Tag: #AI

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Writing vs Creating vs AI #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Do you suffer from Automation Anxiety?

(the fear that advancements in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, will lead to widespread job losses, rendering people’s skills obsolete and potentially leaving them unemployed, causing significant worry and stress about the future of work.)

Before I dive into the post, I want to mention that the topic was suggested long before the breaking news of Meta using a pirate site to train their AI. More on that to come.

In the early 1800s, workers in England were upset by the increasing automation in wool and cotton mills, worried that the new machines would do away with their jobs. They began protesting, including destroying the new equipment, with the center of the movement being in Nottingham. (Yes, of Robin Hood fame.) Their leader was purported to be Ned Ludd.

The movement was eventually ended by the use of the legal system, which included sending protesters to Australia. But it left the legacy of the Luddites, a term applied to people opposed to new technology.

I’m surprised that the term hasn’t crept into today’s many discussions on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the areas that have long been considered part of the human fabric, the creative arts. While computers were viewed as enhancements to the fields of science and math, no one saw them as competing with most other fields. After all, their input and output could be shaved down to a string of 1s and 0s.

I was along for the ride as that changed.

I started with WordPerfect on a DOS-based personal computer and made the switch to Word on Microsoft a few years later. It’s transformation from being a fancy typewriter to a computing tool happened rapidly, faster than most users could keep up with. The addition of spell check felt revolutionary, a boon to writers at all levels.

Then came the flurry of on-line tools to assist writers. Hemingway, Grammarly, ProWritingAid and others. Now, those programs may suggest changes to not only spelling and grammar, but phrasing as well. (A simple form of AI.)

Through all of that, writers felt secure in being creators. Surely, machines would never replace the spark of creativity that was humanity’s alone. But AI didn’t remain in a static form.

I have mixed emotions about its current state. It’s gotten so much better at mimicking human creativity, but it’s still not perfect. It depends on a skilled human entering information for a computer to manipulate. Even then, the programs don’t always get it right. (Check out the problems with six fingers.)

Enter Meta’s AI

First, my thanks to Author Angel Nyx for alerting me and other authors to the information in regards to the current issues with Meta’s AI tool. Meta (Facebook) made the business decision to use a pirate website (LibGen) to train the tool. It’s an ethics issue as well as a legal one, because that means Meta used copywritten works without the author’s permission. Several law firms have already tackled the possibility of lawsuits. (FYI – I gave up pursuing pirate sites some years ago, tired of playing whack-a-mole. And yes, several of my books are on the above-mentioned site.)

Back to the original question – do I suffer from Automation Anxiety? It bothers me, not for myself, because I don’t support myself with my writing, but for other writers, I worry. Heaven knows, I don’t get enough attention on this blog to be concerned that AI is going to become my competition. However, there are fields in which it could affect jobs. (I’m thinking of technical and other non-fiction writing.)

But I don’t believe that AI is ready for prime time. I’ve read a few pieces I suspect were AI generated and found them boring, repetitive, and filled with all those phrases that an editor loves to hate. I’ve also heard the precautionary tales of AI generated legal briefs that made up the sources they sited. Not a good thing for a lawyer to present to a judge. That means AI can’t even be trusted for basic research.

How about the other authors on this hop? How do they feel about AI? Find out by following the links below.

And, as always, until next time, please stay safe.

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March 24, 2025

Do you suffer from Automation anxiety? (the fear that advancements in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, will lead to widespread job losses, rendering people’s skills obsolete and potentially leaving them unemployed, causing significant worry and stress about the future of work.)

Taking A Chance On AI #IWSG

  By IWSG
 
 
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
 
The awesome co-hosts for the March 6 posting of the IWSG are Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

March 6th question: Have you “played” with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI’s impact on creative writing?

Sorry this is up late, but life happens.

Before I answer, don’t forget there different levels of AI. Technically, Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and other such editing programs can be considered to be AI. In fact, Grammarly is advertising itself as an AI tool. But now those programs are getting into the realm of rewriting sentences and suggesting different ways of stating the information presented to it.

