As we are approaching NaNoWriMo, I’ve become aware of the debate over the use of AI in meeting the challenge of writing 50,000 words during the month of November. It can be either simply 50,000 words or you can finish a novel, but the novel has to be at least 50,000 words.

My initial reaction was to say “no way” to using AI. But then I got to thinking about it. In my mind’s eye, I saw Para Olympians. There are a lot of people who thrive on competition (the NaNoWriMo people say it’s not a competition, but you are sort of competing against yourself). Some of those people have conditions that will not let them compete in the Olympics. As an example, they require tools of one kind or another to compete in speed races. So why shouldn’t someone who wants to write a novel, but maybe doesn’t have the facility with words to do that easily, be denied the use of AI. After all, it’s a tool.

But then I came back around again. A Para Olympian is not an Olympian. You would never mistake one for the other. Similarly, I began thinking of people who would use AI as not being writers. They’re something else.

I play the piano, but I am not a pianist. I can read music and hit the correct keys (most of the time), but that’s about the extent of it.

I don’t know what we might call a person who writes using AI. Hack first came to mind. But that’s not very nice in some ways. However, they could be considered to be “hacking” the whole novel writing thing.

So maybe, as with the Olympics and Para Olympics, we need a separate category for NaNoWriMo for those who use AI. NaNoAIWriMo?

That’s my thought for the day.

Photo and quote courtesy of Freepik and Brainy Quote, respectively