My AI Writing Manifesto
How, were, and why I use (and don 't use) AI
I will never use AI for these things
I will never post something AI has written, even small things. Not my essays, notes, or photos (I did once and regretted it!). It will always be in my own hand.
I will never let AI change my mind about things I think are important parts of my writing.
I will never let AI alter my voice.
My philosophy about AI
AI is just a tool, like any other tool man has invented throughout the ages. It makes some things more efficient, like all tools. But that does not mean I believe that we should use AI in all aspects of work or life. And I hate to burst people’s bubbles, but it’s been around in our lives, silently, for decades.
It is not human, and never can be. It can only imitate human critical thought, creativity, and natural beauty. It can not create it. Yes, AI poses ethical dilemmas that prior technologies did not – like every technology before did. The lightbulb vs. the candle, bronze vs. the stone, the elevator and urbanization, you name it. AI’s are just different, and further-reaching in the scary ways it can trick us into believing something is real.
My philosophy about why I write
I write because it frees me to be authentic to the world. It is the entire creative process that liberates me, not just the words on the page. I love the brainstorming, the strategy, the beginning-middle-end, the actual typing of words on the page. I view it like painting; it happens layer by layer, through iteration.
If I were to delegate my creative process to another human, much less an AI model, it would literally steal my freedom. I will never let that happen.
How I use AI in my writing
I am not yet fortunate enough to have a human editor; I wish I did! I use AI as a tool during my writing process in five ways:
To proofread a scene or chapter for accuracy against my story outline or codex; it’s great at busting me for inconsistencies in narrative and voice.
I find it useful for testing ideas, like I would with another person. “Hey, I’m thinking that I may have missed an opportunity for interiority in this passage; what do you think?”
I’ve used AI to break logjams where I’m working through the meaning of something. Sometimes I take its suggestions and write 100% in my own hand.
I am a terrible typist, and I try to get my ideas down really fast so they are not lost; this leads to a lot of typos, sometimes unintelligible letters on a page! AI can be a good copy editor, but only for the small stuff. I never let it restructure my prose or even my punctuation (which is often incorrect, but I like it that way!)
One time I was missing a photo for one of my essays, so I worked with AI to create one using a couple of real photos I had taken. I will probably never do this again; it felt inauthentic.
I will continue to use AI, like I would a paintbrush for a painting. Just as a tool, never as a creative, never as a co-author. If for any reason I do, I will tell you.
I’d love a conversation about this. Or, if you disagree, please say so.
Fantastic ideas. Educated me