If there’s one thing that history has taught us, it’s that technology is only as good as how people use it. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), the shiny new tool that has gained popularity since 2022, is no exception to this rule. One of the fields most directly impacted by generative AI is the world of fiction writing.

Does the advent of a tool that can pen a novel in seconds mean the end of human writers? Generative AI’s advancements have sparked writers’ strikes, copyright lawsuits, and demands to decelerate AI development. Do we need to fear this technology?

In short: Is AI good or bad for the future of fiction writing, and what should fiction writers as well as publishers, editors, and literary agents do about it?

The Good Part About AI Writing

Increased Productivity

AI indisputably increases productivity in all applications, including writing. Be it creating a first draft, summarizing other books to get inspiration for your story, proofreading, or even overcoming writer’s block – generative AI tools can perform these tasks in seconds.

AI software is adept at applying writing’s basic and complex rules, like grammar and syntax, with precision that surpasses human writers who are required to remember and apply these rules accurately and consistently.

Easy Polishing

If you are not happy with a block of text that you created, AI writing software can modify or polish the block to systematically avoid run-on sentences and excessive descriptions, change up the length of sentences, avoid language above a certain reading level, and identify detail with an uncanny degree of specificity.

AI accomplishes these tasks in seconds – tasks that could take a writer days, weeks, or months.

More Creativity

Debatably, there is also a commonly touted benefit of AI to enhance creativity beyond that of which a human writer may be capable. If we consider that creativity is a combination of experience and imagination, it could be argued that machine learning incorporates a much wider array of the human experience into its data set than an individual human being.

Therefore, the ‘imagination’ of AI software is informed by and draws from a much greater set of experiences than that to which any one human being has access. This is the argument, at least. How convincing it is depends on how one interprets the meaning of imagination, not to mention that of creativity.

The Problems With AI Writing

Lack of originality and depth

Extending from the discussion above, if the imagination of AI is limited to the combination of its programming and its dataset of human experience and knowledge of prior creative literature, it could be argued that AI writing lacks originality and depth that only direct experience of the human condition, inner and outer, waking and dreaming, emotional and sensory can produce.

AI can only reproduce an altered, amalgamated version of its input, resulting in poorer quality than that of which a human writer is capable. It may be possible that AI writing software may never be able to offer a fresh perspective on a subject like a human writer can.

Ethical concerns

There are ethical concerns about using AI to write fiction. If AI fiction becomes successful with readers, it can put human writers out of work. In addition, if readers aren’t informed that the work they’re reading has been written by an AI writer, there can be concerns about readers feeling deceived. In addition are concerns about copyright infringement and plagiarism.

Dependence on technology

The ease of content generation offered by AI tools can create a dependence on the technology instead of spurring human creativity.

How to Use AI to Your Advantage

Instead of shunning or fearing AI, it is best to use it as a tool to improve your writing process. Stuck with writer’s block? Ask ChatGPT to continue your sentences after giving it the respective context. Unsure whether a paragraph aligns with the flow of your chapter? Ask Bard to provide feedback and improvement suggestions in terms of consistency. Need ideas on good illustrations to add to your story? Use Midjourney to create relevant images.

AI writing tools can help do the heavy lifting on some of these areas while you get time to focus on the ones where your input matters the most.

In short, in the words of Harvard Business School Professor Karim Lakhani: “AI won’t replace humans, but humans with AI will replace humans without AI.”

Changes In the Fiction Book Industry

AI is indelibly changing the face of the fiction publishing industry. It can create opportunities for new writers to compete with established writers on parameters ranging from quality to speed. Publishers can also release a much larger set of titles each year by using AI, catering to a much wider, more eclectic, and specialized readership.

AI writing has already changed the reading experience for readers too. For one, it can duplicate the style of readers’ favorite writers and publishers’ most successful ones, including writers long dead. AI can also produce sequels and series out of readers’ favorite titles, making them more frequent and loyal customers for the publishers of those titles.

Conclusion

AI is being used everywhere – from providing better shopping recommendations, increasing the accuracy of disease detection, and performing loan eligibility checks to even improving Thursday Night Football viewing experiences. It presents both unparalleled opportunities and significant challenges for the future of fiction writing. Embrace AI as a complementary asset rather than a replacement and use its capabilities to boost your creativity and efficiency.