The world has changed again, and will NEVER go back to the way it was.

Like other seismic technological advances throughout human history, artificial intelligence will probably prove itself both blessing and curse. It will depend upon who benefits and who gets crushed. In ancient times, the development of the bow and arrow gave armies a distinct advantage over opposing forces fighting with spears. The steam engine led to rapid expansion for American settlers and sped transportation, but at the expense of Native American tribes. In film, the advent of sound killed many silent film stars’ careers. Radio, television, personal computers, the internet. I could go on, but you get my drift.

I’ll admit I’m something of a Luddite, but I also realize, accept, and agree that AI is here to stay whether anyone likes it or not. I can see useful and beneficial functions and applications across multiple industries and fields of endeavor. For reasons i see as artistic integrity, I choose to not utilize AI anywhere in my profession, but AI in and of itself is no different from a hammer, a screwdriver, or the internet.

It’s a tool. Nothing more. How and where it is applied is where the rubber meets the road. In writing, editing, and publishing, AI has already infused itself into our neck of the woods. Hell, MS Word spellcheck/grammarcheck has a certain amount of AI driving it now.

Where I draw the line, where I have a HUGE problem both personally and professionally, is the use of generative AI to produce novels, short stories, screenplays, etc. I ordinarily eschew making public statements regarding most issues of the day. I have opinions like anyone else, but I normally choose to keep my mouth shut in public. That’s just me.

But AI is a different animal altogether.  

Let me be clear: When it comes to the writing profession, if someone uses generative AI to create blank diaries, writing journals, wall calendars, Day Planners, or something similar I think that’s probably all right.

HOWEVER… if someone uses generative AI to conceptualize, plot, and then generate for them something that they claim is a literary work, and then, without actually sweating out any of the WORK that goes into a novel or other work, they proclaim themselves a writer or an author — THEY ARE NEITHER.

They’re cheats. They’re hacks.

To call themselves “authors” is a professional slap in the face to all REAL authors, and I also take it as a personal affront. I work damned hard at what I do. If it was easy, everyone would do it. And I will not allow some talentless wannabe with no moral compass to cheapen my profession by using an intelligence other than their own to take shortcuts and run an end-around the creative process.

If someone did this based off another human’s work, we’d call it plagiarism. Why is this any different? This is about honesty. It’s about authenticity. It’s about personal and professional integrity. It’s about vision. It’s about TALENT.

So I will say this, and for those who use AI to write a book for them, this is the only genteel warning you’ll ever get from me. Here we go.

Don’t you ever, EVER, use generative AI to produce a finished work – short story, novel, novella, screenplay, stage play, whatever – and then turn around call yourself an author around me. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care how successful you are, how much money you make, or your standing in society. I will rip you a new anal orifice. 

These people didn’t WRITE anything. They didn’t CREATE anything.

They’re posers. We’re the real deal. And they have ZERO talent. If they did, they wouldn’t need AI to do the work for them and we would not be having this conversation. We writers (and other artists) have talent in spades, along with the drive, the angst, and the occasional torment that inevitably accompanies it. We know the craft. Say “craft” around them and they will think you’re talking about cheese.

They’re amateurs. WE’RE PROFESSIONALS.

These snake oil salesmen do not deserve a real writer’s respect, tolerance, or forbearance.

There. I said it. I believe it, I own it, I stand by it.

AND YES, I AM WILLING TO DIE ON THIS PARTICULAR HILL.