by Naomi S. Baron | Professor Emerita of Linguistics at American University
Recently, it was my pleasure to share thoughts with some of you on what matters for humans when it comes to AI, creativity, and writing. To my regret, the allotted hour disappeared before I managed to address a question that anyone who writes – which means all of us – needs to ponder. The question was,
“What are the pleasures of writing with Gen AI technologies, as compared with the pleasures of writing without them?”
For sure, our individual answers will vary. One factor will likely be how much we know about AI’s writing capabilities. A second is whether we’re formulating answers today or a year from now, when AI’s prowess may be yet more astounding. A third consideration is obviously our personal predilections as a writer.
As a coda to my earlier discussion, here are images that work for me by way of response:
Pleasures of writing with generative AI
I think of a kaleidoscope. You know, those tubes with mirrors and bits of colored glass or plastic that form novel images each time you turn the end of the tube. Some configurations are humdrum; others, Instagram-worthy. Analogously, the magic of a reasonably-sophisticated large language model is that you don’t know what it will produce. Maybe dross, maybe gold.
Pleasures of writing without generative AI
When I think about writing-on-your-own, I’m reminded of the frustrations, even fears, but then triumphs of learning to ride a bicycle. Maybe you started with training wheels. Did you dread or look forward to having them removed? Perhaps you learned the older-fashioned way of trial-by-tumbles. But eventually you could ride on your own, delighting in the personal satisfaction – and freedom – that independence affords. For me, having the skills and motivation to write on my own, when I choose to, is liberating.
To see a recording of Naomi’s talk please visit AILA’s YouTube channel or click the image below. Feel free to share your own thinking and experiences of AI and the creative writing process below by leaving a comment on this post.