Artificial Intelligence in publishing: The impact of generative AI on publishing
I attended the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading conference recently and some of the topics discussed included the use of AI. One webinar in particular was very interesting:
The impact of generative AI on writing and publishing: Industry perspectives by Dr Imke van Heerden.
Here is what I learnt during the webinar.
AI has been heralded as "the new electricity", "the new calculator", and even the "new normal". But does it belong on the bookshelf? by Dr Imke van Heerden
What is Generative AI?
This is the part of AI that can create content and will most impact the editing industry. The LLMs (Large Language Models) which are a computational model created for generating language rely on vast quantities of textual data. For example, they can train on 300 billion words from the internet. They mimic language that has already been created by humans.
Elizabeth Gibney: “Although such models are sometimes impressive – generating poetry or correctly answering trivia questions – they have no sense of the meaning of language, which causes them to also create gibberish” (Gibney, 2022)
So it is now possible to generate content for publishing but is it worth it?
Will AI have an impact?
GenAI’s actual net impact on jobs will not be known for some time (CVL Economics, 2024)
The results of the Writer's Guild Survey in 2023 showed that 65% of writers believed that the use of AI will reduce their income from their writing. They were also worried that AI could replace jobs. There are a few possible scenarios for AI's impact on creative work.
A multitude of AI-assisted innovations which enhances creative work and humans are not replaced.
AI monopolises creativity and humans are surrounded by AI-generated content.
Too much AI-generated content that authentic creativity is valued more and people pay a premium for human content.
So I am hoping for scenario number 1 where AI will benefit humans, as it can't possibly take over the creativity of a human's mind.
Professional development
Professional development is an important part of keeping up to date with ongoing developments in your industry. We could accept that AI is the future of work and improve our understanding of generative AI. Possibly some skills training could be involved to highlight the benefits of using AI in our work.
Is there a future where you would use AI in your work? I could possibly think about using AI in my marketing and may look into it for my next blog.
Recommendations for the use of AI
There have to be some constraints to using AI to make it work fairly. These are some recommendations from the webinar:
Consent or licensing must be attained before AI companies use copyrighted work as training data.
There should be clearer definitions and labels for content created using AI.
People should be fairly compensated when their work is used by AI companies.
AI-generated content
Silverwhite into the Distance: Afrikaans' First AI Poetry
Dr Imke van Heerden gave an example where a book of poems was created with the help of artificial intelligence. AI phrases were interweaved to create a verse to explore how AI could be used. The front cover was transparent with the credits to the writer, poet and developer and the generated text is identifiable. The book definitely started a debate about the use of AI in publishing.
Conclusion
AI should be used to enhance and balance human needs, instead of serving industry priorities alone.
We want to see a world where AI builds on people’s capabilities – not one where people and valuable human interactions are replaced by technology, or where people’s autonomy and dignity are undermined by automation or surveillance.
“AI is the new electricity. It will transform every industry and create huge economic value. Technology like supervised learning is automation on steroids. It is very good at automating tasks and will have an impact on every sector – from healthcare to manufacturing, logistics and retail.” by Andrew Ng, Google Brain Co-founder
But the question is how will AI impact our future in the editing industry?
Will humans and AI work together and AI supports humans?
Will AI take over and humans are redundant?
Will AI become the poorer quality and humans will be prioritised?
AI is still evolving and our use of AI is developing too. There are still many questions arising, and it will be an interesting journey.
Hopefully, the information about AI from the webinar has been interesting. Would you consider using AI in your editing business?
I am a freelance proofreader and a qualified teacher with a maths degree and a love of learning. Thank you for reading 'Freelance business: Most important things learnt from setting up a freelance business'. Want to find out about the day in the life of a freelance proofreader?
Check out my blog "Freelance proofreader: A day in the life of a freelance proofreader" on my website www.alisonproofreader.com, or say hello on Twitter at @alisonproofread, or Instagram at @alisonproofreader, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
Quotes from:
Gibney, E. 2022. "Open-source language AI challenges big tech's models." Nature. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01705-z.
CVL Economics. 2024. "Future Unscripted: The Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Entertainment Industry jobs."
Van Heerden I., A. Bas and E. van Heerden. 2023. Silwerwit in die soontoe: Afrikaans se eerste KI-gedigte (Silverwhite into the Distance: Afrikaans' First AI Poetry). Naledi.
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