ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: WRITING TOOL OR THREAT?

By Raegan Teller

My introduction to artificial intelligence (AI) was the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the story, HAL is an AI computer that controls the systems of the Discovery One spacecraft and interacts with the ship's astronauts. At the time, it was mere science fiction.

Fast forward to 2021: AI is now a reality. Some applaud its evolution; others warn us. The late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking said in 2014, "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." Strong words.

But I want to discuss the more immediate effect of AI on writers and editors. In 2019, the first AI-written textbook was published, Lithium-Ion Batteries, a machine-generated summary of current research. And in 2020, approximately 50 freelance news editors at MSN were dismissed and replaced by AI-driven robots that optimize content by rewriting headlines or adding better photographs or slide shows. Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor at Northeastern University, believes AI-generated writing represents “a real threat” to writers.

Since AI runs on algorithms, it can effectively produce non-fiction writing, especially formulaic news reporting or other data-driven content. But what about fiction writing? Or poetry and other creative writing?

Creative writers are driven by curiosity and imagination. We draw on our human traits—empathy, anger, love, and determination, to name a few. We look for deeper meaning and express ourselves through writing. A computer can’t do that . . . can it?

Experiments using AI to write novels and poetry demonstrate that AI pulls from existing text and expands on it. Most of these experiments begin by feeding a first line or first paragraph to AI and then it completes the writing using an algorithm. For example, AI can be programmed to associate love and joy, or death and sorrow. For now, at least, AI can’t start with a blank page and produce original, inspiring prose or poetry (a problem some human writers share).

In a 2021 New Yorker article, novelist and essayist Stephen Marche said, “Whatever field you are in, if it uses language, it is about to be transformed.” Also in that article, Amit Gupta, a former science fiction writer and co-founder of Sudowrite, an AI writing app, predicts writers will use AI to produce copy and then edit it to provide deeper meaning where needed.

Before you dismiss all of this as mere science fiction, consider this: commercial fiction is written using a story structure similar to an algorithm. Certain things must happen in the first act of the story, other things in the middle, and so forth. And if you’ve ever studied a story arc or a character arc, it’s basically an algorithm. Even the rhythm and patterns of freeform poetry can be learned and emulated by AI. The New Yorker article referenced above has an interesting example of an AI written poem.

So, is AI a threat or a tool for writers? It depends on whether we decide to jump on board, or in front of, this seemingly unstoppable train.