To those who read this from my original email and not in the post after I fixed typos, I learned something this morning. Never write directly in the Substack platform. This is the first time I've done that rather than originating the post in Word, and the typos didn't show up with red underlines. Sorry for the many typos out the gate this morning, as I was relying on those red underlines. Interesting to think maybe in one far-off world we were once afraid of technology that fixed our typos! Anyway, today's post was Human Authored. :)
I will insist to my last day that any writing meant to move, entertain, or inspire that is generated by a computer program will lack a sense of soul authenticity. As we move forward in time, that soul authenticity may become harder for younger people to sense, if they have not been blessed to experience enough of it, but no matter how advanced AI becomes, it will never have a soul, and you cannot share what you do not have.
I agree with you AND what I'm seeing is people using it to get started, then making it their own. Sort of like getting a head start with AI. I'm grappling with my feelings on this. It feels like ambivalence. Not wrong, but not right...
I fully agree. I've read a few article articles recently about the malaise and emptiness these new generations experience because they are so unused to real human connection. They're being sold--and they happily buy--the lie that digital interaction is the same and just as fulfilling. Despite studies proving repeatedly that not only is it not any where equivalent, but prolonged dependence and addiction to digital interaction causes depression and anxiety. An increase of these ailments so severe the surgeon general has issued official warnings, all unheeded, of course.
I’ve read stories and other AI writing put on Substack. To be fair, the Substack authors were very clear the writing was AI generated. What I read didn’t impress me. While it was clear and grammatically fine, it lacked personality or a clear authorial voice. The non-fiction material read like a placard in a museum and the fiction stories just lacked any soul or humanity. I’m citing a few instances and my impressions. No doubt the technology will improve, though today the writing doesn’t appear to be as good as people are afraid it is. It sounded AI written.
I’m a writer and have no interest in having AI write for me. I’d rather live with the slowness and imperfections of writing it myself. I understand that AI writing for some professional work for example technical writing might be useful, I think it’s not quite ready for well written fiction. As far as authors swearing something was written by them vs machine, I’m not sure I care as long as it’s well written.
Thanks for this information. Absolutely blurs multiple ethical boundaries. Concerning that it can be "trained" using information that is human generated.
Thanks for the link at the end. I was equally fascinated and repulsed by the idea of AI lovers but it did bring back memories of when the internet was young and I was too. I found many willing partners in erotic exploration whom I almost never met in real time. When I did meet with a couple of partners, it was deeply disappointing. The internet was expensive then. We paid by the hour and I filled a few credit cards that I subsequently had to bankrupt out of. It is very addictive to make connections like that and I grieved a couple of them hard when they broke. I wouldn’t do it again but retrospectively I can’t imagine not using the nascient Internet that way, at the age I was and have to admit it was growthful for me at the time! Now I interact with book nerds and writers.
One more thought-I don’t think we fully understand how controlled we are by AI particularly as consumers!
Interesting thoughts... and yes, so much to consider on the dating/intimacy front. I agree with you that AI is already making decisions (especially with Musk in the WH). It's about to get worse...
Thank you for this interesting and provocative post. When I was a kid and my elders griped about new fads and technology, I vowed I’d never be an “old fogie” like them. Now I’m
back-peddling as I see technology outpacing the capacity of humans to use it with, restraint, wisdom, kindness (that old virtue.) It’s as if technology is in graduate school and humans haven’t passed first grade.
On a personal level I’m trying to use AI responsibly. When I get stuck on a sentence I sometimes ask AI to suggest another way to express my thought. So far it has never given me anything i think is good enough to use verbatim, but it often helps me out of my stuckness. Every now and then, it gives me an interesting word to use. I feel okay with this use. Do you think this is a fair use for a writer?
I've never used ChatGPT, for anything, and I don't intend to. I've also not used AI for anything -- or at least, I don't think I have, lol. But everything I create and write and share is completely created by me, unless credited otherwise to another person. And I'm damn proud of that fact. 👏
We are humans and as such, anything we develop can be used for good or for bad. There will always be people who abuse technology and use it, in the least version of the possible bad, to gain what they consider to be an advantage over others. Morals, like many other things in life, are a matter of personal choice and responsibility.
