A few thoughts from a designer and novelist on AI

Photo by A Chosen Soul on Unsplash

There’s a lot of anxiety and fear around Artificial Intelligence (AI).

As with any new technology that feels like it’s outpacing our ability to understand it, people develop strong, visceral reactions to it. Television, movies, fake news, and social media hysteria haven’t helped. Threats of job losses have amped up the fear. And I’ll admit, a couple of years ago, as a writer and designer, I was deeply skeptical, even afraid of AI. Would it advance too quickly? Would it replace my work? My writing? Would it disrupt and negatively impact society?

It might do all of that and more things we haven’t even considered.

But I’ve realized that ignoring it won’t make AI go away. It’s weaving itself into everyday tools, and if I ignore it, I’ll just get left behind. So instead, I’ve chosen to engage with it, learn about it, understand where, and how, it has a place in my life.

Pitchforks and torches

As a lifelong designer, I could talk about the Design community’s fear of AI replacing creative work (which, in my view, only happens if you see design as merely replicating past outputs). But instead, I want to use a more unexpected example…my work as an urban fantasy author.

Lately, social media has been in an uproar over the use of the “em dash.” Yes, the em dash. Readers (and even some authors) are accusing writers who use it of relying on AI to generate their books. Some are even launching mass “cancellations,” leaving one-star reviews, and publicly shaming authors.

Well, let me tell you a secret: I use the em dash — a lot. I always have. I used it while studying for my MFA in Creative Writing back in 1995. I’ve used it in both business and creative writing for decades. And I still use it now. I don’t use AI to write, edit, revise or proofread my books. And I certainly wasn’t in 1995.

These accusations stem from fear of AI. Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear that something is being lost. And I get it. Maybe something is being lost. But I also feel like it’s reached the level of a digital-age witch hunt — where if someone’s writing doesn’t conform to their view of “human-written” they’re branded as AI frauds, whether it’s true or not.

What do I do?

I don’t want to be the kind of person who casts aspersions on others out of ignorance or fear. So I maintain a healthy, cautious curiosity about AI. I play with it to understand what it can, and can’t, do. I don’t want to be left behind as the world moves on.

I still have misgivings, but I also see some of its potential.

There are many with perspectives out there on AI. Some are quick to grab their pitchforks and torches. Others are trying to understand and navigate its impact on their lives, taking a longer view. I think I’d rather be curious and cautious, than ignorant and fearful, knowing that may change as things evolve.

Where do you stand on it?

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