SquarePeg Books

Ahhh, the AI question.

I haven’t used AI.

Okay, let me rephrase. I know I have *unintentionally* used AI because spooky-ass shit comes up on my ‘Zon dashboard or my Pinterest or FB or YouTube feed that is directly related to where I’ve been and/or what I’ve been talking about recently, but haven’t plugged into a search bar ANYWHERE. So I’m pretty sure my phone is feeding geographic data to SOMEONE, and possibly even microphone keyword data, and its connecting to the Church of the American Consumer (Reformed), to show me ads for shit I have never looked for, but is related to what I may or may not have been thinking/talking about.

In my “front matter” file I have added a note that my work is not AI generated in any way (which should be obvious). And I suppose I should put a note somewhere on this site indicating the same thing (though, again, I think that should be obvious).

My biggest concern with AI doing the writing for things from emails to fiction novels is brain weakness.

As an example: I sit on my ass, most days. I do things, and I work to get things done, but it’s generally while I’m sitting. Therefore, when I go for a walk around the park at anything faster than a mosey, I get winded and tired, fast.

It’s the same with having AI do the writing for you; You don’t exercise those muscles in your brain that allow you to look at what you just wrote to figure out the best way to re-write it, to make it more confident, or whiny, or factual, or whatever.

I know I can fix my physical fitness problem by physically challenging myself a little bit each day. I don’t do it for a multitude of excuses. Time, mental bandwidth, desire–all these (and more) add up to why many of us don’t make physical fitness a regular thing in our lives.

I feel the same is happening with AI. It’s easier and less time consuming to plug words into a program and have someone else do the work of making it sound good.

However, those are the opinions of an individual who is not yet 50, but is still puzzled by the order of buttons on which remote to use when to achieve the desired media viewing experience, so take it all with a 50lb bag of salt.

Check out the Insecure Writer’s Support Group to see more writers dish about their concerns, their solutions to various problems, or maybe you just want to poke around to see what everyone else is doing.