Do We Want To Lose Creativity To AI? (Editorial – December 2025)
Hello everyone.
I’ve said in the past and still believe that the Internet is a global village only with a lot of people popping in and out. Getting your head above the water and being seen or recognised can be a confusing mess, depending on how you want to be seen, let alone for what reasons. I’m certainly not sure about being an ‘influencer’ being a good way because you’re essentially a lackey to advertising promotion. In many respects, even social media is only a small section, considering how many different websites there are.
If you look at the Net as a structure geographically, it makes more sense than as a gathering place, broken down into particular languages. From an English-speaking point of view, we’re probably a fairly big section because so many speak English, but other sections are based in different languages and not necessarily accessible unless you can speak/read the language and know what you’re after. So you essentially have several villages of different languages and rules, mostly imposed by particular countries and not proportional to the real world, only to those who can use it. Some websites even restrict where they can be seen beyond their regions, but you don’t always come across that too often because the search engines won’t show them outside of such restrictions. The websites can then be divided into shops, banks, places for knowledge and even social gathering places in each language. Other choices are there as well, but you get the picture. The only difference is that the Net doesn’t reflect climate changes or weather disasters in the outside world other than the absence of people.
Like all villages, the framework gives something to grow with and multiplies out subject to users, people like us. Other humans are available, coming from all walks of life. Probably the only qualification is being able to use a computer or smartphone. It’s also amazing how things have progressed in the past 27 years and how much dependency has grown with Internet use. Even so, there is still a large proportion of each population who do not use the Net, and even those who do are not computer literate. To put total reliability on the Net for transactions is not a good idea. Even when the older generations die off, there will always be a proportion of any population who just don’t want to use the Net, and some probably for the right reasons.
In some respects, a lot of it is an expansion of normal activity, mostly in social media. Humans are supposed to be gregarious; only now you can do it from your home or wherever without actually being there, which is a sort of contradiction in terms, and even use fake names and information. It also offers some anonymity, so it’s hardly surprising that it gets abused on a regular basis. There’s a good argument to only have one identity online to wipe out a lot of fakery. Although I’m not exactly anti-social, I do tend towards being unsocial, or I would never get any work done, and I like editing/contributing at SFC.
A real problem and the point of this editorial is what is happening to people with creative talent out there? If you are a creative, there is often a desire to write, draw or paint and show what you can do and, maybe, make some money from it. Starting your own website is relatively easy, but drumming up people to come and have a look is a lot more difficult unless you have some sort of celebratory status. To do that, people end up being on social media to get people to like you, and that can be hard work. Once you’re there, people tend to be writing for their clique group rather than for themselves and lose track of what they are supposed to be doing: writing credible stories. A similar thing tends to happen in real-world creative classes, so it’s hardly new; I’m just pointing out a similarity. Creativity comes with a strong personality. Something the Internet or classes can undermine if you let it.
Even so, there’s little in the way of, what shall we call it, apprenticeship for creativity on the Net. In the real world, if you want to become a writer, you work your way up through the ranks, getting short stories in print in the magazines and then chancing your luck with novel length and publishers. It all develops your writer’s CV and shows how you’ve worked with other people editorially and know what to expect. A lot of that has been wiped now, especially with science fiction, which we’ve discussed before.
It’s problematic with the Net that people think they can make it through social media or on their own. When I read of the number of ‘followers’ each person can have on social media, I wonder how they can keep up with everyone? No wonder people wander around with their noses in their mobile phones; other devices are available. Do they really keep up or are they just watchers just reading? They must be spending forever keeping up, let alone replying. If nothing else, reading skills are a requisite. Outside of families, how can any friendship build up, let alone a proper conversation with so much input? This is the observation of an outsider. Correct me if I’m wrong. We opened an email channel to SFC that is dying of digital cobwebs. It’s a lot harder for digital to mimic its paper forefathers.
