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Thoughts from a human brain on AI writing

Many artists are worried about the advent of AI-generated content. Is it ethical? Should “art,” one of the core foundations that makes us human, be generated by such non-human means? From images, to videos, to books, and many other creative expressions, AI is becoming more prolific. The uprising is already here. What if the machines are not taking over the world, but have already captured our minds and are actively eroding our humanity?

Below is a paragraph from a scene in my work-in-progress alternate history novel:

He will be home soon, and she sits on the bed she neatly remade and smooths a wrinkle her wretched sitting created. What conversation will emerge from the cauldron of molten emotions and the rambunctious thoughts hammering inside her skull she cannot guess. The teddy bear from last Valentine’s Day looks at her expectantly from the reading chair beside his packed suitcase, an audience to witness the unbridled scorn she scripted.

The draft of this novel is with my very human editor, so I look forward to feedback on improving it. As a test, I accepted a prompt to have AI rewrite this paragraph for me. Here is what the AI editor built into MS Word suggested:

He will be home soon. She sits on the freshly made bed, smoothing a wrinkle. The conversation ahead is unclear, driven by her swirling emotions and thoughts. The teddy bear from last Valentine’s Day sits by his packed suitcase, ready to witness the scorn she has prepared.

This is a basic example, and some AI chatbots with a focus on writing can do a little better. But I think this illustrates what is missing in AI story generators and even editing tools that use AI. They lack humanity. That may sound obvious but is often forgotten when we think of AI. It is not human. It threatens human jobs. But the lack I am addressing is what makes us human. There is no emotion in the rewrite. There is no imagination. The reader does not get the feeling of the scene at all.

This critical character growth for Allison occurs at the start of the story. The day before 9/11 changed the world, her world collapsed. She has just learned her husband has been having an affair with her best friend. Reaching a turning point, she is waiting for him to come into their home, into the room where they slept and made love, to confront him and kick him out of the house. This rewrite is an example of what I am seeing in many new books by “authors” that all have the same “voice” and style.

I’m endeavoring to show Allison’s warring emotions through each paragraph and sentence in my scene. With two children, one with special needs, she knows what happens next will drastically impact the lives of the whole family. The decision is made, his suitcase packed, yet she teeters on the edge of her resolve. As her husband pulls up to the house, she sits there. When he finally arrives, she says nothing of what she had mentally rehearsed so many times. She simply says, “She was my best friend.”

I love supporting new and indie authors by reading and leaving reviews when I can. Thanks to “Read a Sample” options, I can pick out “writing” generated by or heavily edited by an AI tool before buying a book. For one, there is little to no detail. We learn nothing more of an organization than it being “evil” or about to “take over the city” or something similar. Someone finds evidence of “something sinister” about someone they trusted and that’s all we’ll know. There is also no character development or meaningful arc.

Dialogue tags often tell us the emotion the character is expressing in their voice or face. Some are downright hilarious. “…she said, her face a mix of confusion and determination” and other such nonsense. Action scenes get shriveled down to something like, “He took down agent after agent with practiced precision.” One of my favorites of these was in a book I recently sampled. In the scene, a woman agrees to go with some unknown man who comes to save her from the evil organization. She, not the trained agent with her, notices someone is following them. “She looked in the mirror with practiced casualness.” I have no idea what “practiced casualness” looks like.

My conclusion is, I write without AI tools. As an indie author, I am grateful to readers who “take a chance” on a story of mine because I try to focus on and improve my craft. As far as I know, I am fully human and the world I believe to be reality is, in reality, reality. Although, if it weren’t, that would explain a lot.

I invest in my craft to provide you with a great reading experience. That starts with self-editing, but cannot end there. An author must add beta readers, professional (paid) editors and proofreaders, and finally ARC readers.

"Ever sailed on a Firefly?"

Every couple of years, or more often, I have to go back to Firefly. It is the most criminally mishandled TV series of all time, IMHO. With writing that is always on point and smart, this isn't just one of the best sci-fi shows, it's one of the best shows ever to pop onto a TV screen. (That's not my opinion :) From the first episode you know who the characters are and they stay true to that throughout the limited series. Part space opera/part western/part drama/part clever comedy, it has it all. If you're a sci-fi fan or not, I suggest you give this a try, or a rewatch. They really don't make 'em like they used to.

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