The A.I. Argument

The argument about use of AI rages on and on and there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground over its usage. It’s interesting to me how it is viewed by different groups of people and how a person’s occupation influences their point of view.

In the world of computers, it’s frequently helpful with solving complex coding problems and brainstorming database designs. In corporate America, it is frequently used in data analysis, task automation, and content creation. There are so many AI bots used now in customer service, in the human resources realm, and in optimization tasks. Many corporations have their own AI product in house for employees to use.  Our military has their own AI used for very specific tasks.

AI is not going away; in fact, it is becoming more widely used and developed. In the world of academia, it has moved away from a solid no to conditional usage. I understand it’s draw to an overwhelmed student or one who is struggling. I’ve moved from a hard line of no way to it’s okay for specific tasks within the classroom. For a student who needs help organizing their thoughts and ideas, it’s been helpful for them to see how different options affect the reading of those ideas. The emphasis is on their ideas. AI is not mean to supplant the student’s work, but to use it as an assistive tool. If taught how to use it well and purposefully, it can be a powerful tool for a student. AI used to complete a grammar check is helpful, but writing the assignment for them is a big no. I’ve seen AI break down a math problem in a way that a student finally understood it. It’s not about replacing a teacher or using it to bypass the work given, but to help in the learning process. However, kids will be kids and if they can find the easy way out, they will run towards it.  I like to show students how AI scrapes others work and misrepresents ideas so that they see not everything AI gives them is correct and citations are often incorrect or even made up.

In the publishing world and within many author groups, the discussions are visceral and divisive. The influx of AI written books is quite high as is the art used to illustrate book covers, spot illustrations and within picture books. Many new authors who are using AI don’t know that you can’t copyright anything that is AI created and publishing houses will not touch an AI written piece of text.

The term AI slop is frequently used to describe the ‘dumping’ of AI generated books onto print on demand platforms like KDP, IngramSpark, or Barnes and Noble Press (to name a few). These platforms do require self-reporting of AI usage, but it doesn’t happen very often. As people become more aware of AI writing, learn to spot the red flags, and the poor quality of writing, the discussion grows. As a writer, I don’t care for AI written material. The creative element is taken away and that’s part of the joy of writing. I write the old-fashioned way…with pencil and paper.  I choose to look at AI as a tool and it is up to me to use it ethically. It has helped with research that I can follow up on and delve further into which has led me down a few rabbit holes.

Music is another industry wrapped in the AI discussion as much as art and writing. In the area of music, there is a push to filter out copyrighted material. There are more platforms like Stable Audio 2.0 that are developed on unlicensed and royalty free data. Also, as musicians play with AI, they implement something called a ‘human in the loop’ technique. This where AI’s process in creating music has a human guiding the process rather than an algorithm (Nettrice Gaskins).

AI is found everywhere, from emails to tweets and beyond, but the questions of ethical, legal, and creative use remain. As technology grows and changes, how do we adapt for its use and our learning from it? I’m still not sure if it’s a curse or a blessing.

Today I leave you with these thoughts on technology-

            “Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master.” Christian Lous Lange

“Technology gives us power, but it does not and cannot tell us how to use that power. Thanks to technology, we can instantly communicate across the world, but it still doesn’t help us know to say.” Jonathan Sacks

Cheers to the storyteller in all of us!