June’s Monthly Meeting timely topic was an exploration of artificial intelligence and children’s books. What AI is, what it can and can’t do, and the ethics of it all was discussed by panelists S.G. Wilson, Josh Weiss-Roessler, Sean Petrie, and Greta Mantooth, moderated by our new Regional Advisor, Madeline Smoot with assistance by ChatGPT.
Meeting Highlights:
Tips for Writers and Illustrators:
- Use AI as a tool
- Avoid using AI as a search engine (case in point: current lawsuits over AI-invented material)
- Keep a human “in the loop” to maintain authenticity
-Thoroughly fact check AI contributions
- Hallucinations: the term for lies/misinformation AI creates
- Use AI as a time-saving technique (with heavy re-writing, proofing and fact-checking)
- Use AI for brainstorming (sometimes even a bad idea AI suggests can help you come up with a better idea)
- AI results depend upon the keywords/input you choose
- AI is biased (utilize sensitivity readers)
- Create ethical boundaries
For Illustrators:
- Ethical boundary example: ask AI to create an illustration in the style of Impressionism, rather than in the style of a particular impressionist artist by name; then, use the drawing created as a reference image to help direct an illustration process, while ensuring you create your own art to sell or publish
For Writers:
- Apply the same ethical boundaries as in the above example to writing/authors
- Use AI:
- To disrupt writer’s block
- As a contextual thesaurus
- To format a book into a screenplay
- For brainstorming details/descriptions