NOTE: Tagging people on here is increasingly tricky, since many people who use AI are now being tagged along with the REAL writers who don’t CHEAT.
See my lists of writers who have declared they don’t use AI in their writing process:
AI Free Zone | Mostly AI Free Zone
On to the issue:
A woman calling herself an author points out that IngramSpark now pushes AI, not necessarily in the books published, but certainly for marketing and research.
Using AI systems to Assist with Book Marketing - IngramSpark
Strategies for Using AI to Market Your Book - IngramSpark
How Self-Published Authors Can Boost Visibility with AI-Powered ...
Make Your Book Research Faster, Smarter, and More Efficient with AI
So, what’s wrong with that, you might ask. Simple: it’s the first step down a slippery slope.
Many writers and posters on here have taken that first step by using the AI image generator installed in Substack over a year ago (probably longer since I didn’t really notice it before then). Others have gone so far as to dabble with video editing, AI editing/grammar checking, and more. It’s like quicksand (yes, I’m mixing metaphors – sigh). And there is a setting here on your account page that is defaulted to ON for AI to use your content for “training” (aka, sucking it all up to spit back out later under another author name – I don’t believe for a second, having worked almost two decades in IT that they can be trusted when they say the data is later deleted, mainly because if that were the case, why would they need humongous energy-guzzling data centers).
The best thing we authors can do is keep our work pure. Getting tougher every day. But here are two tips:
Use Startpage.com for online searches (as of the posting of this article, I don’t see any AI-generated “summary” responses to my queries)
Keep on writing so the AI-generated fakery doesn’t outnumber us – we battle for readers and now have to battle against cheaters (people who churn out some AI garbage as their own creation)
Some brave authors (besides myself) on Substack fighting the AI dragon
Okay, so I used another metaphor. I’m only human (gigglesnort).
First, go here and support this effort:
https://lithub.com/against-ai-an-open-letter-from-writers-to-publishers/
(My publisher already commits to avoiding AI-generated work. I signed here to support them continuing to do so.)
Now for some people who see the danger. (I’m presenting screen captures for the most part in case the items get deleted later.)
lays it all out here: shared this note by :, posts this appropriate quote to illustrate his point: expresses things well: makes a good point:diana (sorry, can’t tag her) shows an impact of AI but hasn’t seen how it is already impacting creatives:
Great article about AI effect on the human brain by
:A touch of humor from
, over the hotly contested em dash, which I use out the wazoo:A great article by
about AI and the kind of future it is creating:Finding out more
The pros and cons are rampant on Substack and elsewhere online. Do search here for more posts. And be sure to use Startpage.com for any online searches on this or any other topic.
My 5 (so far) very HUMAN created books
I even designed the covers. They may not be perfect, but they’re enjoyable!
Where to Buy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
Apple Books | Kobo | Smashwords
Angus & Robertson | Fable
Thalia (German) | Vivlio (French/English)
Oh I turned off that AI training sucker right away. Hopefully, it stayed off. I will have to check out the search engine, because I am tired of getting hit with that AI overview and then having to go look at an actual link, only to find it’s made stuff up. I feel like it’s creeping more and more into the art papers I buy for collaging lately, but as I tear them up, I feel like I am remixing them right back. Probably a slippery slope thought though. Most look ok, it’s just the sheer volume of them (which is sometimes due to being in different colour ways) that makes me wonder.
Thanks so much for including me in this list! I can't wait to read through the others.