Links of the week April 22 2024 (17)

The research explores the experiences of those in creative careers with AI systems, and their views and concerns about the future impact on creative careers. The survey's respondents include writers of fiction and non-fiction, scriptwriters and poets - both traditionally and self-published - as well as journalists, illustrators and translators.

Illustrators are the least likely to have used AI in their work, with only one in 10 reporting having made use of its systems, compared to a fifth of fiction writers and a quarter of non-fiction writers. Meanwhile, around three in 10 illustrators and writers say that they have used generative AI to brainstorm ideas, while 8% of translators - and an even smaller proportion of illustrators (5%) - report that the reason they have used AI in their work is because they were asked to by a publisher or commissioning organisation.

After nearly 150 conversations with writers of all backgrounds (from NYT bestselling thriller authors, to hopeful debuts, to historians, science writers and poets), I'm still amazed how much connective tissue binds us writers together. A few commonalities I've evidenced throughout my interviews:

• Most writers can name a specific person or event that happened in their teenage years that made them want to write.
• Writing is less a plan than it is a purpose. Despite all efforts to do anything but write, the act of writing will burrow its way to the surface at some point in a writer's life.
• No one sets out to write because it's a solid business decision...