AI or I? AI and I?
by Jessica Brown
How do you AI?
Most people right now think the great debate is between the Republicans and the Democrats. They argue about which side of the aisle you should be on. But did you know that there is another great debate going on? And that there is a divide between two groups- writers who collaborate with AI and those that refuse to use AI in any capacity.
Maybe you are on the fence with AI or you have yet to investigate how to use AI as a writer. If you are in that latter camp, I have a great resource for you to check out to make your decision. Master Class, one of my favorite, and Bev’s, learning tools, has just come out with a Master Class on GenAI. Let’s do a brief overview of this outstanding class and then I will share how I AI. I will also share the recent WGA’s recommends on the use of AI and writing and how to use it responsibly as a writer.
The Master Class original series consists of three episodes:
- Unlocking Productivity
- Creativity Unleashed
- Ethics, AI, and the Future
Each episode runs about 30 minutes. The learning more than makes up for the time invested. And if you are on the fence, this class might persuade you to get off that fence, either way. The main objective in this class is to not be afraid to explore and understand how to effectively use AI in not only your creative work or business, but in your day to day activities. In each episode we watch three AI practitioners show us how to enhance our productivity, supplement our creativity, and make AI work for us.
Unlocking Productivity introduces us to the Class Moderator Ethan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. Ethan is the author of Co-Intelligence, Living and Working With AI. I got my copy of his book off Amazon. He guides us through the three episodes while sharing his experience and knowledge of AI.
Ethan’s opening statement addresses how humans struggle with the rapid change in our world. He talks about the uncomfortableness humans have with AI as we worry about how to use AI effectively while worrying that AI is going to take over our jobs. He reminds us that our lives are entwined with technology already. So the addition of AI will enhance our lives, not diminish them.
Ethan assures us that by the end of the class we will have the tools to fully engage and interact with AI to be more productive. And yes, the class delivers on that promise. I loved his explanation of how AI works. They are recognized as Large Language Machines that sees tokens, not words. They hallucinate or make stuff up. The key to working with AI effectively is in the prompting. The better and more detailed your prompts, the better the response from AI.
You also have to remember that AI has a jagged frontier. The more you work with AI, the more you will understand what AI does well and what AI struggles with. And that frontier is constantly changing as AI gets better and better. I have about 12 hours of working with AI experimenting with how to prompt AI and pretty quick I grasped how to prompt for the best response.
In this first episode we are introduced to Allie K Miller who has been working with AI for twenty years. She has worked across data, computer vision and worked for IBM and Amazon leading teams working to develop AI further, and is now the most followed voice on-line for business and AI collaboration.
Allie coaches you to think of AI as a co-pilot and as a first step and continued step throughout your project. She takes prompting to a whole new level and encourages you to use an AI Mindset first when developing solutions or business options or writing. It was also interesting to learn how you can create your own GPT’s to manage your diet, exercise or day to day errands.
The key to prompting effectively is to be specific by giving your AI an identity, then an action to complete and a deadline. You can also threaten or bribe your AI. Allie threatens her AI to answer her questions or her boss will make her cry. Now you don’t have to threaten or bribe, but it seems to get better results. As a writer we love to make stuff up. This is where you can craft a fun identity with your GPT to make it interesting.
So I tried it by giving my AI the perfect identity that anchored it into a specific world. If I am a writer and I want to create on a prolific level I tell my GPT it is an “Oscar Winning Screenwriter that will be collaborating with me on my script.” I also tell it that I have a pitch with a studio head that will make or break my career, so this has to be world class.
Next, you give AI a task with restrictions such as timeframe, costs, etc. What is fascinating is that GPT will build you a comparison table if you tell it to that can help you identify the best possible option for your project. Allie demonstrates this with her make believe company she is creating. In seconds the AI comes up with this table to help her decide which option to pursue to create her company. As a writer, I can see leveraging this task when it comes to rating my script on several factors such as character, structure, engagement, plot, etc. It gives you a quick visual of what you need to work on.
Creativity Unleashed with Don Allen Stevenson, III episode 2 is literally mind blowing crazy creativity with AI. Don worked at Dream Works training employees how to use the various software programs to create the movies that we all love. He is now independently training on line and will work with anyone to teach creatives how to get the most out of AI.
