Renowned horror novelist Stephen King has shared his contemplations on the realm of AI-generated fiction, encapsulating his sentiments as a “certain dreadful fascination.”
His reflections emerged within an essay published in The Atlantic, where he delved into the controversial subject of AI’s impact on the literary landscape. The context of a Hollywood writers’ strike, intertwined with the news of AI models being trained on unauthorised copies of his and other authors’ works, fueled King’s contemplation.
Interestingly, despite his usual candidness about his dislikes, King expressed a sense of weary resignation regarding the matter. He noted, “Creativity can’t happen without sentience, and there are now arguments that some AIs are indeed sentient.”
The prospect of AI-enabled creativity appeared to intrigue him, albeit with an undertone of unease.
While King currently believes that AI-produced content falls short upon closer examination, he acknowledged the potential for AI to attain human-like capabilities in the future. He likened his stance against preventing the teaching of his stories to computers to the futility of halting the tide’s advance or a Luddite dismantling a steam loom.
King’s perspective, however, seems to contrast with prevailing sentiments in the writing community. Authors have recently united against AI’s unauthorised analysis of their novels on platforms like Prosecraft. In this complex intersection of literature and technology, King’s stance serves as a unique contemplation on the evolving relationship between AI and creativity.
