Thursday, June 22, 2023

Ethical A.I. for Authors

So much buzz about A.I. or Artificial Intelligence in every industry. Writing and Publishing are no exception.  Programs exist that apparently will provide a completed novel in minimal time to the unmotivated author. What quality is provided? That remains to be seen. 

But is it ethical to use A.I., ( which I prefer to write as A/I ) in your writing? If so, how? 

We face ethical questions daily. For instance, we do not copy/steal/plagiarize others ideas & concepts. Can using a tool, such as A/I, violate ethical principles?

 Let's examine the pros & cons of A/I use for writers:

Pros:  As a tool for inspiration, idea generation, concept expansion

Cons: When the writer presents A/I generated  material as their own original concept, unattributed.

In my latest novel, "The Secret of Blue Scorpion Key" https://tinyurl.com/2hd9vzvz ,I feature an A/I antagonist that opposes my main character. 

For accuracy, I ethically used A/I in two ways: 

1. To learn the nuances of A/I conversation, I interviewed A/I entities such as Bing and various chat-bots to learn, much as I might interview any expert in their field, exploring limits and  parameters of its abilities.

2. I also used A/I to generate images for scenes I imagined but for which I could not find existing images. I provided key words and terms, and the A/I produced images options to choose from. I was careful to use A/I that placed it's images immediately into the public domain, then attributed these as used in my book trailer. 

My A/I experience found severe limitations in the abilities of A/I to converse and to create accurate, realistic images, particularly of humans. I feel my use of A/I in these ways, without letting it write my story, was fair and ethical use. 

Is there an ethical way to use A/I in writing? Yes, with precautions, good judgment and accurate attribution. 

Your opinion?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QSGrzbU3Gcjpm2my5