When it comes to writing and broadcasting, it is always important to move with the times, especially when it comes to technology.
However there is a fear, understandably that things like AI will take over our creative operation and will mean that we will become lazy, lose our creative voice or worse still, people higher up, go for the digital and the cheaper option, not bothering to develop and enhance talent.
That has been a major worry for people working in TV and films and I totally get that. We have seen examples of films where they have created new movies where they have used much loved film stars that had shuffled off into the great celluloid heaven in the sky.
If that kind activity increased then the chances of developing and enhancing talent, as well as original material would diminish. That is always a danger, but the warnings are there. Something that we could not ignore, but that is enough to tell us that we cannot let that happen.
Technology has moved on so much over the years since the day that someone had this idea of a tennis game called “Pong” which I still play by the way. But what is evident that with all those changes, we always proceed with caution.
In many cases, it can be an overreaction.
We are always wary about things that we do not know. So much so we do not want to explore then options available as programmes such as AI would be a help or a hinderance.
For me, I look as these new programmes as an assistant, something that is going to take over what I am trying to do. Whatever I do, job satisfaction is a huge factor for me. But if I relied on computer programmes to produce work, it would not be mine.
I would then think what would be the point.
I then wanted to take a more pragmatic approach, AI is there to assist, not to take over. In football you have VAR designed to assist the Referees, and they do not always get it right, which you can say about technology in general.
AI accuracy depends on the data it receives, so it does not always get things right. In many cases it is valuable, in other examples it is garbage.
That takes me back to my early days in learning PCs with the phrase GIGO. Garbage in Garbage out! The trick is to never forget that and know how to get the most of it and use to your advantage. And that does not mean getting it to write your scripts or manuscripts for you.
AI is there to assist a broadcaster and a writer. When you are putting things together you would normally use various search engines to do the necessary research. And it is not always accurate.
So, the more I learn about AI, the more I am starting to see it as a valuable piece of kit. If you are looking for idea’s it is brilliant for giving prompts, planning ideas brainstorming. You would do something similar with your friends, editors, and publishers. So, for me this is no different.
I would not want it to write my scripts and ideas. It is a bad habit that leads to temporary success where readers would eventually recognise. It would not be real and that would be the end of your creative life. The whole reason you do this was to deliver your voice.
But I am embracing AI as a help, not a hinderance. This is a broadcasting and writing buddy, who can give you prompts suggestions as well as do checks on your work, it is always good to have an extra pair of eyes. But it is not the final solution. However, it is a great asset in your creative process.
When it comes to producing a story and a manuscript, it involves several processes. AI would be somewhere in the middle, after a few drafts in. But to get a book out into the shops, you need the eye of an Editor to give it the final thumbs up.
So, I would way that AI is a great tool in the creative process. It is something that I am going to make full use off with this next book.
But in the end, despite the scientific advancement, the human touch, will always keep things real at the final stages.
That is the most important stage of the lot.