We have all heard the stories about how Artificial Intelligence is going to one day replace human jobs. But does this wave of Artificial Intelligence start with replacing overpaid CEO-types? No. It starts down here, in the trenches, with people such as myself.
The creative.
This is where the wave of AI has started to replace jobs. Chat GPT-4 arrives and suddenly every Tom, Dick, and Harry decides they can write the next bestseller. They decide they can write the next Lord of the Rings, or the next Harry Potter, or the next A Song of Ice and Fire.
Newsflash! Writing is more than a hobby and a skill – writing is about escapism. In particular, my brand of writing – the fiction sector – is about bringing people into the world the author creates.
I have spent the better part of the last five years writing and rewriting Earth Splitter. I have shed tears and gone long nights with minimal sleep all to create the perfect scenario and world to draw people in. I do not write for the sake of a creative outlet – I write to generate emotion. I write to tell stories. I tell stories because it is one of the oldest professions known to humankind.
Since humans first knew how to talk, we have passed stories down through oral tradition. Think of Homer and The Odyssey. Think of The Aeneid. Think of the Indigenous Australian Dreamtime. Thousands upon thousands of years of history is behind these stories. There is a unique factor behind these stories and it is one which Artificial Intelligence will never be able to replicate.
Stories involve EMOTION.
The emotion we bring to stories is a human touch. I would much rather read a story where every five-thousandth word is misspelled due to an error made by the author or the editor. I would rather read a story which has stylistic liberties. It is all well and good to write “by-the-book” but even humans will place implicit bias in what they write. This bias is where we find our humanity. This bias brings forth the best in our writing, and any writer worth their salt knows they have in-built bias. A writer is egotistical, this much is true. We would not tell stories if we were not egotistical. Artificial Intelligence, by virtue of being a program contains no ego. Thus, there is a distinct lack of human emotion.
This extends to works of art.
Da Vinci (the AI program) is a nightmare for an artist. In a matter of seconds, it can produce a photorealistic painting based on a written prompt. A masterpiece work for an artist can take years to produce. And there is no guarantee an artist will even make any profit from what they do in their lifetime. Van Gogh died penniless, heartbroken, and schizophrenic.
Homer, the Greek bard, was blind and poor. He never achieved fame until centuries after his death. Daniel Defoe wrote what is regarded as the first modern English novel in Robinson Crusoe. Few people know his name, but they know his stories. Samuel Pepys came to fame after his death. Charlotte Bronte wroth Jane Eyre and subsequently died before she could write another book.
And George Orwell was practically dying while writing Nineteen Eighty Four. It is interesting to end on Nineteen Eighty Four, for this book provides a fantastic idea on what happens when writing is heavily controlled by a central organisation or entity. The proles in Nineteen Eighty Four read drivel churned out by The Party to keep them satisfied and contented. Artificial Intelligence is capable of churning out book after book of drivel in a matter of weeks, and people will lap it up.
Art and Writing are in desperate need of salvation. Not from Artificial Intelligence, but from support for the people who give their life and their blood for their artform. I refuse to let myself fade away into nothing. Writing and Art are decidedly human specific artforms for the simple reason they rely on emotion.
Stand with Writers. Stand with Artists. Support your local artists and writers however you can. #StandWithArtists #StandWithWriters #SaveTheCreative
Fenrir's Lair 