“You cannot swing a dead cat without hitting (insert thing here)….” What a strange expression! Have you heard it?
More to the point…do you think AI (artificial intelligence) knows it?
News stories everywhere herald AI as either the end of civilization or the great promise to make our lives better. Everyone wants to sell a particular narrative. The way it is presented depends on the source.
It is impossible to avoid the topic. As a writer, I should be gravely concerned. AI will write stories and take away any hope I have of telling them.
But – I’m not worried, at least not yet. Instead, I am intrigued.
I prefer to investigate stuff and reach my own conclusions rather than believe the story du jour. So, what is my opinion? After dabbling with a few free or inexpensive tools, here’s what I think:
AI writing results vary. For my recently-released book, A Fortune to Claim, I used a tool to check the grammar and other potential errors for proper usage. This particular software also offers to identify gaps in your story and provide you with ways to improve it. I decided to give it a try.
Its assistance with gaps in the story was so-so. While it did identify areas that needed improvement, the software also flagged parts that were intentionally written that way. I wanted the reader to have questions at that particular point in the story. The answers would be provided later.
Also, I found that this particular software tended to use the same words or phrases when asked to “improve” sections. In some instances, it also switched the characters’ names, totally changing the scene. And, not in a good way.
AI image generation tools were slightly better but still not quite right. Next, I experimented with cover creation. The speed at which an image could be created was astonishing. I described what I wanted, and voila! The image appeared on my screen.
While it created several potential images in seconds, AI did not understand proportion. Some elements of the pictures were wildly skewed or just plain wrong. For example, certain types of plants do not grow to be taller than a car.
Ultimately, I concluded that image generation with AI was a viable option. It requires careful editing, though, or I might end up with a lily that is ten stories tall.
AI sound quality for audiobooks was startlingly good. It’s no great secret that I list my books on Amazon. Recently, they began offering the ability to create audiobooks with AI-generated audio. (Yes, this same type of audiobook generation is provided elsewhere, too.)
I listened to a free sample of voices that could be selected for any of my books. Wow. It was scary how realistic the voices sounded.
No, I did not create audiobooks in this manner. I am uneasy about using AI for this purpose.
You’ll notice that, except for the Amazon reference, I do not reveal which tools I use. Frankly, they aren’t paying me for the review, so I’m not giving them the publicity!
At this point, I prefer to think of AI as a tool. It provides me with resources that I cannot afford on my own. Does it bother me that humans previously provided these same resources and have been replaced by software? Of course it does!
I have a question for you, though – what else am I supposed to do? According to an April 2023 study by the Alliance of Independent Authors, the average earnings of self-published authors are $12,749. Google the topic of earnings in self-published writing, and you will see that the income ranges are very low for most people.
Don’t believe the hype about making millions from writing as a side hustle. Unfortunately, being a self-published writer is challenging. Using as many of the free or inexpensive tools as we can is a necessity.
I will continue to dabble with the technology and keep an open mind. As it stands now, though, I am not worried. The software cannot generate the kind of story that, I hope, you enjoy when you read my books.