Will the last human please turn out the lights?
I have a reputation as an AI apologist. I doubt this post will change anyone’s mind. But I have to address the recent news that Hachette canceled the US release of a book called Shy Girl and discontinued its UK edition over suspected AI use.
My attitude toward AI and writing is that writing with AI is not a sin, but having an AI write for you is another thing altogether. Though I’d argue that some bestselling authors could easily be replaced by AI, and no one would notice or care. Whatever the case, Shy Girl seems to have been either partially or completely AI-generated, so I get the uproar.
At the same time, this doesn’t reflect well on the editors at my former publisher. If they couldn’t tell the difference between human and AI-authored work, to the point where money changed hands, it’s more than a little hypocritical to wring their hands about it now.
This also proves a point I’ve made before: there’s no surefire way to detect AI use. Every single word I write passes under the watchful eye of Grammarly. This can cause AI detectors to cry foul, even though the AI involved is strictly interested in spelling and proper sentence construction. In the Shy Girl situation, it seems like the call is coming from inside the house.
The supposed best in business have probably signed off on AI-written material countless times. The only difference here is that someone noticed.