I have a nuanced view on AI, mainly because things have moved so far that it’s impossible to reverse. So in a world where AI is an inevitable (grim) reality, how can I use it in a way that brings more positives than negatives? Here are my personal boundaries and reflections:
First, I will NOT use generative AI art in any creative, marketing or exploratory capacity, because the models are trained on stolen data. I used to be a digital artist and it’s heartbreaking to see so many artists who have had their work fed into a machine without their consent or knowledge. I believe the way tech companies went about this was sneaky and unethical, and I’m looking forward to seeing more legislation around this subject.
Second, I will NOT use generative AI for my creative writing, and to research sensitive subjects. My reasons are similar to the above – the models have been trained on copyrighted material; but also the models return information that is often made-up or incorrect. I would rather take a bit more time looking into things myself.
Both AI art and AI writing are mushed up data returned in a way that resembles something it’s seen before. It lacks the fundamental creative ability to consider context and subtext, and that’s why I believe it doesn’t create worthwhile visual art and struggles with deep storytelling. Only time will tell if the world agrees with me, but in the meantime, I will be telling my stories the old-fashioned way, and commissioning artists when I have the resources to do so. This includes book covers and promotional images and text. You can see the human-made art I have for my characters on my Character Art page.
Which brings us to the final piece – digital narration, or generating audio voice from text. I have had numerous questions and comments from readers and friends asking for audiobook format of my books. Most of them are neurodivergent and can’t engage with my writing otherwise. Some find it easier to read from the page while the audio is playing in their ears. However, I am not in a place where I can pay for the creation of a full human narrated audiobook, though this has always been my preference. But I want my stories to reach my readers, particularly the ND ones who I identify strongly with.
This is the one generative AI exception for me, and I made it specifically for the company ElevenLabs. I had confirmed with them that they pay their narrators for providing their voice to train their models, and they also pay out royalties to them when their voice is used. They assured me that they do not allow the creation of fake ‘celebrity voices’ and do their best to ensure compliance with their terms of use.
This was in 2025, when I made my first audiobook with them. My opinion has changed since they changed their product offering and I can no longer see the good faith use they swore they had, so I have made changes to how I share the audiobooks I had already made with them.
The main thing is that my human-written words in this format are only ever going to be available for free on YouTube. I’m not selling them as ‘normal’ audiobooks as although I spent a lot of time creating the multi-character narrations, and some money for the finished product, the quality and listener experience is just not the same. More selfishly, I feel betrayed by them and my whole experience has also been tainted. The channel is accessible and not monetised, and this is only for my friends, ND readers, and everyone who wants to be doing something else with their hands while they’re enjoying my books.
The moment I can afford to make human-narrated audiobooks, I will be replacing them all.
That is all, thank you for reading.
Lots of love,
Lainey xx