The founder of the Gilliam Writers Group recently updated his version of Microsoft Word and discovered Copilot, a new AI companion that Microsoft promises will help users complete tasks faster and make content creation, data analysis, and communication more efficient. Copilot is similar to Clippy, a cute anthropomorphic paperclip that used to pop up on the screen and offer help. However, the AI technology is seen as a major innovation and is heavily promoted as a tool to solve problems and promote efficiency. It’s also being touted as a way to compensate for skilled labor during labor shortages.
However, the founder had mixed feelings when Copilot offered to help him with his creative writing. He explained that his frustration wasn’t due to a general dislike of AI, but rather stemmed from his belief that writing fiction is a unique human endeavor. No AI program can mimic his personal lexicon, cadences, references, and so forth. Each word in a novel is a choice that requires effort, and no AI company is currently creating a product that requires such effort. He pointed out that generative AI programs generate more than what’s put into them, which is why they’re not effective tools for artists.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that creative writers could potentially use AI. A recent