Believe me, I agree that hating on AI writing because it’s AI is a mistake (the genetic fallacy) -- that is the thesis of my essay before this one, A Thoughtful Defense of AI Writing (and that perspective was controversial here on LessWrong).
That is mainly from a reader’s perspective—don’t judge pirates by if it was AI’s idea, judge pirates by if that was a good or bad inclusion in that part of your campaign.
Note, I think there’s a difference between “I am setting out to write a story with AI” (as you describe, which I think is almost entirely harmless), vs. “I am trying to express my idea, but can’t figure it out, so I will amputate part of myself to install whatever spills out of the robot” (which I see as atrophying your creative and critical thinking).
This essay argues from the writer’s perspective (as Orwell argued about trite platitudes in his time) that you risk picking up bad habits which themselves disable your critical faculties to notice and get rid them (by encouraging habitual lapses into laziness, and adding to the ‘switching cost’ of going back to free thinking).
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Are the best editors really all famous authors as well?
The best editors are likely not famous authors, but are almost certainly good writers. On a tactical level, the alternatives/suggestions they offer would be of great writing quality. And on a strategic level, they need to know how to write the edits and feedback in a way which is clear and convincing to the author. If an editor can’t write good edits, evidently they aren’t one of the best editors. There is a reflexivity where the best knowledge work always requires good writing, because writing is just the primary medium to convey ideas.
Believe me, I agree that hating on AI writing because it’s AI is a mistake (the genetic fallacy) -- that is the thesis of my essay before this one, A Thoughtful Defense of AI Writing (and that perspective was controversial here on LessWrong).
That is mainly from a reader’s perspective—don’t judge pirates by if it was AI’s idea, judge pirates by if that was a good or bad inclusion in that part of your campaign.
Note, I think there’s a difference between “I am setting out to write a story with AI” (as you describe, which I think is almost entirely harmless), vs. “I am trying to express my idea, but can’t figure it out, so I will amputate part of myself to install whatever spills out of the robot” (which I see as atrophying your creative and critical thinking).
This essay argues from the writer’s perspective (as Orwell argued about trite platitudes in his time) that you risk picking up bad habits which themselves disable your critical faculties to notice and get rid them (by encouraging habitual lapses into laziness, and adding to the ‘switching cost’ of going back to free thinking).
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The best editors are likely not famous authors, but are almost certainly good writers. On a tactical level, the alternatives/suggestions they offer would be of great writing quality. And on a strategic level, they need to know how to write the edits and feedback in a way which is clear and convincing to the author. If an editor can’t write good edits, evidently they aren’t one of the best editors. There is a reflexivity where the best knowledge work always requires good writing, because writing is just the primary medium to convey ideas.