VOA文化艺术2023--Fiction Writers Fear the Rise of AI, and See it As a Story to Tell

Fiction Writers Fear the Rise of AI, and See it As a Story to Tell

For many book writers, artificial intelligence (AI) is a threat to their jobs and the very idea of creativity. More than 10,000 writers and others supported an open letter about the issue from the Authors Guild¹ this summer. The letter urged AI companies not to use copyrighted work without permission or payment.

At the same time, AI is a story to tell, and no longer just in science fiction.

Helen Phillips is the writer of the upcoming book HUM. It tells of a wife and mother who loses her job to AI.

"I'm frightened by artificial intelligence," but also interested in it, she explained.

Phillips said there is a hope in AI for gaining all knowledge, the understanding of everything. But at the same time, there is an "inherent terror in being replaced by non-human intelligence."

Ryan Doherty is a vice² president and director at Celadon Books. It recently agreed to publish Fred Lunzker's book Sike, featuring an AI psychiatrist³, a doctor of mental health.

"We've been seeing more and more about AI in book proposals," Doherty said.

Doherty used the term zeitgeist, meaning the general ideas or spirit of a time, to describe AI.

"It's the zeitgeist right now. And whatever is in the cultural zeitgeist" gets into fiction, Doherty said.

Other AI-related books expected in the next two years include Sean Michaels' Do You Remember Being Born?. That story tells of a poet who agrees to work with an AI poetry company. Also upcoming is In Our Likeness⁴, by Bryan Van Dyke⁵. It tells about a government worker and a fact-checking program with the power to change facts.

Another novel, A.E. Osworth's Awakened⁶, tells about a witch and her clash with AI.

And, crime fiction writer Jeffrey Siger, known for his books set in modern Greece, is working on a book touching⁷ upon AI and the metaverse.

Writers are also using AI to address the most human questions.

In Sierra Greer's Annie Bot, the title character is an AI mate designed for a human male. For Greer, the book was a way to explore the character's "urgent desire to please." She said the robot mate permitted the writer "to explore desire, respect, and longing⁸ in ways that felt very new and strange to me."

Amy Shearn's book, Animal Instinct, has its beginnings in the pandemic and in her personal life. She had recently divorced and began to use dating apps.

"It's so weird⁹ how, with apps, you start to feel as if you're going person-shopping," she said. "And I thought, wouldn't it be great if you could really pick and choose the best parts of all these people" you see and mix them together to make your ideal person?

"Of course," she added, "I don't think anyone actually knows what their ideal person is, because so much of what draws us to mates is the unexpected, the ways in which people surprise us."

Some writers are not just writing about AI. They are also openly working with it.

Earlier this year, Stephen Marche used AI to write the short book Death of An Author. Simon Rich worked with Brent Katz and Josh Morgenthau for I Am Code, a thriller¹⁰ in verse that came out this month. The AI program "code-davinci-002" created the work.

Words in This Story

copyrighted – adj. secured with the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (such as a literary, musical, or artistic¹¹ work)

fiction – n. written stories about people and events that are not real

inherent – adj. belonging to or being a part of the nature of a person or thing

witch – n. a person (especially a woman) who is credited with having usually evil supernatural powers

weird adj. of strange or extraordinary character

character – n. a person who appears in a book or story

ideal – adj. exactly right for a person or purpose

thriller – n. a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue¹², adventure, or suspense¹³

 

verse – n. writing in which words are arranged in a rhythmic pattern

1 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

4 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

5 dyke   

n.堤，水坝，排水沟

参考例句：

• If one sheep leap over the dyke,all the rest will follow.一只羊跳过沟，其余的羊也跟着跳。
• One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-li dyke.千里长堤，溃于蚁穴。

6 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

12 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

13 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。