Is it real?
A conversation about AI.
He Cleared His Throat
Is it AI?
Recently, I was watching a video, enjoying the topic. But I couldn’t shake concerns that the man delivering the thoughts was fake, another imitation created by AI. Was he not real, like so many things these days?
Then the man cleared his throat, randomly. You wouldn’t believe the relief that fluttered through me. It was a human touch. Maybe he wasn’t an expert on the topic, but at least he was real, not a figure created by AI to represent a human.
I think the white noise of doubt in me began during the 2016 election process. Suddenly political ads misrepresented candidates and politicians with AI look-a-likes. Campaigns weren’t held to the standard of truth I’d expected, and people shrugged, ‘That’s politics,’ they said. But back then and now, it wasn’t an issue of AI, it was an issue of humans using it as a tool to confuse, create apprehension, and cover the truth with lies. It’s the misuse of AI that I dislike, and the distortion of truth and lack of authenticity we seem to becoming accustomed to.
As a writer from way back, I have little interest in AI. I’m more afraid of losing my brain and my creativity than of not finding the words to express my own thoughts. I have no interest in reading content from AI, and I support authors who rely on their own skills to create. But I’m not fully out of touch with the benefits of AI for some of us.
A good friend of mine has found his voice for writing with the help of AI, and I respect that. He has dyslexia, so he’s always found it difficult to express himself in written word. He has trained AI to aid him, and enjoys great satisfaction when it aligns with his thoughts so well. In fact, his experience persuaded me to give AI a try as I contemplated my next writing project. I used AI to write an author’s statement, just to go through the process. The questions AI asked me were useful. AI did offer me a statement that I could use. But there was no satisfaction in it for me. It was superficial, simplistic. I know I could have told it to go deeper, but I didn’t want to. I knew I could write my own and it would be grounded in my thoughts, my experiences, my wishes, an actual promise from me to readers. For me, there is no value in utilizing AI for my writing, even as a tool, but I don’t condemn those who choose to use it as a tool. Just don’t ask me to be OK with AI writing if it’s not labeled as such.
As for me, I’m real through and through, down to my carpal tunnel release surgery now healed, and each and every piece of writing I put out into the world. Writing is not about the money, for me, though I totally want to be paid for my writing. It’s about the self-expression and the joy in the process. That’s why I include a bit of something in my books that goes like this: AI was used for no portion of this book. No portion of this book’s contents are to be used for AI training by anyone or any company without proper licensing given by me in writing upon request.
I also belong to the Authors Guild Human Author certification program and you can too. Just go to https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ .
As usual, I’d like to know about your thoughts and experiences with AI.
