I was just browsing on AO3, and I’m suddenly seeing more tags like “NOT AI GENERATED” and it makes me sad both as a reader and a writer that AI has created this doubt when we’re interacting with all of our forms of art.
That something can feel “too good” to be made by a person…? It fills me with dread and I didn’t have somewhere else to share this thought. Curious about yours since you’re one or my favorite fic authors…
Aw hey friend! I get it. I've personally been getting a little pulse of sadness when I see the "written with the help of ai" or something similar tags on ao3. I don't think I've felt the "too good" to be made by a person feeling, but I think it kind of ruins the intent? of a piece? for me. It's like the curtains are blue post - when it's written by a person, there might actually be those hidden deeper meanings as to why the curtains are blue, but with ai...you don't have that. And though I am sure people edit the stuff that's generated - it does lose it's spark for me. I don't read anything ai-generated and I don't use it myself for any parts of my life.
I get the dread, I do, but I think something to keep in mind is that a lot of "art" has been created for corporate purposes for a long time. There's tons of movies created without any heart in them - and people plagiarize fics, people steal ideas, people trace art without credit - and I think ai has made life a lot easier for those people, but I don't think it satisfies that need to create for people who genuinely want to do that. You know? Pouring an idea out for a story when inspiration really strikes is a GREAT feeling. You don't get that at all with ai - all you get is the idea itself, and then editing....you're missing out on so much of the fun bit!!! And I feel like people won't want to miss out on that bit for long. It's not sustainable for anyone who actually wants to flex their creativity. And someone who never wanted to be creative in the first place would have found other ways to cheat their way through. I don't know - I don't think using ai feels good for the reader or the writer! So in a lot of ways, I think the "not ai generated" tag is a badge of pride for that writer. Like "hey, I did this work and I'm proud of that."
I've seen a lot of tech happen and a lot of change happen. This one disheartens me from time to time but also,,,,as long as people want to connect with humanity, they'll be looking for works written by people. Stories rock, but they need heart. I genuinely think people who write with ai have completely missed the point of why people like to read??? I'd take a shittily written fic with a ton of heart over perfect prose with nothing to say any day of the week.
ANYWAY I'm rambling now but all this to say - for me, that "too good" feeling comes with a lot of uncanny valley soulessness. I think what ai writes is different from what a person writes, fundamentally, even if a person is editing that piece at the end. I think stories that are written with intention all the way through REALLY come across. And while we're all kind of learning what this new ever-changing piece of tech looks like, reassurance that this is not ai generated might just be a peace of mind people are looking for (both to give and to receive). I don't know if any of this makes sense, but as you can tell, I have a lot of thoughts!
