Since this is becoming a hot-button issue, I figured it was time I released a statement on it. I’m doing this so you, my readers, know what you’re getting at any given time. Our interactions with AI are ever-changing at break-neck pace, so this statement will serve as my public stance on the issue until I come around to another way of thinking on it. I always leave room for things to change my mind, and these days, technology moves at blinding speed.
I should say first that I will never, not even a little bit, use AI to write my stories. Whether it’s a short story, novella, serial, or book series, the prose will always be 100% my own. I will train no bots to “write like me” to save myself time. You as the reader are paying for my genuine words, and so my genuine words are what I will always give you.
I will also not use AI to make a book cover. If I’m selling a book on the open market, rest assured it will have a human artist behind the work. Whether the artist uses AI isn’t something I can control, but I want my book covers to be made by another human. Again, I think this is the main thing that makes stories valuable, and that human touch is important to me.
That being said, my philosophical position on artificial intelligence is still malleable and changing. Whether we like it or not, Pandora’s Box is open, and this technology will soon become a part of all of our lives. I try not to be backwards or pessimistic about new technologies, and that usually involves a stance of embracing it, at least at first. The fact of the matter is that AI is already part of the book market, and authors everywhere are looking for new ways to employ it. Because of that market pressure, all authors will need to learn to use it in order to keep up with the pack. That’s just the market at work. Therefore, I must use it in some capacity and figure out the most ethical ways to do so.
So, here are the things I will use AI for, and these are things I think are ethically fine, at least until I learn or am convinced otherwise:
I will use image generators for my own inspiration, and I will share the fruits here with my patrons, and from time to time, with my mailing list. I am not profiting directly from these images, and I think this usage is fairly harmless. These images will not appear on book covers or in the interior of books.
I will also use image generation for marketing purposes, up to and including extra content for retailers like Amazon. I’ll use it on my website and in social media in various ways. Marketing with AI images is already rife in every corner of the interwebs, and while it’s kind of an ethical gray area in my opinion, it’s one of those things I feel I must do just to keep up.
As for LLMs, I am fine with using things like ChatGPT for marketing as well. I won’t have it write newsletters for me, but I am fine with using it to generate ad content, blurbs, landing pages, marketing emails, and similar things, albeit with some editing from me.
I am also fine with using it for help in brainstorming, like coming up with names, checking the logical progression of a story, checking its similarity to other things, helping to hammer out logical rules when it comes to worldbuilding, or even constructing story bibles or glossaries. This is where I’m most excited about AI–having an assistant that can reference my already-published works with ease. In this way, I think I can use it to bring more value to you, the reader, and not water down my actual stories. These are dark waters, I know, and I will continue to weigh each usage with grave importance.
As for voice generation, I have yet to explore any of those AI narrators on the market. I know some authors have experimented with it and had mixed results. I have no stance on this because I’m not sure what to think of it yet. For now, I have no content to feed into an auto-narrator, and I’m afraid of the quality of the outcome.
So, in closing, TL;DR:
I WILL use AI for marketing purposes, to include image generation and copywriting.
I WILL use AI to help flesh out worldbuilding and brainstorming.
I WILL NEVER use AI to write my stories for me or to make book covers or interior illustrations.
I WILL NEVER sell anything to my readers that was generated with AI.