How AI is Changing the Way Authors Write

Since AI-powered technology has become a trending topic in the news in the last few months, it feels like the dystopian notion that robots are taking over the world is coming true. People both online and in real life have been discussing at length how the inclusion of AI will affect the lives and livelihoods of us all. I don’t know about you, but I worry every day about pursuing writing in a world where AI content and copywriting is booming. I’m sure you’ve heard about the Hollywood Writer’s Strike that began a few months ago, as screenwriters are campaigning for numerous changes in their industry and specifically fighting the implementation of AI into screenwriting. So, this begs the question: how will AI-powered technology affect the literary industry? How will the world of book writing, editing, and publishing be changed, for better or for worse, going forward?

To begin to answer these questions, we need to understand what AI is. According to Merriam-Webster, simply put, artificial intelligence (or AI) is “the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior.” AI systems, such as ChatGPT, operate by utilizing “large amounts of data and computing techniques to make predictions to string words together in a meaningful way…This helps them mimic speech patterns while dispatching an encyclopedic knowledge.” ChatGPT, released by OpenAI, is just one of the AI-powered technology systems that has been released and it isn’t the only AI system out there. In fact, Microsoft and Google have their own AI platforms, Bing and Google AI, that people are incorporating into their work and personal lives every day. OpenAI is even coming out with ChatGPT Plus, which is a “subscription service will be able to use dozens of plug-ins for other websites, and a web-browsing feature that will let them access more current information than the old data set that ChatGPT was trained on.” While people have been using AI-powered technology to write cover letters, contracts, and essays for them, the question for writers has been thus: can AI systems replace us? If AI systems could replace authors, how do we change the way we write to adjust to our new circumstances?

The Pros of AI

While the idea of incorporating AI systems into the publishing world seems terrifying, platforms like ChatGPT may be more helpful to authors than harmful. The threat of AI systems replacing authors does not seem imminent, as the primary function that AI-powered technology can serve in the writing process is copyediting. Due to the vast amount of data AI-powered systems have in their base, AI technology can serve as a tool for an author. For instance, due to their knowledge of grammar, punctuation, and syntax, AI systems can serve as copyeditors and proofreaders for authors. Additionally, because of the sheer amount of data stored in them, AI systems can also serve as researchers for authors, thus allowing authors to “focus on the creative aspects of their work.” In doing the copyediting and proofreading for authors, AI will essentially expedite the publishing process, allowing more content to be published at an exponentially faster rate than ever before.

A prime example of the benefits of AI as a tool for writers can be found in Tim Boucher, an author who has used AI to publish 97 “dystopian pulp sci-fi” eBooks in just nine months. A Canadian author, Boucher’s books contain “between 2,000 to 5,000 words and 40 to 140 AI-generated images” which are all created in as little as “6 to 8 hours.” In writing about his experiences and success using AI systems including Midjourney, Chat GPT, Boucher “sold 574 books for a total of nearly $2,000 between August and May” 2022. Without the use of AI, Boucher may not have been able to generate so much content in such a short amount of time. A true AI-author success story, Boucher isn’t the first author to utilize AI in the writing, editing, and publishing process and from the looks of it, definitely won’t be the last.

The Cons of AI

Although there are positives to the use of AI in book writing and publishing, there are also many obvious disadvantages. For instance, as an editor, AI is unreliable, as the systems aren’t perfect and it “lacks the ability to understand the nuances of language… [thus] they can’t provide an in-depth analysis of the overall tone and quality of a piece of writing.” In the same vein, while AI systems can edit manuscripts quickly, they don’t have the ability to “understand the creative and nuanced structure of the written work.” Also, even though it’s great that AI systems can copyedit and research for authors, it may also eliminate jobs in those fields. In replacing human editors, the incorporation of AI systems into publishing could result in “lower quality books, and a lack of creativity and diversity in writing.” Additionally, by automating the editing and publishing processes, the use of AI may lead to inequality in terms of which authors are published and in turn, which stories are published. Thus, “this could lead to certain authors or books getting an unfair advantage and those without access to AI technology being left behind.” In addition to inequality in the content that is published, the use of AI in editing could also lead to copyright infringement, as “AI technology could be used to steal ideas or even entire manuscripts, making it difficult for authors to protect their intellectual property.”

While the idea of AI replacing authors seems improbable, AI systems have already taken the jobs of numerous individuals around the country. For instance, ChatGPT replaced Olivia Lipkin as the copywriter at a tech start-up in San Francisco just last year. Instead of competing with AI systems for copywriting jobs, Lipkin has decided to pursue dog-walking. In just a few short months, ChatGPT not only eliminated Lipkin’s job, but also Eric Fein’s, a content writer based in Bloomingdale, Illinois. Seemingly overnight, ChatGPT took over an entire industry, changing the world of writing forevermore. Rather than compete with AI, Fein decided to “[enroll] in courses to become an HVAC technician” because pursuing plumbing seemed more foolproof as “‘a trade is more future-proof.’” Although ChatGPT stole the livelihoods of a copywriter and content writer and not an author, who’s to say that authors aren’t next?

A New World of Writing: Authors vs. AI

The worries regarding the loss of diversity, in terms of which authors have access to AI and therefore which stories are edited and published faster, has increased with the implementation of AI into the writing process. If you can believe it, there are books that were entirely written by AI systems that you can read today. So, AI has not only affected the editing and publishing process, but it’s now directly affecting the writing process. Thus, authors are not only competing with each other, but also with machines that aim to mimic human intelligence. Additionally, while authors are competing with AI “authors” in terms of production, they are also battling over the creative process itself, as the use of AI in writing, according to Miguel Llorca of Torrent Group, “poses a risk of diminishing the uniqueness of the human voice and original thought.” In addition to this, utilizing AI systems as copyeditors could be both a blessing and a curse, as Cristian Randieri of Intellisystem Technologies asserts, “AI-generated content may lose originality and creativity as authors begin to rely too heavily on AI tools,” losing their own skills.

Even though it sounds impossible, authors are already competing with AI “authors” as we speak. For example, the book 1-The Road by Ross Goodwin and Kenric McDowell was “published in 2018 by Jean Boîte Éditions…[and was] one of the first novels completely written by AI.” Published prior to ChatGPT’s release in 2022, 1-The Road is evidence that AI has slowly but surely been weaving its way into the writing industry for years. Similarly, the book Dinner Depression by Julia Joy Raffel, was also written entirely by a machine mimicking human prose and intelligence. Since AI-powered technology has taken the world by storm, AI systems have been incorporated into nearly every industry, with writing, editing, and publishing being no exception. Therefore, “artificial[ly] curated stories” will continue to be written, thus changing the way authors write going forward.

As screenwriters continue fighting for the right to ban the implementation of AI into the world of production, should authors consider doing the same to protect their creative processes from AI? While AI systems can serve as editing tools for authors, they may also become direct competition in the publishing industry. As AI could possibly eliminate diversity in terms of authors who are published and creative content, it is something for authors to be wary of as we look to the future. In order to adjust to the new world of AI systems being implemented into the writing, editing, and publishing processes, authors need to change the way they write forever. How will we continue to generate original content and fascinating stories in the age of AI? Will AI change the writing industry as we know it? Only time will tell.