Was that Book Written by a Human?

That's a question you never had to ask a short time ago. Who else could have written it, a monkey? Things have changed dramatically recently. Now we have AI, the imitation human, writing much of what you read. Even if you haven't read any AI books yet, you've almost certainly read some online news stories, blogs, economic advice, and such written in part or whole by AI. That is not to say it can't be very helpful. It tells you a lot, though what it tells you may not always be correct, but the same can be said of what people tell you.

What AI hasn't mastered yet is the human voice. It is filled with knowledge, but lacks emotions, so it can't speak quite like a human with feelings. It's kind of like Sheldon. Human feelings are not part of its experience. It's not wired the same. Computer technology and software is very complex today, but not as complicated as a human brain. AI has not yet mastered consciousness.

How can you tell whether writing is AI? It isn't great writing, but neither is some human writing, so that alone isn't enough. There is the lack of human emotions displayed. Other things to look for include the lack of personal anecdotes. It has none. Writing may be more stilted, technical, more textbook-like. It's writing style may be too consistent. You probably write in your own personal style, with certain changes in inflection.

AI may use words or sentence structures you wouldn't when writing. They don't sound natural. AI doesn't understand subtle differences. It may repeat words or phrases too much. It's technically correct, but it doesn't sound good. Good writers look for synonyms to avoid repetition. AI may not have an ear for that. AI can at times get a bit wordy, say more than you need to hear. It may be trying a bit too hard to inform.

All that said, it is getting better, so you may not be able to tell whether it's AI or just coming from a less than outstanding human writer. There is a better way, though it only applies to some books. Some have a logo on the book confirming it was written by a human. You won't have to read a lot of pages first only to discover it is not something you really want to read.

The UK Society of Authors recently initiated a program where authors can place the Human Authored logos on their works. They explain, “Today’s online marketplace is increasingly flooded with AI-generated books and human authored works need to stand out. Readers who value the skill, empathy and imagination it takes to craft an original work should be able to clearly distinguish these from AI-generated content. Authors need to showcase and protect their creative labour whilst being paid fairly for it.”

They have opened the program in partnership with the U.S. Authors Guild which already has such a program in place for American authors. British authors can participate by joining the Society of Authors (if not already a member), logging in to their account and signing the agreement. The logo will be available when the process is completed.

To what is an author attesting by signing the agreement? They are attesting that the book is human authored which they define as thus: “The text of the work was created by you as sole author or together with other human beings and that it is your own intellectual creation as the result of the exercise of your skill, labour and judgment.

“The text, therefore, represents the expression of your creativity as the human author and it has not been produced by the use of a generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) model e.g. by the use of prompts.

“The use of GAI or tools with AI-embedded features does not disqualify a work from being ‘Human Authored’ under this scheme, provided that the tools have been used for assistive purposes only e.g. the use of GAI-powered tools like a word processing program, spelling and grammar checks, for research, brainstorming or outlining, or any other use that does not generate text.”

At this time, the program is only available to members of the Society of Authors, but the plan is to expand it in the future to all authors regardless of membership.

In the U.S., authors can participate in a similar program through the Authors Guild. It has a statement authors must attest to which says something very similar to the British language. It is available to members and nonmembers alike, except for a small fee for nonmembers. The logos used by the two organizations are virtually the same.

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Was that Book Written by a Human?

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Was that Book Written by a Human?

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