-8.

Science searches for answers (knowledge) as a practice. I’m no expert, but from what I understand, science expounds on the postulated theory of the “what if” or “if then, what” (sound familiar) or hypothesis. A scientific theory isn’t definitive unless proven; thereby, science, in and of itself, doesn’t know everything at the start. However, using scientific principles makes investigating and exploring the unknown fascinating. With the hypothesis of the “what if,” we can create, improve, cure, and better understand, but that only takes us so far. This is no more evident than with computer science, where the adage “garbage in, garbage out” is a mainstay. It is a mantra to remind us to be careful with our programming.   

I forget who said it, but I recall the comment as a reminder of us living with AI long before we realized it. It’s called computers. Think about it. GPS, Smartphones, laptops, Alexa, Ring doorbells and cameras, search engines such as Google, and even our microwave ovens and air fryers, you name it, we are immersed in it. Even the cars we drive have AI components that alert us to all manner of things, i.e., too close to the car in front of us, backup, or accident assistance. And the beat goes on. AI is ubiquitous. It has been used as a beneficial tool that helps make our lives easier. Much can be said about where we are in the age of hyper-intelligent computers. So, is it too much of a leap to consider AI as the next level of full-blown artificial intelligence or, dare I say, transhumanism?

This is a question that begs for strong consideration.  

As for writers, suffice it to say, ChatGPT is not the end all; be all, it is purported to be. Long story short, it lacks the human component needed to tell a story well. The nuance of human emotion and subtly of context is lost when a machine writes for you. Sure, ChatGPT can assist writers with plot holes, character names, writing poetry, composing music, and writing lyrics, but the quality of what gets published is the question.

To paraphrase from a recent piece by the president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, ‘How long will it be before AI gets competent at drawing upon data from other authors to create credible writing and render human writers obsolete?’ When I was told about AI’s ChatGPT, I asked this question of my fellow writers and was laughed at.

But, oh, how reality comes crashing down when it stares you in the face.

So yeah, I ventured into the realm of writing a romantic story where AI influences the outcome. But that’s as far as I will go in allowing AI to be part of any story I write, let alone do it for me—at least for now.

 

~DaMarie

Photo Courtesy of Michael Dziedzic