The age of AI is here and whether you think it is a Terminator-esque apocalypse or the dawn of our digital future, every person, industry and business must confront what it means to them.

As writers, we tend to be skeptical of digital revolutions. The publishing industry was sure self-publishing would bring literature to its knees. Readers thought ebooks would be the end to sniffing print books in the corner of an indie bookstore. And now with AI, rumors of human-made art coming to an end are wafting in the air.

Each evolution brings about unpredictable change (for the good and bad). With every new technology, it’s essential we take stock as creators. So let’s dive into the current state of AI, the opportunities and the fear, and if I dare, a cautiously hopeful glimpse at the future.

The Current Moment

Though machine learning has been happening for quite some time, it feels as if real seriousness only started to be paid to AI (in the writing world) when ChatGPT gained popularity. The ability of this chat bot to take in information and regurgitate long-form content is impressive at first glance. A single question can produce an article-length response that is both thoughtful and concise.

If you’re making your living as a copywriter, the threat has already become real. For example, if I type in “What threats do AI pose to the publishing industry?” within seconds it kicks out an easy-to-read article of 490 words breaking down the top eight concerns including plagiarism, job displacement, and reduced editorial oversight. For all intents and purposes, it could produce a version of the article I’m writing right now. What it lacks is personality, conversational tone and nuance. What it offers is widely sourced information, speed and precision.

Amidst a writers strike and actual layoffs that have replaced writers and other jobs with this technology, the prospects can be scary.

Add to it the flood of self-published books that were produced by AI as well as the editing software already in existence that threatens to further decrease the human workforce that goes into the publishing sphere, there is a proper freak out taking place. This issue has already led to behemoths like Amazon imposing a requirement that AI-produced books declare themselves as such. (A move that should be viewed as positive for old-fashioned, organic, homegrown, human authors.)

We know, that as of right now, AI-generated content is just barely competing. It lacks personality, it even often lacks factual information as many have pointed out. So for the moment, it feels like a cheap substitute at best, but many speculate as it learns through human interface and growth in technology, that gap could close.

And as that speculation inches closer toward reality, real concerns have begun to emerge. Many authors are questioning what right these tech companies have to comb through decades of novels in order to teach the machines to reproduce something of equal or great quality. A fight some authors have taken to the courts.

These are all big questions with bigger implications. Is human-made art actually under threat? Could AI one day replace authors with this cheap/free option, driving profits up and edging out human creators? Is it copyright infringement or plagiarism to do so?

While the concerns around these speculations mount, what is an individual creator to do?

Is there an ethical way for writers to use AI?

Some are drawing hard lines in the sand around AI-produced content. When we polled readers on our sister site, She Reads, book lovers were overwhelming against reading AI content and believed it should be labeled as such if that was how it was produced.

This is good news for authors! If the target audience isn’t buying what AI is selling, then we aren’t out of a job yet. However, the ethical questions for writers run much deeper than “Will I use AI to produce my book?” For most, the answer is a hard no. No self-respecting, book-loving writer would feed AI our ideas and ask it to spit out a book.

Should we be using it at all though? That’s the question. AI can be used to do research, to write marketing copy, to produce book covers, create an audiobook and do some fairly comprehensive editing. If you’re a self-published author especially, all of this is enticing.

A search engine alone is (and has been) a form of AI. Do we put authors on blast for using Google instead of going to a library?

The limits of what is and isn’t acceptable are being tested in the publishing industry every day. When a publisher used AI to generate a book cover, readers responded with overwhelming disapproval. It’s hard to say though if this is just a standard being applied to multi-million bestsellers and the Big Five publishers or if the feeling extends into the indie space.

Every writer is going to have to look at what is being done and check in with their own moral compass to see if they have crossed a line.

Speaking only for myself, I feel like we shouldn’t be giving AI our creative endeavors. If you want AI to help refine a synopsis to make it a more conversion-friendly piece of sales copy, I think that could be helpful. No human job was hurt in the production of this content and it helps improve the chances for readers to find my book. However, I draw the line at asking AI to generate ideas for my novel. Something about handing over the hard-earned creative process doesn’t sit quite right. Having it generate book ideas or themes or plot points feels like giving my magic away and dulling the instrument that makes me a writer. It’s like if a chef put carrots in a food processer versus using a knife. Sure, the carrots get cut, but the chef is losing their practice at a skill they once had. Could that skill eventually be lost entirely?

At the moment, AI is sort of the Wild West where every writer has to come up with their own moral code.

A Word of Hope

If you believe in that Big Magic idea presented by Elizabeth Gilbert, you know that there is something about writing that simply cannot be reproduced outside human consciousness. I for one, hang on to the hope that that will be forever true.

While there may be a tough period of adapting to an ever-changing environment, stories are what we’re really trying to preserve. Not books or articles or web content. The thing we don’t want to lose is human storytelling and I don’t think that’s a thing that can ever be lost unless we choose to surrender it.

Sure the forces of capitalism will look for ways to drive down the price of production to increase ROI. But the same way the printing press, ebooks, online piracy and all other threats didn’t put an end to publishing, I don’t believe AI will either.

Storytelling is too inherently human. One might even argue it is vital to our existence. So, while change is clearly on the horizon, don’t stop creating for fear AI will steal it or make something better. Trust in your innate drive to produce stories and keep on writing.