Artificial Intelligence

2026 is going to be an interesting and challenging year for authors and publishers. There has been a huge shift in how creative writing is produced, and it’s due to Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is already having a serious impact on what people write, how they write it, and how readers react.

Pixabay

Proponents for AI say that it increases productivity and helps in overcoming writer’s block. They tout the fact that writers can delegate the “dishwashing” aspect of writing to AI. 

For example, AI can generate plot points or character names. It can make things like tone and style consistent throughout a manuscript—especially a lengthy one. Certainly, it can catch many of the grammar and punctuation mistakes, eliminating a lot of line edit issues. If you’re publishing online, it can create Keywords and SEO in a matter of seconds.

Opponents call into question the ethics of using AI because it is trained by models of work that have already been created by someone. If a writer asks for AI to generate a story based on their idea, and it kicks out a complete work, are they the creator, or is someone else who has helped train AI? 

Here is what one search asking that question produced: 

“…the human author is generally considered the author if they provide significant creative input, guidance, and substantially rewrite or arrange the AI's output…”

There are no descriptors that delineate what significant creative input, guidance, or substantial re-writing mean. 

Both proponents and opponents warn about the cost of a heavy reliance on AI. It can produce a flat, generic tone, it can generate false information, and it can lack uniqueness. 

Even though the industry says that AI is a “collaborative tool,” and not one meant to replace humans, one main concern that has been expressed is that as writers come to rely on AI, it may lead to lessening or ending the need for human writers.

But what about readers?

It seems that readers complain a lot about the lack of accuracy, authenticity, and especially the non-human feeling of AI-generated writing. The interesting thing is that while they complain about this non-human writing, people are reading it. 

Here's an interesting article about just that. The Irony of AI Complaints.