I think AI will be able to handle long-form formulaic writing fairly easily over the next few years (i.e. "write me an 80,000 word detective novel or vampire romance"). Deeper and more original books and scripts will simply be done in conjunction with authors. AI is already very good at writing short-form text (Vox Day actually had a really good post about this on his AI Central blog awhile back, showing how even professional writers couldn't pick out AI-written micro fiction, which is basically just a short scene). And writing any sort of fiction is simply a process of creating an overarching narrative and piecing together the scenes that comprise it.
You're missing what truly makes art important.
An artist is inspired by every daily event, every new friend, every societal disaster, every philosophical question of their time.
The greatest works are those warning about future problems, about current problems, those comparing our past to our present.
This is not something an AI can relate to without a soul, because while it might understand the situation of the modern world mathematically, it does not understand it emotionally.
This is not something common among artists either. Many regurgitate what they see without truly expressing something deep. Yet, if you know where to look, you can find it in the strangest of places. God delights in the small things after all.
So a writer or group of writers who are competent at coming up with interesting characters/setting and crafting a storyline (which is actually by far the easiest part of fiction writing) will be able to utilize AI to do the heavy lifting of actually producing the text (which is by far the most difficult aspect). Basically, think of the difference between a competent carpenter using modern power tools, and one limited to traditional tools. You might consider the latter more of a skilled artisan, but the former will absolutely destroy him in sheer volume of output.
Firstly, much of my interest lies in fanfiction, where the reverse is true. Authors who struggle to come up with their own interesting characters, or perhaps simply are already interested in characters that exist.
One fanfiction I quite enjoyed was written in Portuguese and translated using AI with minor editing by the author.
Secondly, I will admit this idea has merit. The largest stumbling block for a writer is getting started. Once you have the ball rolling, co-authors, editors and proofreaders will appear.
I disagree on the volume of output. I think the analogy here is more starting a small business. AI is the equivalent of having a computer. It becomes possible to do it with just one person alone.
Just as we have many examples of a single person creating a game that rivals AAA titles. AI will allow the same on a grander scale.
As someone with a deep appreciation for the craft of writing, I certainly take no joy in this development. But this seems to be the direction we're heading, and I don't see any way of slowing it down, much less stopping it.
That depends on how it evolves.
I expect the result will be that "woke" titles will die off, and the most successful works will be those that use primarily human labour anyway.
I suppose it remains to be seen.
