Speak Softly and Leave the Stick
A little about feedback
As all of us are aware, AI-generated content is a massive thorn in the heels of genuine authors and web platforms alike. It's posted on social media sites, blogs, and even printed media. One of our Vocal members, Judey Kalchik, has done a ton of legwork on this issue (and many others) and has already given plenty of tips on how to detect it. You can find her articles on it here. For now, I'd like to focus on what we should do when we think we've spotted AI being used.
AI-generated content has made it increasingly difficult for authors like you and me to be seen, and in some cases, get paid. I get that. We all do. However, in our struggle to recognize, detect, and report AI, some of us have decided to attempt to punish those who use it. Personally, I don't think that's moral, even if we feel like not enough is being done to combat its usage.
Don't get me wrong: I believe it's okay to gently tell anyone you feel like their content may be using unattributed AI content. It's ok to skip that and go straight to reporting it, too. The problem is when we take it further and relentlessly comment on another author's stories or argue with the author. We are not the AI police. We are not degree-holding experts at detecting AI. Presumably, Vocal Media has those experts, and I am fine allowing them to determine whether or not a reported story/poem is using AI.
Let's take a look at an excerpt from my story, A Murder in Time.
Several people dressed in Halloween costumes share the college dormitory space with him. A complicating factor, but the dim light in the room makes him feel confident in his chances of success. Half of them dance to Bachata. Others, like himself, stand around watching the dancers like silent sentinels or sit on couches chatting with others and holding red plastic cups in their hands. His fingers tap idly against his thigh, keeping pace with the music.
I ran this text through an AI detector, and wouldn't you know it? Some of this text appears to be "most likely generated by AI." Someone better report me!
Now, on a serious note, I can promise you I have never, ever used AI to generate any words that I write. Yet, if you were relying solely on a detector, my work would be questioned, and I could possibly be disqualified.
The issue with using AI detectors is that they are, in fact, checked by AI. Imagine you believe a police department is guilty of hiding abuses of power. They investigate themselves and tell you, "We found we didn't do anything wrong." Would you blindly trust that conclusion? I know I wouldn't. AI is worse. It is highly inconsistent and often entirely inaccurate, and should therefore never be used as the sole basis for AI detection, period.
So, what should you do when you suspect an author of using AI to generate content? As a fellow writer, I believe our primary objectives should always be to help each other become better writers. If I suspect a writer of using AI, I might offer some constructive feedback, but I will never be accusatory. That's not my job - it's Vocal's. Even with accounts we're all sure post nothing but AI-generated content, I only report - because what if I'm wrong? I want to encourage genuine writers to be their authentic selves, not crush their creative spirits.
At most, remind the user of Vocal's policies on unattributed AI usage or point them to Judey's fabulous articles. Offer to help. But if a writer denies using AI, that should be the end of your interaction with them. End of story. Arguing with a writer helps no one.
If you take anything from this writing, then let it be this final piece of advice: No one is perfect, so whenever possible, be kind to one another. Thanks for reading!
About the Creator
Kenny Penn
Thanks for reading! I enjoy writing in various genres, my favorites being horror/thriller and dark/epic fantasies. I'll also occasionally drop a poem or two.
More at: www.kennypenn.com
My Top Stories: https://www.kennypenn.com/vocalmedia/
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Comments (20)
A good read, very useful and considerate! Congrats on TS!
Congratulations on your top story!!🎉🎉🎉🎉
Nicely put brother!
Yeah...AI has a host of issues. This is a brilliant piece on one of them---the inaccuracies. And congrats on TS, Kenny! A wholesome and worthwhile message and a good reminder about the tech, too. Would be interested to read your take on AI images and the ethical implications of using them for Vocal stories. You know what I'm nostalgic for? Zero tolerance policies...I daydream of those on this site, lol.
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Good policy 🩷
Great tone and approach Kenny. This has wide-ranging applicability even beyond AI. For me, "online battles" are draining even from the sidelines, so I don't have them. Great top story!