I’ve used the grammar and spellcheck options of those programs for years. Recently, I’ve paid attention to the rewriting part of the programs. (I use ProWritingAid.) Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever used a suggested sentence revision. They don’t have the same meaning as what I’m trying to say. So, I can’t imagine using it to write a synopsis.

Once, and only once, I played with a built-in Word Press plug-in to write a key phrase for a blog post. The results were so far off the mark that I didn’t give it a second thought and discarded it. I haven’t tried it again.

I’ve seen several blog posts from others that appear to be AI written. Lordy, they were bad. Real bad. Stiff and artificial with click-bait titles that had little to do with the content. I’d compare them to the pictures floating around the internet with free-floating hands with six fingers. But I could see them getting reads, presumably based mostly on the header.

I can’t see the future, but AI has me worried. If the market gets flooded by poor-quality writing, readers will be discouraged, and aspiring authors may get shut out of the market. And that’s not good.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now. Don’t forget to check out some of the others on this hop by clicking on the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

AI – Assistance or Threat? #IWSG

  By IWSG

 

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the October 4 posting of the IWSG are Natalie Aguirre, Kim Lajevardi, Debs Carey, Gwen Gardner, Patricia Josephine, and Rebecca Douglass!

October 4 question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?

A while back, I talked about AI in a blog post. While I don’t use it in a major way, I do use a computer program for spell and grammar checking. Although the program I use (ProWritingAid) also offers potential fixes for problematic sentence structure, that feature feels inadequate, and I mostly ignore it. 

I haven’t used any AI program to ‘write.’ I’ve run into what I suspect are AI generated blog posts, and found them lacking in their content and writing style. But would an average reader feel the same way?

My worry is that until better tools are created to identify what is computer generated vs. what a human has written, AI content will be a threat. There are already bogus books on Amazon that Amazon hasn’t figured out how to detect. (But Amazon has always had a problem with ‘fake’ books.) If readers get bitten by additional sham books and dodgy writing, the whole writing community will be suspect. That could be a major problem for indie authors.

It feels as if we are in for a rough transition. I hate to see authors losing income to people who are churning out content with little or no effort on their part. But AI tools can also be beneficial if used properly.

Check out some of the other writers on this hop my following the links below.

Until next time, please stay safe.

 

AI (Artificial Intelligence) It’s Not As New As You Think #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

July 3, 2023

Have you played with AI in your writing? Tell us what you think about it.

This article was not written with AI – or was it?

I read about it everywhere. How AI (artificial evidence) is writing blog posts, term papers, articles, and entire books. I’ve seen dozens of FB pasts proudly heralding the fact that a book was not written with the help of AI.

But we need a definition here. What is AI? The widely accepted meaning from Artificial Intelligence (courtesy of the website TechTarget) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.

The question becomes, how deep does this go? Does something as simple as Microsoft’s built-in spell-checker count? (Which was part of Office 2003.) How about sites like Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Scrivener or a dozen more? Rytr or Jasper?

I’ve been using basic spelling and grammar checking sites for years. I’ve also used the option of looking for synonyms using the built-in capabilities of whatever document creation program is available to assist with tightening my writing. Does that mean I am using AI?

Shoot, ProWritingAid and Grammarly have added ‘suggestions’ to fix phrasing errors and bad writing into their standard functions. (I’m sure other systems have as well, but those are two I am familiar with.) Is that using AI? Will I run this entry through ProWritingAid before I post it? You bet your sweet bibby. And will I change things when it says bibby isn’t a word, or the phrase is a cliché and should be revised? Nope.

Does that mean I’ve used AI to produce this blog? Technically, yes. Do I believe this counts as an AI generated post? No. Absolutely not. I’ve poured a lot of energy into this entry. No computer wrote it for me.

What it comes down to is that I think we need new terminology. Just like a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square, we need terms that denote the differences between AI assisted and AI generated. And at what percentage is the dividing line? I will leave that discussion to others.

Would I consider using AI to generate a blog post? sure, I’d consider it.

.

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It’s been considered. My magic 8 ball says it’s unlikely.

It’ll be interesting to see what the other authors on this hop have to say about Ai. To find out, follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 3, 2023

Have you played with AI in your writing? Tell us what you think about it.

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter