It’s the hot topic for 2025.

Artificial intelligence, specifically its implementation across a wide range of literacy-based environments, is being examined with a fine-toothed comb by detractors, enthusiasts and experts alike.

Good. It should be.

If there’s one thing most of us can agree upon, it’s that the use of generative modules such as ChatGPT need to be carefully monitored and controlled in terms of how they impact education, leisurely pursuits and the workplace. There’s a big difference between A.I. being utilised to facilitate things like Search Engine Optimisation or online templates, versus artificially generated novels showing up on bookshelves in Waterstones in the years ahead.

Those shelves are already prime real estate, as any author will attest, and we don’t need them being taken up with what many would dub ‘A.I. slop’, to use a common phrase. Thankfully, we haven’t quite reached that point yet, and hopefully legislation will be enacted to prevent such excessive use of algorithm-based literature. However, to say researchers are making swift progress in terms of refining such tools would be putting it lightly.

This is not a dig at any such developers. I can whole-heartedly appreciate the level of rigour and commitment such individuals are pouring into a field they feel passionate about. Think of this post more as an expression of my own thoughts on the subject, albeit coming from someone without a background in robotics, who feels apprehensive about the direction things seem to be heading.

The rapid pace of development can at times feel overwhelming, as more software seems to come pre-loaded with its own version of an A.I. sidekick. Even the most keen advocate for enhanced usage of these tools must grasp the collective frustration of yet another Cortana-clone being announced to the public.

I outright refuse to use A.I. in my manuscripts or other forms of content, as I strongly feel it diminishes creative development alongside critical and lateral thinking. At the very least, when it comes to drawing up fictional stories of your own; the applications of A.I. in other fields is something I am in no position to critique.

Perfect . . . As I was typing the last sentence, a Microsoft Copilot text box popped up on the right of my desktop, with an interruption about some random update to its features.

Not now, robot. People are talking.

Anyway, it’s worth noting that despite my fairly strong reservations about the impact of A.I. upon creative industries, I am not a Luddite nor unfamiliar with past analogues to this very scenario.

‘Don’t watch too much television, it will rot your brain.’

‘Stop playing those damned video games, they will make you become violent.’

Even back at the turn of the twentieth century, people were up in arms over the rise of the telephone for communication on a ubiquitous scale. I get it, for some people ‘technology bad’ is just a part of their daily mantra. However, I am quite a fan of Google Assistant taking my daily reminders or setting an alarm for when I know the oven is ready.

If we manage to keep A.I. relegated to tasks its suited for, rather than trying to pigeon-hole it into every facet of society, then I don’t have any inherent issue with its rise.

In fact, I read a post on my social media (irony?) earlier on which summed it up very succinctly:

‘You know what the biggest problem with pushing all-things-AI is? Wrong direction. I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes.’

Joanna Maciejewka wrote the above quote last March, and while you can pick it apart to find faults with the rationale (doesn’t A.I. already do our dishes and laundry at the push of a button?) the general sentiment really emphasises how artists, musicians and writers feel concerning generative A.I. and its growing accessibility to the masses.

I’d wager very few of my fellow writers don’t use some form of modern convenience in their daily life, whether it’s the Kindle Scribe and its ability to automatically tidy up your chicken scratches into something legible, or that incredibly powerful computer sitting in your pocket. As with most things in life, whether they be a matter of ethics, politics or relationships, the entire debate seems to boil down to one simple word for me personally:

Balance.

By all means, use A.I. to tidy up your marketing documents if it helps. If its application helps surgeons speed up their work and save lives, I think we’d have to be fairly stubborn to refuse its adoption.

That being said, I fully intend to keep my own work free from generative influences, outside those gained from reading the works of fellow human beings. Thankfully, Amazon and most publishers still require submissions to declare if any A.I. was used during the writing process.

Sure, people could argue that ‘everything is a rip-off of something else anyway’, and it can certainly feel that way in an era of sequels or reboots to the tenth degree. However, there’s a big difference between deriving inspiration from earlier works by fellow people and putting a few buzzwords into an engine to see what it churns out a la algorithm.

Ultimately, I’m not against using such tools for matters of simple convenience or to streamline mundane, daily tasks. Furthermore, as I stated above, if the swift pace of development in A.I. helps certain professions to increase their efficiency, for example in engineering or medicine, then fair enough.

Regardless, if your work of fiction is largely composed by chatGPT or any of its competitors, I reserve the right to question both your ability and integrity as an author. Take the long road, hone your craft and build pride in your own feeling of accomplishment.

No, I do not use the Oxford comma. I never will.

Grammatical preferences aside, there’s a reason the adage of ‘nothing worth doing is ever easy’ has become widely accepted throughout the world.

Treat yourself to a fancy ballpoint pen, new set of oil paints or brand new microphone. Next, remember your vision and why you’re aiming to create something in the first place. On that note, have a great weekend,

Best wishes,

C.A. Fitzroy