People are trying to make money by uploading AI-generated manuscripts onto Amazon.
The fact that these fake entrepreneurs are eroding the earnings of respectable writers is disheartening. Since book sales don’t bring in much money anyway (so these fraudsters wont make as much cash as they’d suppose) legitimate writers have to put in even more effort to be recognised & appreciated— as if selling books was not hard enough already!
The artificial intelligence book traders are looking to make rapid profits and believe they are riding a trend. But can they make cash out of their misrepresentations?
Being committed in writing means being dedicated to a cause…
Author Neil Mach
The behaviour of the A.I. charlatans has inspired me to think about the actual qualities required to be a true author. Obviously, honesty is a primary requirement. This includes being honest with oneself about one’s limitations, as well as being honest with the book-buying public, and with friends, family, and neighbours, and of course with the sales platform that’s used.
But what other capabilities are necessary to become a legitimate author? I think the four most important qualities are: aptitude, commitment, creative imagination, and sticking power. I will go through each in a little more detail.
1:Aptitude
Aptitude is a necessary element for the basic performance of any written task.
Aptitude is frequently mistaken for a set of skills, such as the skill of uploading an artificially-generated manuscript onto a platform (versus the talent needed to write an original and imaginative piece). But aptitude is more than just a skillset: aptitude relates to human mental ability (not machine learning or robotic shortcutting.) Aptitude relates to human capacity.
Testing your reasoning skills can provide a useful insight into your writing approach and capabilities.
For example:
- Do you consider writing to be a social activity? If so, how will your writing help people and society?
- Are you willing to share new ideas? If so, what concepts are you most keen to present to the public?
- What specific contributions do you make with your writing?
- How would you rank your literacy in terms of reading, punctuation, grammar, and comprehension? Is it poor, medium, or good?
2: Commitment
Being committed in writing means being dedicated to a cause. Creative people are motivated by truth, and to originality, and the genuine expression of thoughts through feelings. If they are creative writers, their expression is delivered through words.
Authentic writers prize truth and genuine expression over cash reward. Commitment is something that can’t be bought, it doesn’t come hurriedly, and it doesn’t come without exertion. Writing demands courage, ethical strength, and a readiness to learn from mistakes and work harder. If there is no effort involved, there is no commitment.
Writing demands courage, ethical strength, and a readiness to learn from mistakes and work harder…
Author Neil Mach
3: Creative Imagination
Creative imagination involves generating unique mental images, concepts, and ideas. To be an effective writer, ideas must be original. The ideas & recommendations generated by a device are never original. A.I. generates trite, identical outcomes based on the re-processed thoughts & notions of other writers and thinkers. So, using A.I. is a copy-cat cookie-cut production method: nothing more!
Coming-up with innovative ideas, thoughts, and images is an intensive process and the effort & strain of creative imagination should not be underestimated. Getting a machine to do these tasks is an easy-peasy option for those who dislike the effort involved in creativity. Because machine-generated ideas can never produce the same high-quality products that actual artists can, those who are tempted to employ artificial intelligence (A.I.) to write a book lack true originality & distinction.
Coming-up with innovative ideas, thoughts, and images is an intensive process and the effort & strain of creative imagination should not be underestimated
Author Neil Mach
4: Sticking Power
Sticking power refers to the capacity to persist with a task until it is properly completed. It’s the capability to accomplish demanding and arduous activities until they are ready to show to an audience. Sticking power is about having the strength to push through to the end of a project: no shortcuts, no quick-fixes.
When an individual lacks the aptitude, commitment, creative imagination, and the sticking power required to write effectively they might be tempted to use text-generating software or artificial intelligence systems. They might assume there’s a faster & easier way to create written products— yet by using machine processes, they deceive not just their audience but also themselves!
Words: © Neil Mach
Main image: Ketut Subiyanto
Max Writivity Club 