Getting seen on a known website or more can add to a writer’s CV because it means you’ve passed through the editorial eye of someone who might think you have talent or, at least, a piece that is well written. Considering the number of hits SFC gets, which Google logs us into the mainstream rather than the SF niche, you would think we would be a notch in any writer’s CV. If nothing else, regardless, I have a reputation for pointing out what is wrong with the material rather than just saying it’s not for us. If you can survive me, you can survive anything.
Now we have a new problem: AI being taught to be creative as another competitor. I think I’ve been offered a story each year for a few years that was written by one which was so bad that I didn’t think a human had written it even when I treated it as a human. I doubt if creativity can be programmed into an AI or if it can be told to respond to editors. On top of that, it needs a quirky way of looking at life or imagining unusual situations.
I think AI has a long way to go in growing pains. Will it become a rival, though? If the grammar checkers I’ve seen are anything to go by, then it certainly can’t be taught the rules well at the moment, so how can it construct any ideas into a viable, intelligent story? Even so, can an AI fake a story by taking from other sources? Apart from copyright infringement, it won’t just take ideas but story structure as well. How many chimpanzees typing do you want to compete against? AI and its uses have been blown out of proportion to what it can really do.
Even so, it just adds to the competition, and people are being less creative, leaving a gap and even relying on some AI-based extensions rather than doing the work themselves. Humans are notorious for getting into bad habits, and it can spread like wildfire. Should I go as far as saying that the Internet could survive without any human interaction? Maybe multiple AIs will be left arguing on the Net when man is extinct.
In many respects, AI has the potential to kill creativity in its attempts to put humans on an equal basis. I mean, there are various grammar checkers out there, but they are hardly equal, let alone better than me, and I carry all the rules in my head. An AI to write your story for you – so what you are going to do in the meantime is just plain lazy? A good organic writer can not only hook you into a story but also distil a lot of useful factual information and interesting characters and even manipulate your thinking if they choose.
I have a large DOC file of ideas, not all of them sorted out enough to move onto the story status, but fun to look through and then get an inspiration to put it together. People have problems enough recognising a good idea, let alone a bad one, let alone giving time to actually deciding what is a good or bad story. In a nutshell, it can’t replace human creativity or the experience that would make a good writer. It all becomes academic if there are no creative writers out there getting started.
It can’t replace the ability to be creative or second-guess me. Can we have more people like me, please? You there, stop groaning at the back of the class.
Too much procrastinating and less work is too much side-tracking. If you want to write, then you need to be seen. Getting those abilities started should be better than a new year’s resolution. At least with a gym, you can let it drop from lack of enthusiasm. Writing needs to be in your blood and come out on the screen.
Thank you, take care, and good night, and I hope 2026 is a better year, so I’m going to be the first person to wish you a wonderful one.
Geoff Willmetts
editor: www.SFCrowsnest.info
A Zen thought: Did you get that one?
What Qualities Does A Geek Have: To question everything.
The Reveal: If you want to be especially creative and are not sure how to proceed on a story point, which is commonly called a writer’s block, have a couple days’ break, and your creative aspect will take over and find a solution.
Observation: This is really only for our British readers, although the sentiment probably applies to some of the other countries out there. Don’t you find it odd that some of the non-digital channels are having financial problems, especially in advertising, and face sell-outs and yet still promote their digital channels?
Observation: The weirdest game advert on British TV is a word game you can play while operating on a patient without anaesthetic.
Observation: While we’re on adverts, maybe it’s just me, but I never really get the actors nodding as if it means something we’ve never thought of before.
Observation: If someone, no need to guess, says, ‘You have to understand’, it probably means that he thinks you don’t, even when you think he’s wrong.
Observation: Looking at ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ again, for the man-apes to so readily eat meat, they had to be omnivores in the first place, so maybe they ran out of small livestock. Pass the rodent to someone.
Observation: I was curious about any British town names that were not used as surnames and thought it would be a test for Google’s search engine. It couldn’t say for definite that none had ever been used but made a valid point for Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. A fair point, but even the Welsh village’s inhabitants abbreviate it down to ‘Llanfair’, so not totally out of the running.