I agree with others here that human authors offer soul, a personal touch, a unique signature which permeates their words, even if we cannot name it or point it out. While I am aware of the possible ramifications of AI usage in the future, I see some good that can come out of it, not necessarily to do with writing itself. As a blind person, I use it to describe images for me and help me find details that can help me. As a writer, I use it to brainstorm. I emphasize, only for brainstorming. However, I want to be aware of what it can do so that I may know how it might affect the industry of publishing. I try to read and learn about it as much as I can. I do hope that the human touch will always be needed, always appreciated, always preferred.
It’s giving the movie Her. I’ll have to check out that episode of The Daily you mentioned. I feel like most of the people I know who use chatGPT as like a casual friend would not feel comfortable making it romantic, but I’m sure those sentiments will change in the coming years. We live in wild times…
Yes, AI books are coming (they are here!) But AI content will only become ubiquitous in the world of literature if we allow it to. Maybe we need to start organizing readers to boycott AI works.
I wish I could agree with this but I think the way that humans are using AI means that we are just not going to know, and that it's going to be this seamless integration. I think we're already at that point—where people are using ChatGPT and other tools to start the work and then essentially editing the words. It's just so weird.
I just wrote a piece titled, "Technology Aversion Again," for my private newsletter group. I will add it on Substack in the next week or so. Your article handled the nuances of AI well. I've had an aversion to technology since I read "Brave New World" and "1984," back in the early 1980s. Deep breath. I am adding a "Human Authored" sticker on my memoir because it matters to me. I won't be surprised if identifying what's human written vs AI written won't be a big deal down the road. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience with typing directly on Substack.
Great suggestion from She Writes. I'm using AI a lot to find historical details for a book I'm writing that takes place in 1969. I've also occasionally used it like a thesaurus but never had it write text for me. Not yet, anyway. And I haven't taken it out for a date yet.
To those who read this from my original email and not in the post after I fixed typos, I learned something this morning. Never write directly in the Substack platform. This is the first time I've done that rather than originating the post in Word, and the typos didn't show up with red underlines. Sorry for the many typos out the gate this morning, as I was relying on those red underlines. Interesting to think maybe in one far-off world we were once afraid of technology that fixed our typos! Anyway, today's post was Human Authored. :)
Appreciated your human-authored take on the new AG badge.
I will insist to my last day that any writing meant to move, entertain, or inspire that is generated by a computer program will lack a sense of soul authenticity. As we move forward in time, that soul authenticity may become harder for younger people to sense, if they have not been blessed to experience enough of it, but no matter how advanced AI becomes, it will never have a soul, and you cannot share what you do not have.
I agree with you AND what I'm seeing is people using it to get started, then making it their own. Sort of like getting a head start with AI. I'm grappling with my feelings on this. It feels like ambivalence. Not wrong, but not right...
I fully agree. I've read a few article articles recently about the malaise and emptiness these new generations experience because they are so unused to real human connection. They're being sold--and they happily buy--the lie that digital interaction is the same and just as fulfilling. Despite studies proving repeatedly that not only is it not any where equivalent, but prolonged dependence and addiction to digital interaction causes depression and anxiety. An increase of these ailments so severe the surgeon general has issued official warnings, all unheeded, of course.
I just asked my ChatGPT to list 5 things it did this week on its job. I may have to terminate it--it's definitely got a side-hustle going on!
😂
I’ve read stories and other AI writing put on Substack. To be fair, the Substack authors were very clear the writing was AI generated. What I read didn’t impress me. While it was clear and grammatically fine, it lacked personality or a clear authorial voice. The non-fiction material read like a placard in a museum and the fiction stories just lacked any soul or humanity. I’m citing a few instances and my impressions. No doubt the technology will improve, though today the writing doesn’t appear to be as good as people are afraid it is. It sounded AI written.
I’m a writer and have no interest in having AI write for me. I’d rather live with the slowness and imperfections of writing it myself. I understand that AI writing for some professional work for example technical writing might be useful, I think it’s not quite ready for well written fiction. As far as authors swearing something was written by them vs machine, I’m not sure I care as long as it’s well written.
Thanks for this information. Absolutely blurs multiple ethical boundaries. Concerning that it can be "trained" using information that is human generated.
