The Groundswell is Beginning: Join the Human Writers Movement
All dedicated wordsmiths committed to not using AI in their Medium stories ARE the Movement
The Beginnings and Forward
I had no intention of being involved in a “movement” at this late stage in life.
I have participated in several — all critically important to me — throughout my adult years. First stimulated at age 17 by my undergrad political science prof, the seeds were planted for an impressionable, soft-hearted kid. Taking root, that passion morphed into fighting the “right” battles in careers and activism over four decades.
Human rights, women’s rights, minority rights, children’s rights, employees’ rights, and rights of the underprivileged and impoverished.
The internal fervor hasn’t wavered. Only my priorities have changed. My focus in this Jungian final stage is of introspection and self-realization, not of protest.
New Rights to Care About
Ignorance is bliss it’s claimed.
It is until it isn’t. Until stumbling upon an issue that must not be ignored.
In 2023, the issue became the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence. AI. ChatGPT. OpenChat.
In the world of writing and creating, the AI tentacles are engulfing us. We musn’t let AI strangle us on this platform.
— Writers’ rights — it’s a new and worthwhile movement.
And, yes, another critical one.
It’s simpler, as we humans typically prefer, to keep our heads plopped in the sand. It’s easier to accept since “I’m not personally affected so it’s not problematic.”
I’m not wired that way.
Justice. Integrity. Ethics. Honesty. Character. That’s the stuff that has always mattered to me.
I don’t want to waste time opening dreck. I’m no longer ignoring the tactics of those who’ve adopted “clever personal styles” in an attempt to mask that Mr. Chat has written the bulk of their last 40 pieces.
I’m sorry, children, but humans don’t churn out four or five stories daily, week after week. I’m sorry, boys and girls, but when reading the same template in consecutive pieces with a cute: “Picture this,” “Let’s dig in,” “Stay with me,” or “Let’s get real” intro, and the remainder is standard blah, blah, Google cut and paste informational drivel, we readers and thinkers figure it out.
Mute. Block. Don’t open. Don’t waste time. Don’t reward lazy cheaters.
The HI Movement
Hence, I have become a vociferous supporter of the “Human Intelligence” — HI — movement.
The “HI” term was coined by Conceivably Me. It has spurned the HI Movement. Kudos to her👏!!
Until a few months ago, if someone had mentioned ChatGPT, my reply would’ve been: Is that a new online dating site?
Indeed, I have been living a sheltered existence. Or, as journalist and writing coach Gabriel Piemonte penned something to the effect of: We writers are like everyone else, we just don’t get out much.
As a sidenote, he has added “HI” to his About and Profile. He suggests we all do it. Thanks, Gabriel, for the suggestion. I have added it to mine.
Many others have identified the same in their Profiles. Paul Dotta’s About section includes:
I will never use AI in my writing and do my best to avoid writers that do. I believe in the (not so?) distant future, content made by real people working will only gain in value as it becomes rarer.
DR Rawson - The Possibilist just changed his Profile to read:
A retired serial entrepreneur, writer, author, and editor committed to the Human Intelligence movement. Please join us.
It’s up to us — writers pledged to using our own voices — to ensure AI-generated glop doesn’t sink the Medium platform. It’s up to us to encourage fellow real “writers” by supporting and reading human authors.
How?
By refusing to read mere “content.” By blocking or muting people. By not following them back until checking their writing and Profile. By not commenting on their insipid pieces. By not opening their stories.
Passionately, Akaahan Terungwa explains:
Let’s reward those who spend hours thinking, struggling to put words on paper, editing, and re-editing. Let’s allocate our few cents per read to those who put in the time and effort, not those who feed a question to ChatGPT, make a few changes and proclaim the story to be the voice of a writer, all completed in an hour or so.
From a professional writer of more than a half century, Maryan Pelland OnText.com
My firm stance is this: A person who cannot compose a relatable, clean, supported, engaging, useful piece of writing needs to be in some other form of expression. That person is not a writer. Maryan Pelland OnText.com
Read Work by These Writers
We know there are many hundreds or even thousands of fellow writers who feel precisely the same way. This article has a list of nearly 300.
The names are alphabetized. I’m keeping a printed list with me and at my desk for easy access to read.
If your name is not on the list, please comment to be added. Or better yet, respond to this article by DR Rawson — The Possibilist linked below.
Learn How to Spot AI Faster and Skip It
We all have a learning curve to suss out the AI-generated writing. These tutorials by Ted Czukor, Momentum, and CarolF may assist you in spotting and skipping it.
Join in the Fun
Join the Movement. If you’re too young to yet have participated in a protest, come along. It’ll be fun. It can be a party.
DR Rawson - The Possibilist is leading the charge. Watch for his January 1 story about how to join the HI Movement. Here is his December teaser.
© Victoria Kjos. All Rights Reserved. 2024.
