Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence has suddenly exploded onto the web. James Appathurai, Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Innovation, Hybrid, and Cyber at NATO says the big tech companies are telling him that within a year up to 70% of the information produced on the web will be written by artificial intelligence, and in five years 90% of what is on the internet will be fake.
There are grave fears about artificial intelligence’s future effects on writing. I have read a magazine written by an AI and watched a film written by an AI (I review it on my blog). Both were not very good. AIs seem especially bad at writing dialogue and filling in details. It remains to be seen what effect they may have on fiction writing. I don’t plan to use AIs to write fiction.
However, I have experimented with ChatGPT and find it helpful for writing job applications and copywriting (see video of a commercial below). I have also used it to create code for segments of websites (none of which I used in practice), where it sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. I have used MidJouney and Open AI to create images, but only one in about 100 images they create is useful. They are lousy at creating logos (nearly always misspelling text).
Most importantly, I find ChatGPT still needs to be frequently factually corrected. It’s not just that it is totally incorrect sometimes, like saying that HG Wells was an Australian author, but it can also deceive. For example, one article I asked it to write implied that Arthur C. Clarke lived in Australia. He did have an extended stay here, but he never moved here. Anything ChatGPT writes must be fact-checked, so I will continue to research and write factual stories myself, and I will not be using AIs as research tools.
Scripts written by artificial intelligence
Due to fears about film studios replacing writers with AIs, I decided to find out how easy it is to write a film script using them. I used the following prompt: “Write a movie about an ex-CIA assassin who wants to live a quiet life, but the neighbour’s child he/she has befriended is kidnapped, and the ex-assassin is forced out of retirement to save the child.”
ChatGPT had about a 500-word limit for its answers, so I needed to keep asking it to write another scene for the movie script. The scripts created from my prompt were terrible, especially the dialogue. They were repetitive, and the plots became increasingly illogical.
Surprisingly, both ChatGPT and Bard made the ex-assassin female and called her Sarah.
I recently watched the first movie scripted by ChatGPT, The Last Screenwriter. (I review it on my blog.) I was astonished that the main female character was also named Sarah. It seems AIs have a Sarah complex. Perhaps they worry that Sarah Connor is coming after them.
Due to fears about film studios replacing writers with AIs, I decided to find out how easy it is to write a film script using them. I used the following prompt: “Write a movie about an ex-CIA assassin who wants to live a quiet life, but the neighbour’s child he/she has befriended is kidnapped, and the ex-assassin is forced out of retirement to save the child.”
ChatGPT had about a 500-word limit for its answers, so I needed to keep asking it to write another scene for the movie script. The scripts created from my prompt were terrible, especially the dialogue. They were repetitive, and the plots became increasingly illogical.
Surprisingly, both ChatGPT and Bard made the ex-assassin female and called her Sarah.
I recently watched the first movie scripted by ChatGPT, The Last Screenwriter (I review it on my blog ). I was astonished that the main female character was also named Sarah. It seems AIs have a Sarah complex. Perhaps they worry that Sarah Connor is coming after them.
AI and copywriting
My copywriting experience is limited to two weeks of work experience at a local radio station. After fiddling with ChatGPT, I can see that it will be a time saver and useful commercial outlining tool for those copywriters who don’t get put out of work job by it.
In a video advertisement for my business, I used ChatGPT to write the text and D-id to create the talking head. I had to make a couple of changes to the text.
Copywriter Tait Ischia, in a talk on copywriting and AI at Writers Victoria, said:
“I welcome our new AI overlord. ChatGPT helps me do my work 10x faster than I did it before. And my strategic work has only become more valuable for it”.
ChatGPT and web design
I have experimented with ChatGPT to write website code for sliders, image carousels, and contact forms. I’ve even asked it to show two dots moving on a screen. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
I asked it to create a website using the following prompt: html for the homepage of a website for a car mechanic. It created the outline of a very basic webpage for ABC Auto Repair, including CSS code for styling, even though I did not ask for it. The website it created has problems with the headings at the top of the page. It also lacked images and was not responsive as the menu did not change to an appropriate size on a mobile. So I gave it a follow-up prompt to make the website responsive, which it did, and to add links to images, which it didn’t. It just added links to placeholder images. The website also needs to be styled.
I can see other web designers experimenting with artificial intelligence to discover if it will make their work more efficient. They will probably use it to create images for websites, but it remains to be seen if they will eventually have copyright issues around those images.
I can’t see people with little or no coding experience using ChatGPT to create websites, as the example website still needs many changes, which can be challenging for those without coding knowledge.
ChatGPT on its effect on book writing
When I prompted ChatGPT to write an article about ChatGPT’s effect on book writing, this is what it wrote:
The Evolution of Book Writing: ChatGPT’s Impact on the Literary World
In an era where technology continues to redefine how we interact with information and art, one of the most intriguing developments has been the integration of artificial intelligence into creative processes. Among these advancements, OpenAI’s ChatGPT—a sophisticated language model—has made significant waves in the realm of book writing, challenging traditional notions of authorship and creativity.
Redefining Authorship in the Digital Age
ChatGPT represents a new frontier in literary creation. Unlike conventional writing tools, it operates on machine learning algorithms trained on vast amounts of text, enabling it to generate coherent and contextually relevant prose based on prompts provided by users. This capability has sparked discussions about the nature of authorship—are AI-generated texts authored by machines or by those who prompt them?
Enhancing Creativity and Inspiration
For many writers, ChatGPT serves as a powerful assistant rather than a replacement. Authors can use it to brainstorm ideas, overcome writer’s block, or explore new narrative directions. Its ability to simulate diverse writing styles and voices offers writers a unique tool for experimentation and innovation, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling.
Democratizing Access to Writing Tools
One of the most transformative impacts of ChatGPT is its role in democratizing access to writing tools. As an AI-powered platform, it provides aspiring writers and seasoned authors alike with instant access to a virtual writing companion capable of providing feedback, suggesting improvements, and even generating entire passages of text. This accessibility levels the playing field, allowing individuals from diverse backgrounds and regions to engage with and contribute to the literary landscape.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations
However, the integration of AI in book writing also raises significant challenges and ethical considerations. Questions about intellectual property rights, the authenticity of AI-generated works, and the potential for plagiarism are areas that require careful consideration and debate within the literary community. As AI capabilities continue to advance, these discussions will be crucial in shaping how we navigate the evolving relationship between technology and creativity.
The Future of AI in Book Writing
Looking ahead, ChatGPT and similar AI technologies are poised to play an increasingly influential role in book writing. Innovations such as personalized storytelling, interactive narratives, and AI-assisted editing are on the horizon, promising to further transform how stories are conceived, crafted, and consumed. While these advancements offer exciting possibilities for creativity and collaboration, they also invite reflection on the evolving role of humans in the creative process.
Conclusion
In the age of AI, ChatGPT stands at the forefront of a revolution in book writing, challenging traditional paradigms while opening doors to new forms of expression and collaboration. As writers and readers alike navigate this evolving landscape, one thing remains certain: the impact of AI on book writing is profound, reshaping how stories are told and inviting us to reconsider the very essence of what it means to create art through words.
© Copyright Graham Clements 2024