Let me state the obvious, as if it wasn’t clear from the headline above. I believe that generative AI is the devil. I view it as a serious threat to writers, the publishing industry, and let’s be honest, all of humanity. As the founder and chief creative officer of the Reed, Write, & Create brand, I am officially declaring that we are a brand that is staunchly anti-generative AI. We are so anti-generative AI, that if being anti-generative AI was a religion, we’d be card-carrying zealots wearing the t-shirts and spreading the gospel.

But even though I feel this way, it feels dangerous to publicly declare that I am anti-generative AI, because to do so seems to indicate that I am against progress and technology. Coming out as anti-generative AI feels like I’m signing up to be left behind, while the rest of the world moves ahead. It feels like I’m one step away from living under a bridge, using my human-generated books as kindling for the fire I use to cook my tins of cat food because I refuse to fall in line and embrace the wonders of generative AI.

But then I realized that I cannot be the only one who both abhors and fears what generative AI will do to the publishing industry, writers, and all of humanity. And so, I decided to push past my fears and actually take this very public stance to try to open up a more honest and hopefully action-oriented discussion about this threat to writers, authors, and the critical thinking skills of future generations.

Let’s break it down.

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI is a form of artificial “intelligence” that is fed boatloads of already created and published information and is then trained on how to make its own version of that information. That’s why some folks refer to generative AI as “plagiarism software.” Generative AI can be used to create written content, audio content, video content, code, and images amongst other things. Because this fake intelligence can learn and produce information relatively quickly, the benefits for those who traffic in “content,” seem obvious.

*Generative AI is often referred to as plagiarism software.*

The most recognized platform people use to engage with generative AI is ChatGPT. But there are others like DALL-E 2, which is used to create images. But these days, generative AI, or plagiarism software, is embedded in so many of our commonly used apps, programs and technology, it’s hard to pull it all apart. Google can write your emails for you. Descript can summarize your audio transcripts in seconds and create a blog post. Canva can generate images for your social media posts. All of those apps are using some form of generative AI to create content for you. So, without trying to sound hyperbolic, generative AI is literally everywhere and can do almost everything.

So, in a nutshell, generative AI is a computer program that processes information and then creates content from that information. The problem is, where is the information coming from to feed it, and how will the content it creates be used?

Here’s one answer to that question. Recently, it was discovered that META, the company responsible for our favorite social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, illegally downloaded and fed over 7 million books and 80 million research papers to its AI machine for training. That means thousands of authors, writers, and academics had their work stolen without permission or compensation, but even worse, a machine powered by one of the wealthiest tech companies in the world, can now repurpose that work and use it however and whenever they want with no oversight.

There is a class-action lawsuit underway against META for the theft, seeking compensation for the authors whose work was stolen, but the damage is done. The META AI machine has downloaded the information into its artificial “brain.” (And yes, three of my books and an anthology piece I wrote were included in the great META Theft).

Why Is Generative AI Bad for Writers? (According to ChatGPT)

*Generative AI is “dangerous” according to ChatGPT.*

Considering the fact that generative AI is also known as plagiarism software, it seems kind of obvious why this is a bad thing for writers, but it’s not just bad, generative AI is “dangerous.” You know how I know this? I asked ChatGPT and he told me. He used the word dangerous to describe the current state of generative AI. Well, he told my research assistant. Because I am so staunchly anti-generative AI, and because I didn’t want to bias the results in any way, I asked my research assistant (an actual human) to pose the question - Is generative AI bad for writers - to ChatGPT. And this is what our little robot plagiarizer said:

Generative AI Spreads Misinformation at the Speed of Light

Generative AI can create fake news articles, images, videos, or even full conversations that look real. That makes it way easier to spread lies, conspiracy theories, and propaganda—faster than humans can fact-check them.

Example: Deepfakes of politicians or AI-generated news reports going viral before the truth comes out.

Generative AI Puts Creatives Out of Work

Automation isn’t new, but generative AI is hitting jobs that were once thought to be safe—like writing, design, voiceover work, legal research, etc. It’s not just factory work anymore. Corporate leaders are too quick to slash jobs and outsource to robots that don’t require health insurance or human resource departments.

Example: Journalists, copywriters, and illustrators are finding their work replaced or undervalued by AI tools.

Generative AI Makes Plagiarism and Identity Theft a Fast-Growing Industry

Generative AI can impersonate your voice, your writing style, or your face—making scams more believable and personal.

Example: Books written by actual humans are being replaced by books written by Generative AI in the same style as well-known writers for less money.

