SFWA Members Weigh in on AI & Machine Learning Applications & Considerations

Recent developments in the use of technology to produce creative works have driven both insightful commentary and strong feelings in the science fiction and fantasy community. These artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools and applications are being used to generate artwork, audio narration, nonfiction articles, and fictional narratives with increasing frequency. There are important considerations to be made about what the proper use of these technologies should be—practically, ethically, and legally—while recognizing that their applications are changing almost daily.

We can think of no group better to weigh in on these issues than the SFWA membership: writers and thinkers who have long considered exactly these questions and their ramifications in many great works of speculative fiction across many mediums. Therefore, we’ve created this webpage to feature our members’ recent writing and thoughts on AI and machine learning. Each of the links below will take you to a different presentation of those thoughts, whether a personal blog post, a social media thread, a video, or a magazine article.

We hope that the SFF community and our members will give these pieces the same respectful contemplation as the SFWA members who’ve shared them. They do not reflect an official viewpoint of SFWA, the organization, but we hope they will foster more discussion of the complicated issues that AI and machine learning applications have brought forth.

SFWA members, you are welcome to contribute a submission to be listed on this webpage. Please email communications@sfwa.org for a link to the submission form.

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⩥ Ada Hoffmann – The Midjourney mess – https://adahoffmann.substack.com/p/the-midjourney-mess

⩥ Ada Hoffmann – The Midjourney mess, Part 2: Turing problems – https://adahoffmann.substack.com/p/the-midjourney-mess-part-2-turing

⩥ Andy Coenen, Daphne Ippolito, Ann Yuan, Sehmon Burnam (and additional contributers, including SFWA members) – Wordcraft Writers Workshop (summary of a workshop exploring the limits of co-writing with LaMDA, which was a collaboration between Google’s PAIR and Magenta teams, and 13 professional writers) – https://wordcraft-writers-workshop.appspot.com/learn

⩥ Anna Ziegelhof – Creative intent and ChatGPT – https://www.annaziegelhof.com/blog/creative-intent-and-chatgpt

⩥ A. P. Howell – “AI” is neither artificial nor intelligent – https://aphowell.com/2023/02/27/ai-is-neither-artificial-nor-intelligent/ 

⩥ Cat Rambo – It’s all about the algorithms: My take on AI art – http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2023/02/23/its-all-about-the-algorithms-my-take-on-ai-art/

⩥ Charon Dunn – Disco doesn’t suck – and neither does AI art – https://charondunntheblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/disco-doesnt-suck-and-neither-does-ai.html

⩥ Colt Leasure – I don’t and won’t let AI write my fiction for me – https://www.reddit.com/r/Colt_Leasure/comments/115eo2q/my_thoughts_on_using_ai_to_write_fiction_hint_i/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

⩥ Cory Doctorow – Google’s chatbot panic – https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked

⩥ Dave Walsh – Our collective interest in AI is yet another symptom of the disease that gave us Elon – https://dvewlsh.substack.com/p/our-collective-interest-in-ai-is

⩥ Francesca Forrest (@morinotsuma) – Response to Chuck Wendig’s “A.I. and the fetishization of ideas” – https://twitter.com/morinotsuma/status/1626241718919241728?s=20

⩥ Francesca Forrest – Three ideas for foiling ai spamming of sff zines – https://asakiyume.dreamwidth.org/1012570.html

⩥ Jason Sanford – Genre Grapevine on what AI generated art and writing might mean for artists and authors – https://www.patreon.com/posts/78465220 – Examines the recent history of AI creative programs, how artists and writers might use these tools, and how these tools might affect the livelihoods of artists and writers. Also games out possible futures with regards to these tools.

⩥ J. Dianne Dotson and Avrohom Gottheil – How science fiction influences technology – https://youtu.be/bf_EjfvnRNc

⩥ J.D. Moyer – AI gone wild—Should AI be allowed in art? – https://www.jdmoyer.com/2023/02/21/ai-gone-wild-should-ai-be-allowed-in-art/

⩥ Jennifer R. Povey – The temptation of AI fiction – https://jenniferrpovey.medium.com/the-temptation-of-ai-generated-fiction-9f1a7f60159b?sk=0b0d5a493b738d3913b1be96b47d24e8