I loved this episode. Don shares that you can be terrified with AI thinking it could be used to replace you or, the healthier mindset, AI could be used to amplify what you love. Over the course of this episode he collaborates with multiple AI programs to come up with an idea for a company, build the presentation that includes slides and music. All of these components get dropped into an AI platform that plays the presentation. It was amazing to watch it all come together in a matter of minutes.
His belief that AI should be used to amplify your creativity extends to reversing roles which he demonstrates by directing AI to ask him the questions and let Don do all the creative thinking about his idea. This is my biggest takeaway and how I use AI as a writer in my own work.
In the final episode, Ethics, AI, and the Future, we are introduced to Manuel Sainsily, Futurist, multidisciplinary artist and advocate for the responsible use of AI. He has worked with Open AI and he teaches at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. His philosophy when it comes to the use of AI is that we can shape it in the right direction and make it a part of our world without it taking over our humanity.
Both Manuel and Ethan talk about the need to align technology with your values and to play a role in shaping AI positively for the future as it is in its infancy right now. Challenge yourself to change. This is a bigger shift than when the cell phone came out. I have shared just a few things from this amazing class. I HIGHLY recommend this class if you are wanting to understand AI.
After completing this class and watching it a few times over, I decided I want to responsibly and creatively use AI in my story building and assessing of my creative work. But I had lingering concerns that I was selling my fellow writers out and undermining all the work and wins that the professional WGA writers achieved during the recent Writers Strike. So I did some research and with some great links from John McCarney, fellow PSA member and writer, I was able to calm down my concerns about using AI as a co-pilot in my creativity.
Here is some of the research John shared with me:
WGA Stance on AI: The WGA has expressed concerns about the use of AI in screenwriting, particularly regarding issues of credit and compensation. They’ve taken a strong stance against studios using AI-generated material without proper crediting or compensation to human writers.
Personal Use for Inspiration: Using AI as a tool for personal brainstorming or to stimulate your creativity is generally viewed differently than using AI-generated content directly in your work. The key is that you’re using AI as a springboard for your own ideas, not as a replacement for your writing.
Ownership and Originality: as long as the final dialogue and content in your screenplay are your own original work, and you’re not directly copying AI-generated text, you’re likely within the bounds of WGA guidelines.
Disclosure: It’s always a good idea to be transparent about your process. If you do use AI tools for inspiration during your writing process, you might want to disclose this to producers or studios you’re working with.
Evolving Guidelines: The rules and guidelines around AI use in screenwriting are still evolving. It’s crucial to stay updated on the latest WGA statements and guidelines.
To be absolutely certain, it is recommended to:
1. Check the most recent WGA guidelines or statements on AI use.
2. Consult with a WGA representative or your agent if you have specific questions. 3. Being cautious and using AI-generated content only for personal inspiration, not direct including in your work.
Finally, remember your unique voice and creativity are what make your writing valuable. AI should be a tool to enhance your process, not replace your original work.
That last statement has become my mantra as I use AI to co-pilot and collaborate in my own work.
So how do I AI?
1. AI never writes a scene for me. I do all the writing.
2. I ask AI for notes like I do with humans at table reads. Remembering that AI has a jagged frontier, I decide which notes from AI to weave into my story, which to reject and which to springboard my creativity into stronger solutions. Truth be told, this is no different than with humans as we all have jagged frontiers as well.
3. I co-pilot with AI by “spit balling” ideas back and forth. I do this with John McCarney and other writers as well. The combination of notes and ideas from humans and AI really speed up my development process rather than wait for a BAH (Best Available Human) or table read or writers group all the time.
4. I leverage AI to ask me questions about my writing problem or challenger, my scene or logline or plot structure and then I do all the creative thinking and problem solving. This is one of my favorite tools to breaking through a writer’s block.
All of these activities I do with humans.
AI is rapidly changing. It is exciting when used responsibly to inspire and grow your creativity. Like that final sentence in the WGA research: ‘Your unique voice and creativity are what make your writing valuable. AI should be a tool to enhance your process, not replace your original work.”
If you want to share your thoughts on the use of AI as a writer, pro or not, or if you are using AI in a creative way that I did not mention in this article and would like to share, please feel free to drop me a line at: jessbrown44@gmail.com.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Have a great writing week!
Jess