‘It has no heart!” : Portsmouth writers discuss AI’s potential harm to the industry

AI is now becoming intertwined with the writing industry and is being used in processes such as: proofreading, pitch writing, brainstorming and even creating illustrations. 

AI has even been prompted to write and publish entire books all on its own, like “The Inner Life of an AI: A Memoir by ChatGTP” which was written in 2022.

Writers worry that if it is capable of brainstorming, writing and publishing a book entirely on its own then there will no longer be a demand or need for human writers.

Can AI produce good quality writing that people actually want to read and if it can, does this mean that real, grassroots writing is going to become lost? 

Generative AI has already been forbidden in academic environments , such as at The University of Portsmouth, over fears of factual errors, lack of undemanding and other moral/ ethical concerns. However, the University does list some appropriate ways that AI can be used in study, like generating ideas. 

Some local writers have huge moral objections to using AI in their work. Some fear that AI could destroy their livelihood and stop the art of writing from being an essential tool for therapy like it has been for them.

Jo Austin, an author, therapeutic foster carer and small business owner says that she fell into writing accidentally which is a surprise to her because she didn’t pass her English O levels due to mental health issues at the time. 

AI has never been a part of her writing, which she did sporadically alongside raising her son with learning and hearing disabilities. 

 Her first book took her ten years to write. 

Jo Austin, Alison Canham’s archive

Her writing: “comes to me when I’m emotional really, I write from experience and I write from the heart.”

She says that: “The AI bit has worried me because that’s going to take away our genuine creativity.” Her writing is very emotionally-driven and she finds that sharing stories and reading is something that ,‘fosters a real love and connection’ which is something she thinks that AI can never do. 

Jo says: “if you’re not creating your story yourself then it’s not genuine”. and that, “AI can capture stories but it can’t capture the emotions behind them.”

She finds writing very cathartic and therapeutic and she wrote her first book, Tug of Love, “to give people hope!”

When reflecting on her first book Tug of Love she says that she believes AI would have been able to create the same book presentation-wise but ‘it never would have been able to get the emotion behind it because, “it’s not heart and it’s not feeling.” 

She fears that the increased use of AI in writing will mean that the family image of reading before bed will be lost and therefore all the emotionally nurturing benefits of reading and writing will be lost with it.

Ellen Killner, a nursery practitioner from Old Basing, says she is scared that AI is increasingly being used in place of imagination and creative thought. AI and other technologies mean she has to create learning journals and observations online when she would prefer to make physical copies.

Ellen says: “it’s genuinely sad to see so many people turn to AI, especially in childcare. I’m worried that it will eventually teach children to stop being imaginative for themselves.”

Other writers embrace the use of AI more warmly due to its role as an editor, spellchecker and more. 

Michael Birchmore, a writer based in Paulsgrove shares that he thinks AI is definitely worth it in the editing process, even though he proofread his first self-published book on his own. 

Michael Birchmore, who does not like taking serious photos, Alison Canham’s archive

He shares ,however, that he does use AI for logo design in some of his work located in the Portsmouth Guildhall. 

Michael’s interests and work also includes: photography, stencil art, psychology, short-story writing, portrait art and other hands-on craft.  

He says that he can see why AI is used in some writing processes such as spellchecking and language checking but he does not think that people should be dependent on technology. 

Michael says: “when it comes to something creative, like art or writing, the pleasure to me is in doing it” and shares that using AI would feel “fraudulent” to him. 

He shares a fear with Jo that a dependency on AI and other new technologies can be harmful to mental health and personal development. 

He says that a machine ‘just cannot relate’ and that he thinks that some people are too emotionally dependent on AI. He also feels that AI generated text lacks the fluency of human writing.

He recognises that there are a lot of beneficial applications that AI can have to the writing industry but also that people need to be wary of it.

He says: “there’s a lot of denial about the impact of technology on the world” and is an environmentalist and likes to be conscious of the impacts of his actions on the world. 

There is still a lot of unknown surrounding AI and its uses and so within the writing community there is a lot of apprehension in approaching it. 

Most seasoned writers are scared to use it and prefer to do all of their work firsthand, how do you feel about embracing AI? Comment below.