Observation: Now here’s a non-festive thought. As a type one diabetic, this is not the season of rich food, as it’s toxic. With irritable bowel syndrome, there are even fewer food choices. So, if adverts were orientated towards my preferences, I probably wouldn’t see many of them for two and a half months each year.
Feeling Stressed: I haven’t mentioned any potential world war, and you’re still feeling stressed about ordinary things. Puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?
Submissions:-
If you think having free books to review isn’t enough, how about reading them months ahead of everyone? I mean real months. Beats a time machine. We really need to recruit even for the little real science fiction, horror and fantasy that is out there.
I did think that having a lot of text about submitting material to SFCrowsnest would attract those with a compulsion to read and understand things the geek way. The main problem with the Internet is that it tends to encourage less reading, so it’s time to take a different approach. The original notes will be left on the July 2009 editorial, although the links aren’t likely to work.
With your cover email, tell me something about yourself so I don’t work in a vacuum. The boss in the tower, also called Stephen Hunt, describes me as a ‘Dutch Uncle’ in that I’m good with advice and can explain when I see something that is wrong. Egos should be left at the door, as I’m only interested in your talent and how to improve it.
Reviews:-
I always have a clarion call for new reviewers, and if you have the yen to learn, you’ll quickly get the ropes if you’ve never done it before, but you must show me a sample, especially if you can follow my guidelines. We can usually get paper-based books in the UK, but if you live abroad, then you might have to stick with e-books. If you’ve picked a book we haven’t reviewed, then it stands a better chance of being used, so use the SFC search engine to see first, but I need to see how you would write for us.
The obvious qualification is a desire to read regularly and like to tell others about the book without giving away too many spoilers. The benefit is access to free books for the price of a review.
I want to give you the opportunity to get things right, so look up the Review Guidelines link: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/so-you-want-to-write-reviews-for-sfcrowsnest-what-you-need-to-know-by-geoff-willmetts/
Fiction:-
Although we can’t pay for submissions, what we do make up for is exposure. Only the Sci-Fi Channel gets more hits than us, so it’s worthwhile getting us on your writer’s CV. Please avoid samplings from books you might be writing or have had in print elsewhere, as I do check. New original work is best, and whether I accept or reject it, you will be told of any problems I see so you look your best, and a grammar check that is equal to the pro-world. Even the boss finds me scarily accurate.
Flash or One-Page Fiction:-
Speaks for itself. The shortest fiction possible is also the toughest to write, as no word must be wasted.
Link here for details: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/one-page-stories-or-flash-fiction-submissions-instructions-by-gf-willmetts/
Short Stories:-
The definition of a short story is anything up to 30 pages, and then it becomes a novella. Bear in mind you want other people to read it online; stay somewhere between 5 and 20 pages. At least digitally, you don’t have to go double-line, as HTML will do that automatically, but think about being concise. If you want to send an attachment with these, then ask first and send as a TXT file, as it removes most tetchy virus codes.
Look up the Short Stories Link by linking here: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/so-you-really-want-to-write-an-sf-story-an-update-by-gf-willmetts/
Finally:-
The worst problem I see in any samples is poor grammar. Although I don’t want you to think I seek perfection, the less work I have to do, the easier it is to focus on other problems you might have. It will also serve you in good stead if you ever approach paper-based publishers because they will send back any bad grammar samples because it’s not worth their time.
Good grammar is the tool of any writer. Don’t just depend on what you remember doing at school. There are plenty of decent grammar books out there, so remind yourself of the rules. If you think there are far too many to remember, get the major ones right before moving to the next so it becomes second nature.
This link, www.sfcrowsnest.info/the-guide-to-better-grammar-from-the-harrowed-hand-of-gf-willmetts/, will show you the common problems.
To submit, use our email address by joining the spaces as shown here: letters@SFcrowsnest.info and use the subject matter as to what you’re submitting.
If you have any pastimes that can be used to pass the time in captivity, let me know and we’ll see if it can be turned into an article.
Comments directly to reviews should still work as before.
Good luck.
Geoff
