And that would defeat the purpose if it did.
One of the biggest concerns about Generative AI is not about the tool itself. The concern is the abuse of the tool.
How many would-be writers will employ Generative AI to do the work for them? Then, how many of them will try to sell that work as their own and use it to make money? What happens when the blog/story/novel can write itself?
Because of the nature of Generative AI, it’s not just being used for writing. Other software has come into being that allows you to make art from words, turn the written word into audio, and do all kinds of wild, creative things that previously required a great deal more skill and/or specialization.
This often turns into arguments of elitism, ableism, and other biases and prejudices, real and perceived. On the one side, you get “AI opens greater access for all,” and on the other side, “AI steals from real artists.”
There is, of course, no One True Answer to this. But like it or not, AI is here to stay and gaining in ability.
However, it is just a tool that can do both good and harm.
Is it the tool or the user?
Generative AI, at its core, is just a tool. That tool can do some very cool, super-useful things.
In the right hands, Generative AI can enhance visual art, help generate ideas for titles, names, and other things, and provide previously unheard-of access to people with disabilities.
Of course, in the wrong hands, Generative AI can create deep fake imagery, be used to write essays and books with minimal human input, and take away jobs from voice artists, writers, and actors.
This is not the tool itself being the issue. It’s the use of the tool. This can be applied to every tool ever created. Let’s take the screwdriver as an example of this. As a tool, it’s super-useful for turning screws in and out of things. But when you drive one into someone’s chest to murder them, then it’s a problem.
Is it the tool or the user? In this case, and most other instances of abuse of any given tool, it’s the user.
This blog won’t write itself, even with AI
Generative AI, used as a good tool when it comes to something like this blog, could help with the title, ideas for subheadings and what to explore, and maybe even some basic research. But the AI can’t write this blog all of its own accord.
For the record, despite this article being about Generative AI, no AI has been used to write this blog. Or research for it. Nope, this blog is 100% human-written.
Even when you use AI to help with writing, it needs to be edited, checked, and reworked. For some SEO blogs I’ve created for a digital marketing company, I fed the Generative AI the title, topic, and resources to use to write the article. After that, I went over the article that was generated and fixed the tone and language, re-writing elements to make it more natural and give it better flow.
AI tends to be super-pedantic and repetitive, and it uses tone in ways no human would. Unedited, without a human touch, an AI-written blog is evident. I’ve seen emails and articles shared without human alteration, and it’s pretty obvious that AI was used without correction and editing.
Will they abuse Generative AI?
Of course they will. One of the reasons behind the last SAG strike was to prevent hack producers from abusing AI to turn 1 actor into 10 and use actor likenesses from one short shoot into a longer one, and other ways to get more for less money. The industry recognized and addressed the potential for abuse currently represented.
Lazy creators and half-assed creators will abuse AI to do their work for them. This will potentially flood certain markets and force certain creators to find new approaches. For example, as a voice artist, I’m not thrilled by the growing use of AI to do audiobooks. On the one hand, accessibility for the blind and those who can’t read easily is great. On the other hand, taking away opportunities for voice actors to ply their craft is distressing.
This is why you and I need to be aware and on top of the ongoing creation and employment of Generative AI. This is the best way to report and stop abuse and to help refine these tools so that they help artists and creators rather than disempower and steal our employment.
AI learns from good and bad input. Too much bad input renders the AI increasingly problematic. Garbage in, garbage out. Hence, non-abusive usage matters.
I didn’t mean to write a blog about Generative AI today. Yet, here I am. And I didn’t even use AI to write this. This blog won’t write itself, and that’s good for both me and you.
Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you every week, please consider this: How are you inspired and empowered to be your own creator, whatever form that takes?
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