The Heart of the Machine: Ethics of Using AI

I’ve been ruminating on this blog post for several days, since chatting with a good author-friend of mine about SudoWrite. In case you’re not familiar with this software program, it’s a tool for writers to create content. Many authors (including those who write for the Christian market) are using it to craft their novels.

Which begs the question: Is it ethical to use Artificial Intelligence and take the credit?

My friend is contracted with a well-respected Christian publisher, who also happens to be an author. This publisher not only encourages the use of this program but also holds online sessions to demonstrate how quickly she can write a scene by simply filling in a few thoughts.

Ironically, when I opened up my Word program to start working on this post, AI popped up and offered assistance by asking a couple of questions. What is my subject? What is the forum (Newsletter, Blog Post, Story)? Strangely, this has never happened before. It’s enough to make me think like a conspiracy theorist. Curious, I answered the questions, and within seconds, a well-written, thorough post was created by AI on why it’s unethical to use AI. It included a title I’m sure would maximize algorithms if I were to publish it.

In all fairness, that post was amazing. However, I didn’t write it, and I cannot in good conscience use it and take credit. So, I deleted it, and you’re stuck with simple ol’ me.

My mom once told me that if I believed in my heart that something was wrong, and I did it anyway, it was a sin. On the flip side, I imagine people who are using AI and don’t believe it’s unethical are in the clear.

When I first heard about SudoWrite, I was fascinated. Because I struggle with plot, I thought it might be a tool I could use. It wouldn’t be writing the book for me—just helping me organize my ideas. I believe this is the definition of justification.

And then the Lord reminded me of something crucial. Him. I don’t write in my own strength. I write in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. My struggles draw me to Him for inspiration. He is the actual author of my work, while I’m merely the typist. It would be pure madness to trade the Lord—the Creator of all things—for Artificial Intelligence.

It brings to mind Psalm 115: 4-8—But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

I heard from a reliable source that Chicken Soup for the Soul and Guidepost magazine are receiving far more submissions than ever before. The popularity of AI is making it easier for people to become “writers.” Sadly, those submissions are sub-par and aren’t being accepted. Or maybe that’s not so sad, after all.

On that note, let me say I have been a fan of the books my friend’s publisher writes for years. I could tell when she shifted from doing the hard work herself to letting SudoWrite do it for her. The depth was missing in her characters, and there were plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. But I imagine the average reader won’t notice the difference, so she will continue to be successful, as the world defines it, cranking out several books a year.

AI worked like a dream when merely spitting out facts for the post I mentioned earlier. There is no heart, emotion, or personal depth to most non-fiction works. But I, and most other authors I know, delve deep into the emotion of past pain and grief to create three-dimensional characters. Maybe that’s where AI will always fail to produce.

When uploading a book on KDP (Amazon’s publishing site), the author is asked if any of it was created using AI. I don’t know what happens if the author clicks the “yes” box, but I wonder how many writers are truthful with this question.

To be fair, it’s nearly impossible to be completely free of AI unless we were to write our books on a typewriter. For you young folks out there, it’s a giant keyboard with no screen—just a piece of copy paper where the words are typed when clicking the keys. We’d also have to do our research at the library rather than via the Internet. And there would be no grammar or spell check.

So, where do we draw the line? For me, it’s in the actual content. Researching is faster, but it’s still just research. Editing tools, such as Grammarly (the free version, not the paid), merely point out misspelled words, faulty punctuation, and grammar errors. It’s what we pay an editor for anyway.

The paid version offers to make the writing more concise. Not only am I too cheap to pay for it, but I also don’t need AI taking out the Southern twang and sentence structure. In other words, messing with my voice.

I understand that AI takes a collection of all that is in cyberspace and creates what users are seeking. But where does that information come from? In the case of novelists, AI is taking what was previously created by authors and offering it up as fresh material. However, it’s not fresh material, and one might question if it’s another definition of plagiarism.

What about grad students? Can they plug in the topic of their thesis and have AI write it for them? How is that ethical or even beneficial in the long term? What is learned in the process other than to cheat the system? That’s something each person will have to account for at some point—whether it’s with a future employer or God.

As my friend and I lamented over the gazillion books now competing for readers due to the use of AI, I reminded her that we don’t write for readers. We write for the Lord. He is in complete control of everything we create, which means we serve at His pleasure. Not every author out there (Christian or non-Christian) can say the same.

I’d much rather hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” when I reach the judgment seat of Christ, than a royalty check I didn’t rightly earn. Eternal rewards beat out temporary achievements every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Can I get an Amen?