Indie writers can be under great pressure to write quickly, so it’s no surprise that a few have resorted to using generative AI software such as ChatGPT. Other writers may look to AI as a quick fix when they hit a roadblock. Plus, publishing on a budget can be tough, so AI-generated images and audio may seem like a good solution.
Big tech companies with loads of advertising cash would like you to think that generative AI is the inevitable future of writing. So would some influencers who are probably sponsored by these companies.
But while generative AI might provide some short-term gains, in the long run it’s bad for all of us. What’s more, it comes with risks that could ruin your writing career. Given all of its problems, let’s look at nine reasons to dismiss the hype and say “no” to machine-generated stories and art.
1. AI Doesn’t Understand Stories
Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are just predictive software that look at words and try to guess what a human would say next. Because they consumed a ridiculous number of works to do so, their output tends to be generic and lackluster . But more than that, LLMs are only correlating words; they have no understanding of the concepts behind the words.
People call AI output “slop” for a reason. The more text an LLM generates, the more its ideas wander aimlessly. AI can’t use its gut to judge what’s working, much less make a good plot. It has no idea what information readers need or what scenes can best represent the story. It can spit out random character thoughts, but it has no idea how to give your character emotional depth while carrying their arc forward. And if you generate a cover, the AI doesn’t understand your story or the best way to advertise it in today’s market.
Even if the output looks good to you, it’s probably doing something wrong that you, as a human, would be getting right. Not everyone has the expertise to notice what the AI is messing up, but these problems will still impact the reading experience. Readers don’t want inconsistent characters and a plot that goes nowhere. They don’t want words that don’t quite fit and moments that never matter.
You have more potential than the AI does. Don’t give up on yourself.
2. AI Outputs Are Stolen From People Like You
If you’ve ever thought generated output looked surprisingly emotional, uncanny, or just amazing, it’s because a person actually created that. In all likelihood, a person who had professional skills they’d spent a lifetime refining. Like you, that person is probably trying to sell their work. But now they have to compete with software that has stolen the material they spent years of their life on so it can spit out hordes of soulless, uncredited copies.
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