Using AI to write a novel…

USING AI TO WRITE A NOVEL IS THE SAME AS HIRING A GHOSTWRITER… Right?

Hey, it’s me, your friendly neighbourhood ghostwriter. I wanted to share my two cents on this dude’s post. Let’s ignore the fact that he’s clearly attention seeking (he posted the same thing on multiple days), and focus on the question at hand… 

Why is using AI to write a book ‘bad’, if ghostwriting isn’t? 

I am well aware that ghostwriting is a contentious subject. It could be considered ‘deceptive’, ‘lazy’, or even ‘cheating’. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears go into writing books. In some cases, I’d agree with the above. However, in my experience ghostwriting CAN be ethical. It’s an empowerment tool, just like editors or writing coaches, and the primary function (for me) is always to help the author put their own ideas into words. The ideas are not my own. The stories are not my own. It’s a collaborative process. We work together, in partnership, to produce the manuscript. I’m aware that not all ghostwriters work like this, and I can only speak for myself. Further, ghostwriting is a BUSINESS TRANSACTION. I am being paid for a service. I am compensated for my skills and my time and willingly pass over the copyrights to my clients. 

So how is this different from plugging your ideas into CHAT GPT and letting it write a novel for you?

AI uses STOLEN content to ‘write’ a novel. It scrapes published works and repurposes it into something novel-like. Published authors did not consent for this to happen. AI does not ‘write’, it ‘generates’. Using AI to write a novel is, essentially, a ‘non-consensual’ process. Ghostwriting is a paid, collaborative service between two HUMANS. It requires talent, skill, and experience to create ORIGINAL content. Without even considering the ethics for a moment, what AI is putting out isn’t of the same quality. And then there’s the HUGE environmental impact of data centres… Generative AI is killing our planet. Simple.

So, yeah, hiring a ghostwriter doesn’t kill the planet. It puts money in the pockets of creatives. The outcome is something original, not plagiarised or stolen, and is created by human beings.

This post isn’t about the book the dude is referring to. New information is coming out about that every day. I’m reserving my opinion. I’m talking purely about the comparison of generative AI and ghostwriters.