We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.” ~Anais Nin
Readers want to read stories by people. They want to read how someone else sees the world, to compare that viewpoint with how they see the world. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking nonfiction or fiction, mystery or scifi, short stories or poetry.
When the message is written by AI, there is no comparison. That’s not to say that AI doesn’t write well, because it’s getting better all the time. But the words are written via a compilation of a zillion viewpoints, without personal experience. It’s everyone’s comparison jumbled into a story.
Yes, AI will get stronger. Yes, the stories will get better. But when the reader reaches THE END, will they want to look
up this author, learn about them, feel somewhat of a kindred spirit with them, and seek more work by that author? That human who somehow reached into readers minds and united with them? An author who dug deep into their psyche and created something that others really appreciated?
Most readers don’t want to mind meld with technology. They like to think they have something in common with a human.
I believe the situation is more nuanced than books written by people vs. books written by AI.
Many of my writing friends are using AI to create first drafts and refine their work. The end product might be 80% AI and 20% human.
So even though the work is primarily AI it still has a human being attached to it who you can look up.
I’ve been in the writing game for a long time. I am 70, and have been making my writing as a full-time writer for half a century. Just like everything else, I am not sure where this is going. I think I am safe for at least a few years; beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.
A lot of books, and a lot of writing from humans, aren’t great works of art. It’s not clear to me that 80% AI/20% human books or articles won’t be as good or superior to a lot of 100% human books or articles.
As a guy whose first sales came from stuff pecked out on an electric typewriter, I don’t like to think that, but maybe 20% human is just enough to make a book distinctive and give it a human touch even if the bulk of it was produced by AI.
We might be going into a future where AI is creating the bulk of the meal, and humans are adding the spices that make it stand out.
If I smell AI on any fiction, I won’t read that author ever again. It is creatively cheating. If you do not have the creative spirit to the level of writing your own book, then find another hobby or profession. That is short changing the reader. As a reader, I don’t want to read what a computer made up. I only want to read a human being’s original work, so I have somebody to admire and support.
I understand your point. The question is whether anyone will be able to “smell” the AI as the technology improves, and as writers become more skilled at incorporating the technology into their work.
I have screenwriting friends who have AI novelize their scripts, and then edit it. The result is really not different than if they had novelized it from scratch. For them, it’s about being efficiency and trying to make a living in a tough profession. I understand and respect that, even if it’s not my thing.