Right now, AI is a hot topic in the literary world.
Unfortunately, some ‘writers’ are using AI in unethical ways that undermine the natural beauty of the creative process.
In this article, we’ll explore what constitutes as AI in terms of writing, how AI may be used ethically during the publishing process, and ways to avoid the inappropriate use of AI in your writing. Let’s dip a toe into the murky waters of AI to see what we can uncover…
What is AI?
The term ‘AI’ stands for ‘Artificial Intelligence’. There are many different types of AI, so we definitely won’t be covering them all in this article! Basically, however, ‘AI’ refers to technology that’s said to replicate human intelligence through the learning and processing of information.
AI is capable of analysing a huge array of information sources, ranging from data and languages to images and sounds. It can then identify patterns and use what it has learned to perform whatever tasks are asked of it, such as answering queries via a generative AI platform or personalising a social media feed.
What can AI be used for?
There are endless possibilities for the use of AI, which could be considered both revolutionary and incredibly dangerous. For instance, being able to programme a robot to perform an intricate surgery without risk of error could be lifesaving, yet using AI to replace human employees would be devastating to their livelihoods and ability to earn a living to support their families.
What impact could AI have on the publishing industry?
Sadly, with the rise of AI and its increased use in everyday life for lots of people (e.g. using ChatGPT to generate emails), it was only a matter of time before AI started being used to produce entire novels as well.
One of the major concerns surrounding AI-generated books is that, eventually, human authors won’t be able to compete due to the speed with which AI could produce full-length novels.
While someone might consider AI to be a shortcut when trying to achieve their goal of ‘writing a book’, they may not realise the negative repercussions involved. For instance:
- Any content generated by AI will not be protected by copyright law in the same way the work of a human content creator would be.
- It’s extremely difficult to determine who should be receiving royalties from AI-produced books – for example, would the person who inputted the initial request be eligible to earn money from a ‘computer-generated work’, or do the companies who created that AI software technically ‘own’ the content?
- If the AI software being used happens to replicate or duplicate the work of another author without the proper attribution, that content constitutes plagiarism and will be liable for the consequences.
Another concern shared by authors is discovery bias, which means AI systems used for advertising might only display the works of those who have paid to have their books promoted, as opposed to helping all authors reach the right readers.
How can AI be used ethically in the publishing industry?
While it may seem that AI is equal parts inescapable and frightening, there are a few ways you might be able to use it without edging into unethical territories:
- Following your own rounds of editing – prior to submitting your work to literary agents (if traditionally publishing) or sending your manuscript to an editor (if self-publishing) – the use of software that benefits from AI tools, like ProWriting Aid or Grammarly, may be helpful to catch any grammatical errors, typos, or spelling mistakes you’ve missed before moving on to the next phase of human-centred editing.
- When researching information to ensure any facts you’re including in your manuscript are correct, instead of using an AI platform to generate research for you (which holds the potential to be biased and/or unsubstantiated), spend some extra time researching the information you need yourself. Although search engines can be helpful if you don’t have access to a wide range of other resources, why not consider purchasing books (written by humans) on topics of interest, or taking a trip to your local library as an alternative? It could be just the treasure trove of information you need to enhance your fiction writing!
- Make sure you have clear statements in your literary works that prohibit the use of your creative writing to ‘train’ AI technologies. Here’s a helpful example as to the type of statement you might want to include in the front cover copy of your work, developed by The Authors Guild:
“No Generative AI Training Use.
For avoidance of doubt, Author reserves the rights, and [Publisher/Platform] has no rights to, reproduce and/or otherwise use the Work in any manner for purposes of training artificial intelligence technologies to generate text, including without limitation, technologies that are capable of generating works in the same style or genre as the Work, unless [Publisher/Platform] obtains Author’s specific and express permission to do so. Nor does [Publisher/Platform] have the right to sublicense others to reproduce and/or otherwise use the Work in any manner for purposes of training artificial intelligence technologies to generate text without Author’s specific and express permission.”
Conclusion
At Horseshoe Books, we wholeheartedly support human authors who work tirelessly to craft immersive fiction for readers to enjoy. We understand that the process of writing a book is far from straightforward, and most authors experience a rollercoaster of highs and lows on the journey to publishing their novels.
Therefore, we’ll only publish books that have been written by human authors.
From our perspective, it doesn’t matter how ‘intelligent’ computer-learning can become, AI-generated content will never be able to capture the essence of what it’s truly like to experience life as a human – only people can do that.
So, we’re not interested in reading books created by machines, especially when there are billions of unique voices out there, searching for avenues through which to share their own stories.
What’s your opinion of AI? Have you ever used AI tools to enhance your creative writing? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
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