I’m trying to get back into blogging, starting with perhaps one blog a month, but the problem is the same one I’ve had ever since I stopped blogging every day — nothing to say. That didn’t stop me all those years of being a dedicated blogger — I just wrote whatever came to mind.
And what’s coming to mind, after seeing those dashes in my first two sentences, is that supposedly, if you see a lot of dashes in text, it’s probably written by an artificial intelligence (though if it’s artificial, can it be intelligent? Doesn’t intelligence signify a mind or at least a brain?). I might not be an artificial intelligence (might not even be much of a natural intelligence anymore for that matter), but I do tend to use a lot of dashes. And parentheses.
To be honest, I don’t see the point of using computer “intelligence” programs to write. The point of writing is to be yourself, to dig the truth from somewhere deep inside, and it seems that using those programs buries the truth deeper. Besides, the point of reading is to meet mind to mind. It’s an utterly human ability — to perceive in one’s own mind via twenty-six symbols something that someone else conceived in their mind. Anything else is just . . . words. Drivel.
Even worse, as artificial intelligence works today, it’s basically a form of plagiarism. Of course, people can take that plagiarized writing and rework it so that it’s not exact, in which case it’s not legally plagiarism, but it’s still morally plagiarism.
I think about this a lot lately as I am re-re-re-re-rereading Wheel of Time books. There is no way that series could ever have been written by any an artificial intelligence, or even a minor natural intelligence. Written to appeal to the young readers of fantasy, Robert Jordan layers his story with so much depth that the series can be read and reread dozens of times and always a different tier of meaning can be found.
From my first reading, I’ve been ambivalent about the books. For one thing, I’m not a fan of fantasy. For another, a good number of those millions of words could be whittled away to make the story stronger. (That’s what happens when your editor is also your wife — too much dross is left intact.) A good number of scenes and even chapters could have been left off without any loss to the story. Or maybe not since readers seem to differ on what those unnecessary scenes are. Luckily, there is a thing call skimming text or even skipping chapters. But the bulk that is left intact, is sheer genius.
As I wrote before, the scope of the story is utterly astounding. In the story-world, during the so-called age of legends, people wielding the power that turns the wheel of time, broke the world. Mountains grew where no mountains had been, waters flooded lands, green spaces became deserts. And humans started over. Interestingly, breaking the world is exactly what Robert Jordon did when he wrote his series — he smashed our world into bits, mixed it all up — legends and traditions; countries and races, clothes and customs; myths and mysteries, religions and philosophies — and put it all back together into his own creation. Truly fascinating.
It’s because of these books that I know for a fact that Google’s experimental AI overview is not to be taken as truth. So often, if I have a question about the books, the overview is not accurate, probably because it forms answers from authoritative sources as well as opinions proffered in fan discussions — and there are a lot of those discussions. (As to why I have questions, it’s hard to keep track of a story that has maybe 2,782 named characters with 1,379 of those being point-of-view characters.)
I’m sure this essay doesn’t seem to tell you what’s going on in my life, though it really does. With winter limiting my choices, I spend my days with simple pursuits such as computer games, painting-by-numbers, reading (and this year, so far, what I’ve been reading is The Wheel of Time.)
I am lucky (and exceedingly grateful) there is nothing much to write about. I am as safe as possible, as healthy as possible, as happy (or at least as contented) as possible. I hope the same for you.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One.
Bertram's Blog 
February 8, 2025 at 4:22 pm
My opinion of AI is that it isn’t intelligent at all…that while I understand it has value in assisting medical science and putting together non-fiction volumes like instruction manuals, it utterly lacks the ability to truly ‘write’ or produce honest art because it can’t be creative. They are drawn from our brains, which AI doesn’t have.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading this winter, too, although I have to admit I’ve never been inclined to read Wheel of Time. My preference is more for historical fiction and challenging mysteries, and I do like well described, familiar settings. World building isn’t my ‘thing’. 🙂
This past week I’ve been pouring over gardening magazines and some of my many gardening books, getting inspired by the gorgeous photos. It’s wishful thinking to hope that spring will arrive sooner rather than later this year, but I can’t help dreaming a bit about what projects I’d like to tackle in our new-to-us yard when it finally does arrive.
February 8, 2025 at 8:04 pm
My preference is also more for challenging mysteries. I ended up reading Wheel of Time when I was laid up and it was one of my few choices. Luckily, unlike most of that genre, the world wasn’t a distraction. That’s why I generally don’t like fantasy — I have no interest in fake worlds. The world in these books is ours — both our way distant past and our way distant future. Our legends form the basis of their world, and theirs forms ours. A wheel. The challenge for me, and what keeps me reading, is finding all the references to history, myth, legend, religion, culture, etc. Even though it’s not my genre of choice, the Wheel world is a good place to get lost in during a wild winter. Because of all the weather ups and downs, I haven’t had any inclination to think of gardening, though I did throw out a bunch of wildflower seeds before the snows began. It will be interesting to see if anything comes up.
Dream up some wonderful projects! Spring will get here. Sometime.
February 9, 2025 at 5:31 am
Over the last couple of months, I immersed myself in AI-land. It’s a weird new world. In 5 years, as much as 50% of all new books will be written by AI. It doesn’t matter what I think about that…what matters is what young people think. If they are willing to consume it–give it their attention and part of their discretionary spending, then it will be prevalent. Here’s what will happen. The Tween will ask the AI to rewrite Twilight with themselves as the main character and their friends as supporting cast–set in their neighborhood with their enemies as the baddies. They will think they wrote it. When they tire of that, they will turn to The Lord of The Rings with themselves as Gandalf and their dog as Bilbo. Everything digital will be tuned to their preference and taste. It sounds like hell to me, but they will see it as their pleasure palace.
February 9, 2025 at 1:06 pm
I bet a lot of romance readers would like that sort of book — one where they are in fact a character — even if it is AI generated.
But yes, hell for sure.
February 10, 2025 at 10:14 am
Great to see you writing, even if it’s to be once a month. I can’t find anything to read that holds my attention, if the editing sucks or they use too many words…bye bye. I hope Spring is early as well.
February 10, 2025 at 5:17 pm
I have a hard time finding anything to read, too. Even if it’s good writing, most books seem to be an echo of something I’ve already read, so it makes no difference if I’ve read a book before or not. Always the echo.