So, after my last long tirade, I believe my stance about generative AI in writing is very clear. The solution to that can be simple (don’t use it) or very complicated (regulation), but I want to talk about something authors already against AI can do right now.
AI is not only a blite against our artform but all artforms. My arguments against AI in these other mediums are the same as my arguments against AI in writing, so I won’t go through that. For those of you against AI in other mediums for the same reason as writing, this is not targeted at you. I want to address the authors that are using or considering using AI in other mediums for the purpose of marketing. I’ll first describe how AI is being used for music and visual art then give my reasons beyond my previous ones for why these shouldn’t be used.
Music
While this is a relatively new thing, I’ve seen authors offering up soundtracks or playlists for their books. It gives the vibe of the book and draws in readers by giving them a feel for the story. In the most prestigious examples, there are full original songs and soundtracks for the book. This desire for prestige is where AI music comes in. All the vibes with none of the cost.
This isn’t that common because music isn’t necessary for books. The same isn’t true for visual art.
Visual Art
Books need many things to be ready for publication, and one of those is a cover. Depending on the book, pictures or illustrations might also be necessary. Above the necessities for a book, character illustrations can be helpful for promotion and visualization. To avoid costs on all of these necessary and convenient visuals, many authors have turned to AI.
The lack of humanity may not bother some authors when it comes to using AI in other mediums, but there are other reasons not to use it. While arguments of damaging other artforms might not affect some authors, accusations of hypocrisy are harder to ignore.
Hypocrisy
Let’s start with sticking to our guns. If we are going to demand that AI not be used in creative writing, it seems quite odd that we would use AI in other mediums. When that happens, it makes it clear we don’t really care about the impacts of AI, we just care about it impacting ourselves.
Whenever ‘from/to me’ is put behind a complaint about AI, it immediately loses a lot of power. I don’t want AI to steal work (from me). I don’t want computers replacing artists (and by artists, I mean me). AI takes away the joy of experiencing (my) art and excitement of creation (from me). Do you see what I mean?
But let’s say that the accusations of hypocrisy don’t bother you. There are still risks in letting AI continue in art because it will become the norm.
Normalization
Right now, AI is the biggest problem for the visual arts. While AI can mimic writing, it struggles with creative writing, particularly long-form like novels. We as writers can’t feel safe though.
AI continues to become more convincing as it cannibalizes more and more. As this continues, it will get harder and harder to keep AI out of the field. It will be even harder if AI is normal for other mediums.
If the markets are flooded with AI visual art and music, why would it feel wrong to have it in writing as well? When other art has been replaced, it won’t be separate incidents, it will be dominos. We need to support other mediums if we want to save our own.
I know this is betting on other authors caring about the fates of different mediums and believing that our fates are tied. If another author didn’t believe this and didn’t care, there is still a reason to not use AI. It is my last defense against using these other forms of AI, and it is simple. AI is cheap crap.
Cheapness
If you have seen AI-generated visual arts or listened to AI-generated music, you know the quality is crap. The images are a little better, but the composition is simplistic to the point of parody.
I can’t speak for everyone, but when I see a book with an AI cover or promoted with AI music, I assume that just as little effort and quality control were put into the text. The author clearly didn’t want to make sure they had good materials to promote their book, so why would they care about the book? More importantly, why would I?
For any authors that would like to say potential readers won’t recognize the AI. Let me ask you, have you come across AI art that you didn’t immediately recognize as such? While I’m not versed enough in the terminology of visual art or music to be able to explain what tips me off, I can always spot AI art even in different mediums. Since so much AI art gets spewed out, I’m not the only one who has learned to recognize it.
Whatever reason convinces an author not to use AI, the next question is clear, what do you do instead?
Alternatives
Obviously, if an author has talent in other mediums, they can make their own visuals or music. I don’t, and I think many authors fall into the same category. These are the options for us.
While it might not be original, there are free or cheap ways to use music to promote a book. Spotify and other music platforms give the ability to create playlists. If these platforms are unacceptable, even simple lists of songs can be used. These playlists can give the vibe of your book just as well as original music. Sometimes, it can work even better because when readers see songs they know they like, it can give them an immediate connection to the story.
There are still cheap options if an author feels like their book needs original music. There are music-making apps like GarageBand that allow for the creation of original music by using samples. Obviously, these require some understanding of musical composition, but it does remove the need for needing to play so many instruments.
In a similar vein, it is possible to make visual arts for cheap without resorting to AI. Image editing software is not insanely expensive, and programs like Gimp are free.
There is also the obvious solution to the problem of AI: pay a professional! There are hundreds of talented artists available on the internet at reasonable prices. Any author can find a good option after less than an hour on Google.
And that is my best advice. Support artists of other mediums, and keep all art AI-free.
Wordy Beast 