Are novelists who worry about the rise of AI really ‘classist and ableist’? | Arwa Mahdawi

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Are novelists who worry about the rise of AI really ‘classist and ableist’? | Arwa Mahdawi

Please spare a thought for artificial intelligence (AI). It may not have feelings yet but, if it did, it would feel devastated by all the ****** things people are saying about it. All it’s trying to do is take our jobs and potentially ******** the world and people can’t stop being mean.

Exhibit one: a recent controversy with the organisation that runs National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a yearly challenge to produce a manuscript in a month. In a recent statement, NaNoWriMo wrote that it doesn’t explicitly support or condemn any approach to writing, “including the use of AI”. Further: “The categorical condemnation of artificial intelligence has classist and ableist undertones … questions around the use of AI tie to questions around privilege.”

Er … what? Is AI working-class now? Or did someone in the managerial class ***** up ChatGPT and prompt it to weaponise social justice language in defence of a technology that has

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of stealing from artists and writers (by training itself using their work without compensating them) and is now making

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? This weird statement sparked a

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and four members of NaNoWriMo’s writers board stepped down in protest. When she quit, bestselling author Maureen Johnson

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to “beware – your work on their platform is almost certainly going to be used to train AI”.

NaNoWriMo has attempted some damage control and

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last week saying that its original wording was unclear (not ideal when you’re a writing organisation) and it doesn’t “believe those with concerns about AI to be classist or ableist”. But a lot of writers still seem wary of both the organisation and AI.

And that’s fair enough, isn’t it? I’m not anti-AI by any means: categorical condemnation of anything (bar things like genocide) is obviously inappropriate. Channelled properly, I believe AI can enhance human creativity and improve society for everyone. On the other hand, I think the future of AI is in the hands of a bunch of sociopathic tech bros whose main concern is profit. We’re in a Choose Your Own Adventure scenario with AI at the moment. And right now we seem to be choosing the dystopian ending.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

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#novelists #worry #rise #classist #ableist #Arwa #Mahdawi

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