The AI Factor in Literature

Your mind is being replaced

The technology called by the misnomer “artificial intelligence” (AI) has burst upon the world, having been in development for a number of years. The threat to us “creatives” (writers, painters, sculptors, musicians, etc.) quickly became apparent and has quickly reached a level of destructiveness, as a recent news story has shown. My own publisher (Wordwooze Publishing) has said they get flooded with AI-generated submissions. It’s truly a situation of concern to us all.

The Harm Being Done

Submitting your work to a contest, literary magazine, anthology, or publisher is nerve-racking enough, especially dealing with the rejections. Now we have to deal with the editor trying to discern if we really wrote it or used AI. And some editors have had to close the gates against a flood . Neil Clarke has done it twice with Clarkesworld, a top science fiction magazine; the second time was just announced in the news.

• Second halting of submissions: Science Fiction Magazine Stops Taking Submissions amid Flood of AI-Generated Stories (May 2024)

• First halting of submissions: AI-generated fiction is flooding literary magazines — but not fooling anyone (Feb 2023)

More articles showing the danger to writers, editors, and publishers:

• Managing Submissions in the Age of AI (May/June 2024)

• ChatGPT Helped Write This Award-Winning Japanese Novel (Jan. 2024)

• 'Cause I am a Lit Mag, and You're Gonna Hear Me Roar! (Mar 2023)

• How ChatGPT and AI are affecting the literary world (Mar 2023)

As for artists, they are being replaced outright and the resulting images reveal the basic problem with AI (hint: it’s the people behind the programming):

• The creative war against AI art has already been lost

• AI image generators often give racist and sexist results: can they be fixed? (Mar 2024)

• Google Shuts Down AI Image Generator After It Made "Racially Diverse Nazis" (Feb 2024)

Using an AI image generator is so appealing. For writers, it’s tough coming up with some image to accompany the text. And for those who self-publish, it’s a way to generate a cover image without paying a human designer. But it’s as fake as AI-generated text and can even cast doubt upon the authenticity of your text. Think of it this way: if someone lies to you, you are likely to distrust other things they tell you. Take a little time and find a nice photo or public domain photo or become friendly with someone who can help in this area.

The Big “C” Issue

Copyright issues have popped up like toadstools after a rain shower. When you type your story, novel, etc., in Word or some other program, you are the creator. When you tell ChatGPT to come up with a dialogue between two characters, it is the creator, and actually the programmers are the creators. At least, that seems to be the issue.

A sampling of articles:

• Navigating AI Copyright Presents Challenges for Industry (Mar 2024)

• How copyright law could threaten the AI industry in 2024 (Jan 2024)

• Generative AI Has an Intellectual Property Problem (Apr 2023)

• Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law (Sep 2023)

Bottom Line (Final Note)

All us “creatives” need to take a stand now against this onslaught. We need to push back against the fakers who by their fakery cast doubt on us all.

Someone posted this petition in October 2022: Protect Human Art & Artists from Artificial Intelligence (AI). Check it out and, if you find it worthwhile, sign it. I have.

But again, that is my opinion. Your thoughts always welcome.

Please check out my author website. And thanks for reading.

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If you’ve been enjoying my flash fiction on here, please check out my first book of short stories (a couple are actually novelette length), newly published by Wordwooze Publishing. (I even designed the cover.)

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