AI??????
I have an opinion.
I’m currently reading “Story Craft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction” by Jack Hart, and once again I’m reminded of the universality of storytelling. Joseph Campbell, an expert in myths from around the world and cross-cultural stories, also wrote and lectured about story being our common language and how the components of a story are universal.
We learn from stories, writes Hart. In his book, he notes that research has proven that we grasp and retain information through story. He goes on to tell us that we actually prefer to learn through narrative.
While I read, I thought about AI and the issue we are all reading about: how AI has the ability to write stories. What seems obvious as I read Hart’s take on story and remember Campbell’s work is that I can’t imagine AI writing any story that could emotionally connect to the common human experience.
This lack of human connection is one argument in a sea of arguments against AI writing books that are worth reading. Yet some worry that as AI continues to improve, the ability to tell stories will also improve, and then what? We have already experienced how AI is doing a better job at replicating the human voice, so much so that voice-over actors are losing jobs as they’re replaced by AI. Many watching YouTube videos can no longer tell if it’s AI narrating or an actual person.
I’m not educated enough about AI and where it’s headed to argue against the possibility that AI could write an incredible book. But this morning, I’m no longer worried about it.
Story is our human lifeline. Story is humanity’s way of understanding humanity. Story is our connection with each other.
No matter how good AI gets at writing stories, AI is not human. Only we, the people, experience the hardships and joys of life. Only we understand what life is for and what it holds. Only we are living proof that we survive. Our ability to laugh, sing, love, fret, grow, change, and touch another’s arm is human.
Our emotional nature is what stories express. Emotions drive our stories. Whether in poetry, nonfiction, or fiction, we are captivated when we see a character through the lens of their emotions; after all, we aren’t figures cut out of cardboard.
I certainly have no expertise about AI, as I’m only an observer paying attention to the news, articles, and opinions of others. However, I do know one thing. The AI genie is out of its bottle. We can argue against it, but there’s no turning back, and that includes AI’s ability to tell a story. Yet I believe AI is writing a different type of story. One that cannot touch the depth of what we feel, the depth of how we process our feelings, the depth of how we express and share our emotions, for this is what makes us human, and AI is not that. Therefore, I have faith in those of us who read that we will always be able to tell the difference between a human-generated tale and one written by AI.
I felt hope this morning that writers will survive the assault by those who are using AI to tell stories. The ways in which we share and learn from stories have survived for as long as we have walked this earth; therefore, I believe we will always yearn for stories that are truly creatively tied to what can only be a human telling.
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If you’re reading this, I want to thank you. It’s been awhile since I posted anything new. I’m caught up in writing the second Guidance from the Universe book. I hadn’t planned on writing a sequel, but after enough people asked, I began to take notice. Turned out I had many topics still sitting in journals and on my computer that I hadn’t touched in the first book, including regret, parenting, and health. All this to say, thanks for your patience and for still being here with me.