Congrats on a great article. Point of view on point. 😍
Being kind to one another should be one of the most important things to us. I am guilty of relying on just AI detectors and I tried to support others who used AI. When I used the detector, it tells me that some parts were written by the author and some parts weren't. So I was commenting only on the parts that were written by the author (bless my innocent heart). (I felt a little stuck on what to do, because those contents are allowed to be published, and they may read my stuff and… yeah, I felt stuck) I am probably way too kind and need some sort of balance. Thank you for letting us know that we can't rely solely on these AI detectors, that they could be wrong. Reminding them of vocals policies is definitely another thing I will take away from this. Thank you for looking out for us Kenny Reading this has given me a lot to think about. Especially on the part of reporting, I've been lazy on this end of things as well. 🤗❤️
Excellent article thanks for sharing
I am adding you and this piece to todays Dynamic Duo in VSS! See you there my friend!
You know you had me till the police analogy….as a good American I have full confidence that the police would never protect one of their own…. (/s just in case) Agree with you wholeheartedly. There are some hallmarks that something is AI gen, but it’s a razor thin line. If I think it is, I hit report and move on. No need to make a fuss.
The only time I've really felt justified in "punishing" the author for using it was when they left the comment from AI at the bottom. It was so blatant it was a bit sickening TBH. Unfortunately some people think that em dashes and Oxford commas is indicative of AI use.... Yikes.
Amen Kenny!
Oh no, now I gotta report you! And then I might as well turn myself in 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I usually leave a comment something along the lines of "Hey there, if we use AI, according to Vocal's Community Guidelines, we have to disclose it, so we have to choose the AI-Generated tag when we publish". But I don't report them yet Some would never respond. Some do and would thank me for letting them know. Some would say they've never used AI and I'd proceed to apologise to them. But how do I know if they've used AI despite them denying it? It's when the English they use in their pieces and the English they use to reply me are wayyyyy different. Like their pieces would have perfect English and their replies would be fully broken English. Then I would report them But there are some cases where their replies too would be AI so I report them as well.
Right there this is why I love you, Kenny! You are rational and level headed. I agree 100% with everything you said here. I usually will not interact with the person I suspect is publishing AI generated material. My method is to check the suspected piece not just once but seven times on various AI checkers and if the results are fairly consistent on it being AI generated then I will consult with one of two (or both) of my keen Vocalite friends in Messenger - never publicly. If I get an agreement from those with which I confer then I move forward and report the suspected story. I have reported several stories over the past month. A few months ago someone made a very public accusation that a popular Vocal creator was using AI. The result was several other Vocalites jumping in and publicly accusing/belittling the accused. The accused person was crushed personally. They did not deserve such treatment. The person admitted to using AI on some of their stories but that the majority of what they wrote was their own material. The person also will not use AI anymore. And while I agree that it was wrong for this person to use AI, I also feel that it was very wrong for the accuser to publicly accuse the person and basically drag them through the mud. That was not nice at all. I actually called that person out publicly. What’s even worse is that the piece that the accuser wrote even received a top story from vocal. That was very wrong also. This type of material where a vocal creator is accusing another vocal creator of something should never be a top story. Vocal should not be glorifying stuff like that. Vocal should be glorifying quality literary works, not people complaining or snitching or gossiping. As you said we are not the AI police, that is the vocal team’s job. And if we feel that the vocal team is not doing their job then we need to get on their case not the individual creators case because those AI detectors are not always correct and also if you happen to use AI as a proofreader sometimes it’s gonna show up that your material was AI generated when it was not. I use ChatGPT or copilot to proofread several of my stories and even though they don’t change my words or my stories sometimes it still comes back as being partially AI generated 20% or 25% or so.
Very thoughtful of you to write this, Kenny. It's important we remain a community built on kindness and trust. It's the only way to grow in a positive direction. From time to time, I run across AI generated material, even read a few knowing the author didn't write them. One of the biggest indicators I have found is when every story in their profile starts with the same or similar opening. Another is when they always use bullet points to break down facts. But the most telltale sign for me is when I comment on a piece and their response to the comment is full of broken English or overly complex and doesn't match anything I said, lol. I know there is no way to regulate the use of AI and sadly, people will continue to use it to write. I'm against the use of it to write and could never get past the guilt of passing something off as my own. Crazy stuff, man... Hopefully this gets TS. It's words we all need to hear and understand.
All fair points.
Calm and kind. Thank you Kenny
Wonderfully stated, Kenny. I'd like to believe we all want to foster genuine community here and create a safe space for engagement, as well as hone our craft. Protecting ourselves from plagiarism and bots as well as rooting out unattributed AI is part of creating that space. And I agree that we have a responsibility to do it properly. I need to go back through Judey's resources again, thanks for adding them :)