Generative AI Leads to Intellectual Laziness

Some people are concerned generative AI will encourage a lack of original thinking. If AI is writing your essay, doing your coding, or generating your art—where's the personal growth?

Example: Students using AI to write papers without learning the material.

Documents Written by Generative AI Provides a Lack of Accountability

If AI makes a mistake—who’s responsible? The company that made it? The person using it? That’s still a legal and ethical gray zone.

Are you worried yet? I have one more reason why the growing usage and dependence on generative AI should be of concern.

Generative AI is (Really) Bad for the Environment

If the five reasons above don’t convince you that generative AI is a true threat to writers, authors, and artists of every kind, then let me introduce you to one more reason that generative AI is a real threat to all of humanity.

The training and usage of AI models uses significant energy, which leads to carbon emissions and mass energy consumption. According to this article in The Scientific American, “the more powerful the AI, the more energy it takes.” And since companies are constantly trying to make more powerful iterations of AI machines as demand grows, the environment continues to suffer at higher levels. Generative AI requires huge data centers that use massive amounts of water to cool the machinery, and stupid amounts of energy to run, which in turn produces ridiculous amounts of carbon emissions. According to researchers at MIT, “the industry is on an unsustainable path.” (Pro tip: Read the MIT article as it explains in very clear language how generative AI is destroying the environment.)

So, even if you love generative AI, it doesn’t love you or the planet. The resources it requires to learn and produce information are staggering, and what’s worse is that the machines have to continuously be fed new information in order to be of use. More feeding and more processing requires more energy and water, and creates more pollution. I’m just saying, feeding, caring for, and educating an actual human is much cheaper and won’t have the same negative environmental impact as ChatGPT and all of his little fake smart friends.

Why Generative AI is the Devil

My mother always says that an idle mind is the devil’s playground. And that right there explains why Generative AI is the actual devil. Even ChatGPT recognized the threat in his points above. Generative AI leads to “intellectual laziness.” Where is the incentive to read or write? How does one learn to critically analyze information if there is a machine who will think for you? Why bother thinking at all? I recently heard a content creator cackling with glee, talking about how exciting it was that she didn’t have to do anything but tell ChatGPT what her ideas were and within seconds she’d have all the blog posts, video scripts, and downloadable information she needed. No thinking, writing, or editing required.

As a former college professor, I cringe at the thought of the next generation of young people who will enter the workforce and become active citizens who have not been trained to think. Who have not experienced intellectual rigor. Who have not been allowed to engage with their own imagination because even creative projects can be outsourced to a machine.

As a writer, I worry when and if there will be a value or even a demand for human generated knowledge. For stories written by actual people. Thankfully, organizations like the Author’s Guild of America is already considering these issues and has created a seal for books that are human authored, to distinguish between those that were machine generated. I like to think that just like people want and pay for artisan bread, soaps, and dog food, that there will be a unique audience interested in artisan art, that is, art created by human genius, rather than artificial intelligence.

What Can Writers Do Now?

First and foremost, I hope writers keep writing. Keep using your own brain to read, write, and create unique stories. Don’t be tempted by the shiny apple. Don’t bite. And then try the following:

*This guy gets it. Use your own brain, not generative AI.*

Just Say No to Generative AI: Whenever possible opt out of using AI, even when it is offered for free. Save your skills and your intelligence. Also, be wary of big tech companies offering you free versions of AI, because you might be inadvertently training their AI machines with your voice and knowledge. If there is an Opt out policy, use it.

Remember the Children are Our Future: As writers, it is very important to foster a love and appreciation of reading, writing, and thinking in young people. Make them read real books. Have discussions with them about what they’re reading. Give them a pencil and a piece of paper every now and again and have them actually write things with their own hands. Even if it’s a grocery list. We, as writers, must do our part to boost the literacy rates of our future readers if we want an audience for our work, and we don’t want to live with people who can’t think for themselves.

Fight the Power + Follow the Money: Fight for every anti-generative AI measure you come across. Protest and Picket if need be. People keep saying that AI is inevitable and we just have to accept it. That message is coming from the people building generative AI tools because there is a LOT of money to be made in this field. Economists estimate that companies spent $13.8 billion on generative AI tools in 2024 and will spend more in 2025. That means people are getting PAID for making and selling this technology. That means businesses want to push this on everyone, so they can make more money, pay less people, and get richer. Generative AI is neither necessary nor good for those who can be replaced by plagiarism software.

I hope this post galvanizes my fellow writers and doesn’t make you feel under attack. I think that the more people speak up and speak out against generative AI, the better chance we have to regulate or reduce its usage. And if I disappear in the next few days, then know, the robots got me!