Everyone loves, fears, and loathes technology.
The latest incarnation, Chat GPT, is putting teachers, writers, artists, and
creative types into a tizzy because the dawn of a new era is upon them that could,
like all technology, spell doom for some while being a panacea for others. Will
Chat GPT threaten or enhance the book industry?
Yes.
Let’s explore together.
Right now, Chat GPT is still really in beta.
It’s somewhere between an idea and an actual thing. It easily can get facts
wrong, show bias, and render something you weren’t looking for. But, it can
spit out complete, relevant, well-written paragraphs on all kinds of
topics.
Teachers worry that they will never get another
essay or term paper written by a student. Companies wonder how soon robots can
replace humans. Writers worry they will become marginalized, or worse, become
mere editors than creative writers. Additionally, intellectual property is
being used by machines to help program its abilities to churn out content.
Publishers wonder if they will be able to sell book when machines can create
them for free.
Look at how one little invention can make
everyone crazy.
Chat GPT;s arrival is creating an arms race
between Microsoft, Google, and the others to launch and perfect the next big
thing. We will soon have an Internet that can truly interact with us, giving
rise to age-old concerns about machines taking jobs away, machines learning to
outthink us, and machines arming themselves to enslave humans.
The Age of Artificial Intelligence is upon us
and it will have a profound impact on everything good, bad, and both.
I remember writing a term paper in college
nearly four decades ago, about how computers will one day write books. All that
is needed is for words to be loaded into a computer for programs to be written to
show all combinations of words. Of course, trillions of calculations are needed
to be done and computers are much faster now. Once you set up guidelines, such
as length of sentences, the need for a verb and noun in each sentence that takes
up two or more words, the processing of content gets better. Then, all that you
need are human readers, or editors, who can dismiss the garbage and uncover the
gold, Maybe it has already happened.
It seems that a bigger burden is on readers today.
They don’t trust what’s on social media. They question real journalists. And
now they have to contend with AI--generated content that may sound legit but
lacks veracity and accuracy.
Of course, any computer is the product of
humans, including incompetence and/or not well-intended individuals. Whatever
complaint or praise we have for Chat GPT really should be aimed at its human
programmers, unless computers are now training each other, the spawning of a
second-hand world where no one really is in control. The dangers of technology
are clear.
What happens if we rely on them so much that we
expose ourselves to losing our human abilities, where we allow computers to
make decisions without taking into account feelings and relevant factors?
Technology fails to give way to philosophy, religion, or a fairness that only
humans can experience. In other words, is a computer able to practice morality?
The New York Times recently decried this about the new technology:
“The new chatbots do come with baggage. They often do not distinguish between
fact and fiction. They can generate language that is biased against women and
people of color. And experts worry that people will use them to spread lies at
a speed they couldn’t in the past.”
Time Magazine said this: “Proponents believe this is just the beginning: that
generative AI will re-orient the way we work and engage with the world, unlock
creativity and scientific discoveries, and allow humanity to achieve previously
unimaginable feats.”
But it also noted: “If humans come to rely on AI
for information, it will be increasingly difficult to tell what is factual,
what is an ad, and what is completely made up.”
I do wonder if there will always be a lag
between AI and human reality. AI needs constant inputting of data and
reprograming, as it reacts to the real-world events, ideas, and people who
create what actually happens in life. Will AI be something that both propels us
forward with new concepts not yet seen by humans, while also keeping us in a
pattern of past-life experiences and moments?
Technology has no off button.
There’s no turning back. What gets discovered
gets used - and abused. Nothing is inherently good or bad, great or useless,
but we make it so. We increasingly live hybrid lives, where some percentage is
relying on computers, machines, and technology in hopes it will augment the
human experience. But in the process, we may be coming less human. It might
already be written into software DNA.
Will AI help us become smarter, better, and as a
result productive, wealthier, and happier? Will AI gain a rapid ability to
function autonomously and improve itself independent of human touch?
For now, keep writing and living as you are, but
at the same time, start to think how you can prepare for, even exploit, the
next generation of AI. It is coming and it will no doubt alter the world as we
have known it to be.
Need Book Marketing Help?
Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning
blog, can be reached at [email protected] He is available to help authors promote their
story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of
experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him
be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!
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About Brian Feinblum
Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter
@theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and
Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer
and IBPA’s The Independent. This
award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts
over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by
BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018
as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by
www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades,
including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book
publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with
many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with
best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen,
Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard,
Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C.
Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a
panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA,
Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction
Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland)
Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association.
His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA
Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester)
and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami
Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum .
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