HOW WILL AI CHANGE STORYTELLING?
Sticking to my theme of, “are we forever screwed by the technological advancements we are making?” I started to think about how AI might change the landscape of the whole point of this website - the publishing world and the art of storytelling.
As you (hopefully) learned from the blog post before this, history has shown us that what we write may sooner or later come to fruition, whether or not we intended it to. In my opinion, it may then be worth pausing and asking ourselves: if the pen is holding the power and deciding the fates, then just maybe we, as humans, want to be the ones writing the story.
No Way Books Are Written By Bots
I would like to think that the story I am reading at any given point is not one that has been crudely put together by some code and a string of instructions from someone in a dark lab, but unfortunately, it seems that my wishes may be about to run out.
According to a recent article from Digiday, nearly “half of [well-known] publishers are already using generative AI technology… and of the publishers who said they’re not currently using generative AI, more than half (54%) said they plan on incorporating the technology sometime in the next year.” Digiday did go on to later clarify that the publications they were referencing in their study were more related to news sources and sites, such as Buzzfeed, Bloomberg, The New York Times and so forth. However, before you go wiping sweat off your brow and thanking the higher power it is not our beloved printing houses, I have to break some more news.
Last year at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, participated in an interview with Bertesmann in which he admitted that “Penguin Random House, [has] been working with artificial intelligence for more than a decade in different countries and different areas, primarily with machine learning” and admitted that “wherever [PRH] [has] combined human activity and AI, it has led to better results.” He concluded by stating that the future is AI and that it is up to the publishing houses to figure out how best to incorporate the technology without destroying the integrity of the industry.
We Want More Books, So Why Not?
Look, obviously industries would not be turning towards the implementation of AI in the day-to-day world if there were not some clear benefits.
In this case, the most obvious benefit is that when an author utilizes AI whether it be for the next Harry Potter series or a simple blog post, it saves time. State of Digital Publishing released some statistics which revealed that in July of 2023, News Corp Australia (NCA) implemented the use of AI technology, which “allowed four staff members to produce 3,000 local news articles per week,” and led to “hyperlocal mastheads accounting for 55% of all subscriptions.” It is likely that NCA would not have experienced the growth that they did or the reach that they maintained without the use of AI.
Beyond the time saved, there is a good chance that using AI models will also save an author money. Writers Digest revealed that “while there are a few exceptions, the most common commission for a literary agent is 15%.” This means that to get a book and/or article into the news cycle and actually begin churning results, one needs to first back it with funds. AI models are now designed so they can help geotarget and market the next great literary masterpiece without breaking the bank.
The use of AI models also means a greater emphasis on consistency in terms of writing style throughout the novel and offers language analysis capabilities that provide insights to improve the quality of writing.
So…. Maybe AI does help. Maybe it is what we need to get the next great series going. Right?
WRONG
While implementing AI models offers a few benefits, the losses that the publishing industry would incur far outweigh the need to experiment.
The greatest risk we run is the loss of human connection and creativity. What makes you love your favorite book? Is it because of the predictable dialogue and simple settings? I think not. You love a book because you are immersed in it through relatable characters and scenes. AI has not, and likely will never, be able to understand the squeal you let out when the savior finally reaches the battle. It will never understand the blush that creeps on your face when the two leads finally kiss. It will never understand why you relate to the awkward protagonist, stuttering their way through speeches, because AI is not us. It is not a sentient being with overwhelming emotions that override our basic decision-making skills. It is not made of heart, mind, or soul, all of which war against each other in our own bodies every day and make our own stories of life that much better. Authors write of what they dream, and they only dream because of life experience. I, for one, will not let some silly code implemented in a computer try to paint a pretty picture for me when it doesn’t know the first thing about why I actually want the picture.
Outside of my own need to connect with novels and the belief that AI cannot create those bonds, there is also the fact that AI is predictable and will eliminate many of the good plot points that we crave. Gone are the good mysteries that leave you shaking at the end of a book. What is said to the system and what is printed has a rigid structure; out the door goes all forms of customization and originality.
If these points have not scared you yet, then let’s talk legal. 911, what is your emergency? Books are being copied and we do not know who the author is. Because AI follows such a rigid structure, it is highly likely that publishing houses that use the same rules and/or settings will wind up printing very closely related, if not the same, novels at least a few times. The issue then becomes who wrote it first? And, who, then, is the author in trouble for plagiarism? As Fadal said in their recent article on AI and books, there will be an increase in legal cases “determining whether the AI or the human who programmed it should be considered the author of the content,” and who is at fault if issues were to arise.
I Will Take My Books Without The Tech, Please
Reading has been my escape from reality for as long as I can remember. It gives me the opportunity to live a thousand lives through a thousand different characters, all of whom I can relate to or want to be on some level or another. AI risks bringing the real world to our fantasies, our dreamlands, and our freedom. It risks creating disconnect and, ultimately, destruction of the entire publishing industry. I, for one, say keep it out.