AI Writing and Art is Stealing, End of Story
by A.P. Fuchs
All right. Let’s talk AI writing and art. I’m going to give it to you straight, point blank, and full-blown black and white so there’s no miscommunication.
The publishing industry was headed toward danger about a decade ago when the digital publishing boom hit. I said back then it would lead to problems and was proven right. Now we’re at the precipice of a giant problem due to the use of AI for writing and art.
To keep it simple, how AI produces a work of art or a written piece is, in short, it scours the Internet for the information you provided it by answering some prompting questions in the AI generator before the AI machine spits out what you asked for. It goes and roams the Internet and takes a bit from Column A, a bit from Column B, some more from Column C, and so on and then brings back to you what it found based on what you told it to create in a mix of what it calls “writing or art.”
There is only one way to look at this: Theft. Plagiarism. Stealing. Breach of copyright, perhaps even trademark, all for what? Money? That’s not a valid excuse.
This is no different than me being a good thief. A smart thief doesn’t go and try and knock over a bank for a big payday. They typically also don’t go for obvious outlets like a jewelry store for the same thing. They have other ways. A smart thief goes to their friend’s house and steals a few bucks then heads to their other friend’s for that silver bracelet they know their friend has and is meant for pawning off later. They go to Aunt Jane’s and pocket a few valuable small items and maybe some cash she might have lying around even if it’s just a handful of change. In the end, the thief has a pile of stolen items from various places which then gets turned into whatever they want: Cash, something to barter with, something to feed an addiction, whatever. The point is, they stole. If a cop was watching you when you did this, you bet they’d be giving you a stern talking to never mind any other consequences.
AI is no different than the above example. If you’re an artist or writer using AI, you’re a thief and a disgrace to the industry and to the craft. End of story. There is no discussion because there’s no other way to look at it. Artists and writers are to create from the heart and create through actual effort and special thought to produce what they’re making. Cheating artists use technology to do the things they can’t because they are inept at actually creating the work themselves.
Sure, AI’s gathering of info is a bit from here, a bit from there, all tiny amounts to make the big item at the end. But guess what? A small theft is just as bad as a big one.
Stealing a pack of gum at a 7-11 makes you just as much of a thief as the guy who broke into a family’s house with a gun and forced them to fork over their valuables. A court of law would, of course, weigh each situation differently but the underlying verdict would remain the same: Stealing.
This is like selling prints at a con with a character you don’t own. It’s irrelevant if it’s you did the drawing. If you don’t own the character and drew a picture and are asking for money for it, you’re ripping off the people who own the character.
Further, those of you who are standing by and not saying anything? Guess what? You’re just as guilty. There’s a thing with stealing called abetting. If you’re with your friend—even anyone else—and you see them pocket something that doesn’t belong to them and they get caught and it’s found out you saw but didn’t alert anybody, you’re just as guilty for not voicing the crime. Your punishment might be lighter, but either way, you’re just as bad because your not saying anything aided the crime. It helped the bad guy out.
Stop stealing. Create your own stuff. Pay the price of learning your craft and getting good at it instead of cheating your way to where you want to go with the almighty dollar being the endgame. Or simple laziness. Or selfishness. Pick your negative trait.
Look, let’s be very clear on this: Art isn’t about money. That’s a side benefit. Art is about you and your heart and your mind and your soul. Art is about expressing those things authentically through your medium(s) of choice. Art is not a computer thieving one-sentence ideas from someone else’s art studio. Worse, if you’re passing your AI stuff off as your own, or even if you have an AI disclaimer but in the end are asking for money for the stuff you stole? Guess who you’re also ripping off? Your audience. Your readers. The very precious people who should be treated with dignity and respect, not shame and disrespect by giving them something you didn’t make and pretending you did.
Listen, I’m going to let you in on a little secret but it’s going to require you to step up. Yeah, actual effort. Artists and writers control this industry, not the other way around. Not one company. Not two. Not even several. Creators are led to believe the industry is in the corporations’ control but guess what? The industry is based on what we produce, therefore as producers, the control is in our hands. If we stop being complacent, stop taking the easy way out, stop dumping all our efforts promoting one platform—and this list goes on and on—things could change, but it needs to be a group effort. My single voice on the topic is like shouting to the frontman at a blaring rock concert. They’re not gonna hear me. But if the crowd shouted at them together, you bet there’d be a reaction, maybe even a pause in performance. And, maybe, even some back-and-forth discussion. Things happen at concerts. This is common knowledge.
Same deal applies here.
Speak up. Step up. Don’t use AI. Be yourself. Do your thing. Be patient. Take your time like every other writer and artist before you. Let yourself grow in your craft so that whatever you produce is genuinely from you and not from anyone or anything else.
That’s a real artist. That’s a real writer. Anything less and you’re not either of those. You can pretend to be, but beneath the façade, if you’re using AI, you’re no better than a thief and nobody likes a thief.
As for me—and many I know—we won’t be reading your work nor looking at your art. And you will definitely not get a sale out of us. Forget that.
Stop stealing. You’re better than that.
Step up. Speak up. Make the effort otherwise if we don’t act together, every single one of us will be screwed. I’ve been at this stuff for twenty-five years, okay? I’m not an idiot nor am naïve when it comes to this business. I’ve done deals with New York, I’ve published independently even back when it was sneered at and you were a laughing stock in the business and even amongst your peers. I’ve sold stories and articles and pile of other stuff to various publications via my own artistic, time-put-in efforts. I’ve run my own publishing house. I’ve negotiated between myself, an agent, and Simon and Schuster. The list goes on. I only state this for the sake of answering the question, What do you know? Who are you? Well, that’s who I am, okay? I have experience. I predicated piss poor sales for authors after the digital publishing boom and was completely right. And now I predict sales to become near non-existent once AI work floods the market from thieves only after a payday. And, sadly, there is no artistic integrity in some folks. They just want money.
Greed is poison. Get a handle on it before it has its handle on you. If you need an example of what greed can do, you don’t have to look further than out your front door.
Got it?
Grow up. Put it in the time. Put in the work. Be the real deal. This world is full of phonies and unreliable people. Think hard. Is that who you want to be? A crook? A demonstrable crook?
Don’t be a thief. I don’t care if you’re one fish in the pond doing it. I don’t care if there are several of you doing it. I quit the publishing business a long time ago and opted to make books instead for a reason and I’m still outside the biz in that context. And I will stay in that arena for the rest of my creative career because I refuse to swim with thieves.
Stop it. Speak up. Let’s work together instead and turn this thing around before it’s too late.
And mark my words: Soon, it will indeed be too late.
Go.
Author’s note: This article about AI writing is meant for sharing. You are more than welcome to post this article in its entirety wherever you wish unaltered. Only two small conditions apply: Please ensure you include my byline and please link back to the original article. Otherwise have it. You can read it over your podcast, your videos, copy/paste to your own blog, be creative. Just please follow the two askances. Thanks. – APF
Please see the video version here regarding AI Writing and Art.
AI writing and art is stealing.