There is a great brouhaha (I never get to use that word!) centered around the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in the publishing and writing business. Opinions range from absolutely not to yes, but very limited, to yes, but not for everything, to yes, absolutely.

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-with-text-projected-on-her-face-5473957/

I’m not here to judge. Everyone follows their own path; what works for one, won’t work for another. My stance is very limited use- not for any writing, outlining, plotting, editing; the only time I use AI is for spellcheck and when it predicts the next word or phrase if I was going to use it anyway. I feel, for me, that using AI is problematic three times over. First, I’M the writer, not a program. My ideas, my style, my passion, my vision.

Second- the Anthropic lawsuit. I’m part of the class action lawsuit against Anthropic which used books without permission or compensation to teach AI, even up to copying auathors’ style (which would then be used to write books and omit authors). I feel besides Anthropic illegally using other people’s works, if I used AI, it would be hypocritical.

Third, with traditional publishers, I must certify that I have not used AI beyond basic spellcheck and grammar. I know some authors use AI for marketing, plotting, and even writing their books. Maybe I’m old school, behind the times. But it’s a slippery slope and one I don’t want to be connected with. When I independently publish works, like The Excalibur Vow, I only use cover artists who don’t use AI. I don’t want the taint associated with my work.

Readers must decide for themselves if they are comfortable reading artificially created novels, But for this author, I feel strongly about supporting artists and creators.