Artificial Writing

I've been meaning to write about something, but life has been busy of late. So, a week later, I'm finally getting around to it. There was an article that caught my attention, about a guy who used AI -- specifically, ChatGPT (you can Google it, if you want to learn more) -- to write a children's book. He then used something called Midjourney to illustrate it.

The person in question, Ammaar Reshi, "wrote" (quotations used purposefully) Alice and Sparkle for a friend's daughter, and self-published it online via Amazon's digital bookstore. He also had a physical paperback version printed. I'm not sure what the intended recipient thought of the tome, but Reshi talked about his endeavor on Twitter, and the reaction there, and on Amazon, was apparently lackluster. Some criticized the writing, others criticized the use of AI-generated art, claiming it stole the work of actual artists.

I've not read Alice and Sparkle, nor do I intend to, but the whole idea of it makes me uneasy. It isn't so much the issue surrounding whether or not the illustrations are "stolen," or if the writing, itself, is bad or good. Those are certainly worthy of discussion, but by people other than yours truly. What concerns me most is the general concept of authorship. Reshi is quoted in the article I linked to at the beginning of this post as saying, "I wouldn't even call myself the author. The AI is essentially the ghostwriter, and the other AI is the illustrator." I have two thoughts -- or, really, questions -- in response to that.

1) Photos of the book's cover show the words: 'By Ammaar Reshi' printed below the title. That... sounds like claiming authorship to me. To state otherwise would seem to be a textbook definition of gaslighting.

2) Why not just buy a children's book for your friend's daughter, if you're not going to bother actually writing the story?

More than anything, the second point gets to the heart of my apprehension. Perhaps it's something not everyone would get worked up about? A lot of people consume writing, meaning that they read prose and/or poetry, but don't write it, for a variety of possible reasons. And that's fine. But you're talking to -- or, reading -- someone who likes to write. I first got the writing bug when I was around 8-years-old, and have always enjoyed writing for pleasure (this blog being a testament to that).

It is unfathomable to me that someone would let an AI (as in, someone - or something - else) write and illustrate a story, then slap their name on the book. And, while it's perfectly fine to purchase a book for a friend's kid (or anyone, for that matter), it does seem odd to go down the AI rabbit hole, put your name on the finished product, self-publish it, then admit that you didn't really write or draw the thing.

Writing has always been very personal for me. I would think it to be the case for any author. Putting words to page is, in its purest form, the act of a person conveying a part of themselves to be read by others. Most creative endeavors are like this. Writing is -- or should be -- unique. When you're looking for something to read, aside from considering which genre to focus on, you'd very likely discern a difference between authorship. Anne Rice wrote differently than Shirley Jackson. P.D. James wrote differently than Ruth Rendell, etc.

An author's voice is their calling card. To not understand that is to not understand writing. And the joy and wonder of reading. And a lot of other things.