In a short story I will never write, there is a character–a Pulitzer Prize winning author–who writes a depressing letter to a friend. In his letter, he recounts his heartbreak at how machines (AI) can produce literary masterpieces in a matter of minutes when it takes him years to craft a story of the same quality.
This author character decides he can’t live in this kind of world, and so he decides to join the masses. He enters a pod where he hibernates and gets plugged into the Dream (think of it as a self-imposed Matrix) where fantasies become reality. It may be a fake world, but while he dreams, he can imagine he’s in a world where human authors are still needed. Where he’s still relevant.
I thought up this story years ago, before AI like ChatGPT existed. I wanted the story to be a part of my Earth Medieval universe set hundreds of years before Angel from the Rust. It was supposed to be set in the future when the postal service was closing down. My character’s letter was going to be one of the last delivered by mail carriers. But it seemed my timing was way off. AI writers have arrived in the real world, and their domination of the craft might come way sooner than the delivery of the last paper letter.
Am I worried?
Yes. Here’s why.
A Startling Study
Author Mark Lawrence did an unofficial study to see if AI is capable of writing well. He collected eight pieces of flash fiction (~350 words each). Some were written by established writers. Others were written by AI. He challenged readers to study the pieces and determine which ones were written by humans and which were written by AI. He also asked the readers to mark on a scale from good to bad how much they liked or disliked these pieces.
(You can take the challenge yourself by clicking here. Can you determine which is which?)
So far, these polls have disturbing results. Many people can’t tell the difference between writing created by AI and humans. Many people in this study thought that AI writing was better than human writing.
For me as an author, this is very disturbing indeed.
(You can read the full results here, but don’t look at them yet if you plan on taking the poll yourself and have yet to do so.)
The Future of Human Writers
We can tell ourselves this is just a passing fad. But Charlie Chaplin said the same thing about talking movies.
AI is here, and it’s very much a force to reckon with. On top of that, it’s only getting stronger. As Lawrence points out, “AI art has come from laughable to contest-winning in about 2 years.”
So what does this mean for human writers? Will we soon be replaced by machines like other artisans such as the blacksmiths and seamstresses of the past?
Maybe we’ll all be rendered obsolete. Or maybe there will be a demand for human-made books just as there’s a demand for organic vegetables and ethically grown coffee. But this is a small audience, and most self-published authors like myself are already short on readers.
At the conclusion of his study, Lawrence determines,
There is definite cause to worry that in a few short years AI could be writing entire books that people might like as much or better than human-written ones. And it won’t take a year per book to write them. These pieces of flash fiction appeared in seconds.
On the flip side, whilst there’s cause to worry, it is also not a guarantee. Writing a book is a lot harder than writing flash fiction. AI may run out of steam on the way towards that goal.
Maybe the author is doomed. Maybe not.
The Unknown Future
Given the choice between hope and despair, I’d like to pick hope. Even though I’m worried, I’ll use a bit of my sci-fi imagination to conjure up a hopeful future. And considering my short story idea mentioned above wasn’t entirely off, maybe my forecasting can imagine something half-way possible. Let’s give it a try.
As I understand AI (and I’m no expert mind you), AI feeds off what’s already on the Internet. So if AI keeps on creating written content and saturates the Internet, then that means AI will inevitably begin copying content created by other AI. And this copying will happen more and more until AI isn’t using anything written by humans, just what’s created by other AI. A circular feeding like the snake that bites its own tail and ends up consuming itself.
This would lead to AI leaving its semblance of human creativity farther and farther behind. At that point, the quality produced by AI would reach a breaking point. If and when that happens, the demand for human writers will return.
Maybe.
As far as what will really happen, only time can tell.
What do you think? Will you read AI or keep to human writers? Or will you read both? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. (I’m really interested in hearing what you think.)
Interesting, I had no idea that AI was writing stories- I’m hoping it’s all just online so far? I don’t read a lot of internet stories). Of course I’m “old school” and prefer a hardbound paper and ink book to digital anyway. The smell of the paper…ooh. but I digress. I’d like to join you in hoping that the demand for human writers remains, and that the AI does end up consuming itself sooner rather than later. I will take the survey and see if I can tell a difference, I’d like to think I can, but I’m only human.
I will definitely continue to read human books as I love the smell of a book and holding one. Al can not replicate that I hope
AI works in a way that doesn’t seem much different from humans at first… we still take in a large amount of input – from society and life experiences, for us – and somehow output unique fiction.
I think we have a few advantages, though. Principally we each have a different and limited view – that limitation is a strength as it can feed uniqueness. Also, we have a relationship with the outside world, from which we can gain new experiences. AI is strictly second hand.
Then there is writing as community-getting to see inside another person’s imagination, and maybe even talk to them. I suspect many people value that.
Perhaps I am just being hopeful. But I will keep to human fiction.
As a Christian I am very concerned about ai I don’t like it that ai can write a book without a soul. It is stealing from peoples rights just imagine if ai can rewrite the Bible!