Writing.Com General Discussion

I think that, right now, everything with any kind of informational lookup is being dubbed AI. In the 1960s, everything was "space age." In the 1970s, everything was "modern." In the 1980s, everything was "new and improved." In the 1990s, everything was "digital." In the 2000s, everything was "dot com." In the 2010s, everything was "diverse." So, is "AI" going to be the hallmark of the 2020s? It's looking like it right now.

I use ChatGPT for research for a historical novel I'm writing. Right now, I usually get a current answer couched in historical dates, but the more I refine my queries, the better the answer becomes. I love that I can get reasonable answers for my work of fiction. I want it realistic and believable, not peer-reviewed.

As to grammar, spelling, and diction, AI is useful for pointing out things it thinks might be wrong. Of course, I have to make the final decision. I find myself overruling the AI engine more often than agreeing with it. I see it as a copyeditor saying, "Are you sure you want to word this like that?" Dialog is fairly non-standard, by definition, so grammar checkers constantly point out problems where nothing is wrong. Very few people speak as if they have parsed every sentence for clarity.

Might AI become useful for pointing out plot holes? Consistent voice or tense? Of course, you would also need an AI engine that allows 100K words in and out to check a novel, much less write one. This last is not an insurmountable obstacle, but it exists as of today, to my knowledge.

I view AI a lot like I view fire: It's a great tool, but a horrible master. It's a tool that I'm already using, but in no way is it "writing" anything that I'm doing.