I was recently asked by a local magazine to write about my opinion of AI. It wasn’t a paying gig, but just a way to remind the local community who I was and that I lived among them, writing my books. I turned it down.

I have a lot of fans in this area. Some understand I am as anti-AI as it comes. Some do not. I am anti-AI in terms of creative writing, academic writing, and just about any kind of writing. I look down upon people who use it. I refuse to purchase articles in which AI assisted. I find it hypocritical for teachers to not want students to use it, then use it themselves.

In other words, I could preach this loud.

But in that audience I’d be preaching to are people who use AI, who teach using AI, who cheat using AI, who think AI is here to stay, and who believe it’s considered creative writing to use it to better create a masterpiece.

A lot of those people read my books.

Every one of us has political, religious, cultural, educational, and other issues that we feel strongly about. Sometimes we feel we have the right to speak our minds in our writing. That’s fine, but you are also setting yourself up for blowback.

In other words, I want to be remembered for my many years of writing mysteries that people enjoyed sinking into . . . versus one or two articles about me speaking my mind. One’s a legacy. The other is a flash in the pan that burns you back. When you have opinions, be selective on how and when you write about them. The impact is real.