AI for writers – wonders and dangers

An invitation to a free webinar about “AI for Authors” recently popped up in my inbox. Having little experience with AI, apart from using ChatGPT to generate an image for the cover of my last book, I watched the webinar with growing amazement. The presenter demonstrated how AI could write a story on a given topic with lightning speed, and then produce any number of edited versions with different prose styles or plot twists. He also showed how AI could generate content for a daily series of blog posts.

I am currently stuck with my new novel, which is loosely based on an episode of sexual harassment during my student days. I’ve written the first half but can’t decide how to continue the story towards a satisfactory ending. So as an experiment I asked ChatGPT for some ideas. With some apprehension, feeling rather as if I was sending in an essay likely to be criticised, I submitted a 500 word summary of the existing text.

The response came back at once. Following an introductory comment about “psychological conflict and unresolved trauma” it listed five possible directions in which the novel could develop. They were all appropriate, taking account of the story so far and the motivations of the four main characters. A human editor would have taken quite some time to read my summary and come up with so many options. I still find it incredible that AI could give such a detailed response instantaneously.

I could ask ChatGPT to give me more ideas, or even to finish the book for me, but I don’t intend to do so. Because I write mainly for my own satisfaction and enjoyment, it would seem pointless and a bit like cheating. AI must be an invaluable tool for certain professional writers, for example journalists working to a deadline. But over-reliance on AI, especially for fiction, could stifle originality and lead to the rapid churning out of books with recycled content and wide scope for plagiarism.

The awe-inspiring power of AI was predicted in a quote attributed to the late Stephen Hawking: ‘Somebody asks a computer “Is there a God?” and the computer replies “There is now”.’

Disclaimer: AI was not used in writing the text of this post. But I did ask ChatGPT for an image and received this reply:

“Here is the symbolic illustration representing the use of AI as a tool for writers. It highlights the harmony between creativity and technology. Let me know if you’d like any adjustments!”