Who is terrified & who is excited? Talking from one writer to the next is like running the gambit of a Japanese Game show, somebody is about to win or fall into a vat of jello. But like it or not, AI is here to stay so it’s best to do the one thing humanity excels at, we adapt. Well, the ones that stick around adapt (sorry Neanderthals). So let’s talk AI, what it can do, what it can’t do, and how you as a writer can use it.
What it can do: ChatGPT
I’d say Google it but that word might not be right anymore. Want to understand how far AI tech has come? Go create a ChatGPT and have a conversation with it. Create stories with a couple of sentences to go off. Go on, I’ll wait…
Scary cool right? Ask it to build you a D&D character or a magic card and the engine behind this thing will crank it out. Ask it to write you an essay on the economics of Bangkok in the Middle Ages and it’ll do your homework (see below). Tell it to write a story and you’ll be one of the many who’ve flooded Amazon Ebooks with AI.
ChatGPT is a model built by OpenAI that uses reinforcement learning form human feedback.
Tech companies are clamoring to meet the change up in the market. Microsoft’s Bing ChatGPT & Google’s Bard are coming soon to browsers near you.
What it can’t do? Overconfidence is a weakness
ChatGPT and other tools like it can make mistakes but sound incredibly plausible doing so. These models are limited if there is no source or truth so if it doesn’t have the facts it can’t answer accurately. However, it is also incredibly trained to be cautious. The model will answer inconclusively if there is a chance of being wrong.
Knowing this, you should know that these models are not innovators, they are trained on existing data, knowledge, and sources of truth. They apply a formula and re-skin it for the prompt you request but the Model is not going to create the next Ancillary Justice or what have you.
What can you do as a writer? Don’t be afraid. Fear is the mindkiller
A day may come when the word of man fails, when we forsake our prose and break all bonds of story structure, but it is not this day.
Or something to that effect.
Don’t be afraid of the age of AI but definitely try to understand it and feel free to use it. Having writers block? Have ChatGPT describe a crystal waterfall and watch the ideas fall like diamonds down a, er well, crystal waterfall. Need to check your grammar? Ask an AI to do a pass through for spelling & grammar (word of caution here, don’t let it change your voice as an author). Using it as a more advanced thesaurus is acceptable too! Keep in mind this is a tool you can use but don’t fall into the trap of letting the AI do all the work. Remember that flood of ChatGPT ebooks on Amazon? They’re not doing so hot on the reviews side.
As a writer, you’ll always be trying to get your voice heard. Your voice and the voice of your characters are everything. When done right, they are not a formula but a person with depth and history. Don’t be afraid, life is too short to live it in fear.
Oh! Fun exercise, I just asked ChatGPT to write this blog post for me. Here is it’s answer below. I might be a bit arrogant, but I like mine more (mumuhahaha!).