⩥ J.S. Morin – AI-generated artwork: Move over Dalí, it’s DALL-E time – https://www.jsmorin.com/2022/09/ai-generated-artwork-move-over-dali-its-dall-e-time/ –

⩥ John Daulton – Chat GPT – Using AI to write your blogs and social media marketing – https://daultonbooks.com/chat-gpt-using-ai-to-write-your-blogs-and-social-media-marketing/ –

⩥  John G. McDaid – Seeing things: The human search for meaningful patterns and the media ecology of computer-generated text – https://mediarxiv.org/x94br/

⩥ John Scalzi – OMG is the AI coming for my job?!?!?! – https://whatever.scalzi.com/2023/02/23/omg-is-the-ai-coming-for-my-job/

⩥ Jon Evans – Pity the poor underpaid AI – https://aiascendant.substack.com/p/pity-the-poor-underpaid-ai

⩥ Kagan Tumer – AI in media – How to handle the hysterics – https://kagantumer.com/2022/08/12/ai-in-media-how-to-handle-the-hysterics/

⩥ Kagan Tumer – What does ChatGPT know, exactly? – https://kagantumer.com/2023/02/17/what-chatgpt-is-and-isnt/

⩥ Kevin Bohacz – Imitation by AI is not the sincerest form of flattery – https://kevinbohacz.com/2023/02/24/imitation-by-ai-is-not-the-sincerest-form-of-flattery/

⩥ Laurence Raphael Brothers – Creative AI vs. creative humanity – http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2023/02/22/creative-ai-vs-creative-humanity-guest-post-by-laurence-raphael-brothers-2/

⩥ Leah R Cutter – Using ChatGPT – https://www.leahcutter.com/2023/02/essay-using-chatgpt/

⩥ Maria Korolov  – P.E.A.N.U.T.: 6 steps to staying ahead of AI as a fiction author – https://www.metastellar.com/nonfiction/essays/p-e-a-n-u-t-6-steps-to-staying-ahead-of-ai-as-a-writer/

⩥ Maria Korolov, Marie Ginga, and Melody Friedenthal  – Yes, you can submit AI-assisted stories to us. But they better be good. – https://www.metastellar.com/nonfiction/news/yes-you-can-submit-ai-assisted-stories-to-us-but-they-better-be-good/

⩥ Matthew Wayne Selznick – Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick 066: Should writers fear artificial intelligence? – https://www.mattselznick.com/sonitotum-066/

⩥ Mike Wyant Jr. – AI Art and the End of Creativity… except not really – https://www.mikewyantjr.com/blog/ai-art-and-the-end-of-creativity

⩥ M L Clark – AI is here: Are we finally ready to rethink the value of being human? – https://onlysky.media/mclark/ai-is-here-are-we-finally-ready-to-rethink-the-value-of-being-human/

⩥ R. Jean Mathieu – AI, Automation, & Deutomation – https://www.rjeanmathieu.com/ai-automation-and-deutomation/ –

⩥ Russ Linton – The AI revolution begins and ends with you – https://russlinton.com/2023/02/21/the-ai-revolution-begins-and-ends-with-you/

⩥ S.B. Divya and James Yu – Design@Large Series: S.B. Divya, James Yu – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxKsmnj2i6g&t=11s

⩥ Shannon McRoberts – There’s still no make art button: The myth of AI art – https://shannonmcroberts.com/2022/08/theres-still-no-make-art-button-the-myth-of-ai-art/

⩥ S. R. Algernon – Thoughts on AI-generated fiction – https://sralgernon.wordpress.com/2023/02/20/thoughts-on-ai-generated-fiction/

⩥ Sue Burke – How good is an AI at translation? – https://sueburke.site/2023/02/22/how-good-is-an-ai-at-translation/

⩥ Tony Peak – Blame AI art’s exploiters, not the technology – https://medium.com/@tonypeak78/blame-ai-arts-exploiters-not-the-technology-ac2bbb591d93

⩥ Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware – Findaway Voices, machine learning, and the new rights frontier – https://writerbeware.blog/2023/02/10/findaway-voices-machine-learning-and-the-new-rights-frontier/

⩥ Vyvyan Evans, Ph.D.  – Are artificially-enhanced minds the future of communication? – https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-in-the-mind/202302/are-artificially-enhanced-minds-the-future-of-communication

 

Please check back for additions to this list. Last updated March 3, 2023.