Brainstorming with Bots: The Ethics of AI-Assisted Creativity

Words to Write by

Can writers harness AI ethically without surrendering the soul of their craft? In our provocative new mini-series, we're not just theorizing about AI's role in creative writing—we're putting it to the test.

Picture this: You're staring at a blank page. Your protagonist is trapped, your love interests are stubbornly avoiding each other, or your climactic scene lacks the perfect setup. We've all been there. Could AI be the brainstorming partner that breaks through these creative walls?

To find out, we challenged Claude (our AI of choice) with a classic writing exercise from John Gardner's The Art of Fiction. The results? Let's just say they left us speechless—and not for the reasons you might expect.

Whether you're an AI skeptic, enthusiast, or simply curious about the future of storytelling, this episode is for you.

Tune in to discover if AI truly empowers the creative process—or if it's leading writers down a dangerous path.

Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.

Chapters

1. Brainstorming with Bots: The Ethics of AI-Assisted Creativity (00:00:00)

2. Introduction to Words to Write By (00:00:14)

3. Setting Up the AI Exploration (00:01:17)

4. Authors Guild Human Certificate (00:05:14)

5. Testing AI Brainstorming with Gardner's Prompts (00:08:30)

6. Claude's Story Generation Capabilities (00:15:33)

7. The Cinderella Experiment (00:28:57)

8. Can We Ethically Brainstorm with AI? (00:35:11)

9. Final Thoughts on AI and Writing (00:42:38)