Taking A Chance On AI #IWSG

 
 
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
 
The awesome co-hosts for the March 6 posting of the IWSG are Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

March 6th question: Have you “played” with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI’s impact on creative writing?

Sorry this is up late, but life happens.

Before I answer, don’t forget there different levels of AI. Technically, Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and other such editing programs can be considered to be AI. In fact, Grammarly is advertising itself as an AI tool. But now those programs are getting into the realm of rewriting sentences and suggesting different ways of stating the information presented to it.

I’ve used the grammar and spellcheck options of those programs for years. Recently, I’ve paid attention to the rewriting part of the programs. (I use ProWritingAid.) Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever used a suggested sentence revision. They don’t have the same meaning as what I’m trying to say. So, I can’t imagine using it to write a synopsis.

Once, and only once, I played with a built-in Word Press plug-in to write a key phrase for a blog post. The results were so far off the mark that I didn’t give it a second thought and discarded it. I haven’t tried it again.

I’ve seen several blog posts from others that appear to be AI written. Lordy, they were bad. Real bad. Stiff and artificial with click-bait titles that had little to do with the content. I’d compare them to the pictures floating around the internet with free-floating hands with six fingers. But I could see them getting reads, presumably based mostly on the header.

I can’t see the future, but AI has me worried. If the market gets flooded by poor-quality writing, readers will be discouraged, and aspiring authors may get shut out of the market. And that’s not good.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now. Don’t forget to check out some of the others on this hop by clicking on the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.


AI – Assistance or Threat? #IWSG

 

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the October 4 posting of the IWSG are Natalie Aguirre, Kim Lajevardi, Debs Carey, Gwen Gardner, Patricia Josephine, and Rebecca Douglass!

October 4 question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?

A while back, I talked about AI in a blog post. While I don’t use it in a major way, I do use a computer program for spell and grammar checking. Although the program I use (ProWritingAid) also offers potential fixes for problematic sentence structure, that feature feels inadequate, and I mostly ignore it. 

I haven’t used any AI program to ‘write.’ I’ve run into what I suspect are AI generated blog posts, and found them lacking in their content and writing style. But would an average reader feel the same way?

My worry is that until better tools are created to identify what is computer generated vs. what a human has written, AI content will be a threat. There are already bogus books on Amazon that Amazon hasn’t figured out how to detect. (But Amazon has always had a problem with ‘fake’ books.) If readers get bitten by additional sham books and dodgy writing, the whole writing community will be suspect. That could be a major problem for indie authors.

It feels as if we are in for a rough transition. I hate to see authors losing income to people who are churning out content with little or no effort on their part. But AI tools can also be beneficial if used properly.

Check out some of the other writers on this hop my following the links below.

Until next time, please stay safe.

 


AI (Artificial Intelligence) It’s Not As New As You Think #OpenBook Blog Hop

July 3, 2023

Have you played with AI in your writing? Tell us what you think about it.

This article was not written with AI – or was it?

I read about it everywhere. How AI (artificial evidence) is writing blog posts, term papers, articles, and entire books. I’ve seen dozens of FB pasts proudly heralding the fact that a book was not written with the help of AI.

But we need a definition here. What is AI? The widely accepted meaning from Artificial Intelligence (courtesy of the website TechTarget) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.

The question becomes, how deep does this go? Does something as simple as Microsoft’s built-in spell-checker count? (Which was part of Office 2003.) How about sites like Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Scrivener or a dozen more? Rytr or Jasper?

I’ve been using basic spelling and grammar checking sites for years. I’ve also used the option of looking for synonyms using the built-in capabilities of whatever document creation program is available to assist with tightening my writing. Does that mean I am using AI?

Shoot, ProWritingAid and Grammarly have added ‘suggestions’ to fix phrasing errors and bad writing into their standard functions. (I’m sure other systems have as well, but those are two I am familiar with.) Is that using AI? Will I run this entry through ProWritingAid before I post it? You bet your sweet bibby. And will I change things when it says bibby isn’t a word, or the phrase is a cliché and should be revised? Nope.

Does that mean I’ve used AI to produce this blog? Technically, yes. Do I believe this counts as an AI generated post? No. Absolutely not. I’ve poured a lot of energy into this entry. No computer wrote it for me.

What it comes down to is that I think we need new terminology. Just like a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square, we need terms that denote the differences between AI assisted and AI generated. And at what percentage is the dividing line? I will leave that discussion to others.

Would I consider using AI to generate a blog post? sure, I’d consider it.

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It’s been considered. My magic 8 ball says it’s unlikely.

It’ll be interesting to see what the other authors on this hop have to say about Ai. To find out, follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

July 3, 2023

Have you played with AI in your writing? Tell us what you think about it.

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

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