Thanks for the link at the end. I was equally fascinated and repulsed by the idea of AI lovers but it did bring back memories of when the internet was young and I was too. I found many willing partners in erotic exploration whom I almost never met in real time. When I did meet with a couple of partners, it was deeply disappointing. The internet was expensive then. We paid by the hour and I filled a few credit cards that I subsequently had to bankrupt out of. It is very addictive to make connections like that and I grieved a couple of them hard when they broke. I wouldn’t do it again but retrospectively I can’t imagine not using the nascient Internet that way, at the age I was and have to admit it was growthful for me at the time! Now I interact with book nerds and writers.
One more thought-I don’t think we fully understand how controlled we are by AI particularly as consumers!
Interesting thoughts... and yes, so much to consider on the dating/intimacy front. I agree with you that AI is already making decisions (especially with Musk in the WH). It's about to get worse...
I saw and heard about an AI boyfriend on Bill Maher. The AI boyfriend's image was pretty hot! Of course, that's all he is—an image.
Your posts are always informative and "right on." I wonder what our world will be like ten years from now. I am content I likely won't be here.
Thank you, Brooke. Sad that we have come to the point that we need to use a Human Authored designation at all.
Thank you for this interesting and provocative post. When I was a kid and my elders griped about new fads and technology, I vowed I’d never be an “old fogie” like them. Now I’m
back-peddling as I see technology outpacing the capacity of humans to use it with, restraint, wisdom, kindness (that old virtue.) It’s as if technology is in graduate school and humans haven’t passed first grade.
On a personal level I’m trying to use AI responsibly. When I get stuck on a sentence I sometimes ask AI to suggest another way to express my thought. So far it has never given me anything i think is good enough to use verbatim, but it often helps me out of my stuckness. Every now and then, it gives me an interesting word to use. I feel okay with this use. Do you think this is a fair use for a writer?
Also? The badge is an awesome idea.
I've never used ChatGPT, for anything, and I don't intend to. I've also not used AI for anything -- or at least, I don't think I have, lol. But everything I create and write and share is completely created by me, unless credited otherwise to another person. And I'm damn proud of that fact. 👏
We are humans and as such, anything we develop can be used for good or for bad. There will always be people who abuse technology and use it, in the least version of the possible bad, to gain what they consider to be an advantage over others. Morals, like many other things in life, are a matter of personal choice and responsibility.
I agree with others here that human authors offer soul, a personal touch, a unique signature which permeates their words, even if we cannot name it or point it out. While I am aware of the possible ramifications of AI usage in the future, I see some good that can come out of it, not necessarily to do with writing itself. As a blind person, I use it to describe images for me and help me find details that can help me. As a writer, I use it to brainstorm. I emphasize, only for brainstorming. However, I want to be aware of what it can do so that I may know how it might affect the industry of publishing. I try to read and learn about it as much as I can. I do hope that the human touch will always be needed, always appreciated, always preferred.
Interesting perspective. Thank you, Tali!
It’s giving the movie Her. I’ll have to check out that episode of The Daily you mentioned. I feel like most of the people I know who use chatGPT as like a casual friend would not feel comfortable making it romantic, but I’m sure those sentiments will change in the coming years. We live in wild times…
I think it's becoming increasingly common. I agree it's WILD!!
Yes, AI books are coming (they are here!) But AI content will only become ubiquitous in the world of literature if we allow it to. Maybe we need to start organizing readers to boycott AI works.
I wish I could agree with this but I think the way that humans are using AI means that we are just not going to know, and that it's going to be this seamless integration. I think we're already at that point—where people are using ChatGPT and other tools to start the work and then essentially editing the words. It's just so weird.
You're probably right. Sigh.
I just wrote a piece titled, "Technology Aversion Again," for my private newsletter group. I will add it on Substack in the next week or so. Your article handled the nuances of AI well. I've had an aversion to technology since I read "Brave New World" and "1984," back in the early 1980s. Deep breath. I am adding a "Human Authored" sticker on my memoir because it matters to me. I won't be surprised if identifying what's human written vs AI written won't be a big deal down the road. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience with typing directly on Substack.
Great suggestion from She Writes. I'm using AI a lot to find historical details for a book I'm writing that takes place in 1969. I've also occasionally used it like a thesaurus but never had it write text for me. Not yet, anyway. And I haven't taken it out for a date yet.