The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Literature: A Study on Reader Perception
Introduction
Readers are critical of texts presumed to be written by artificial intelligence – even when they’re not, research finds. This phenomenon has sparked a debate on the use of AI in literature, with some authors embracing this technology to enhance their creative potential.
The Research
Researchers Hoaran Chu and Sixiao Liu conducted several experiments to investigate how much people are interested in AI-generated works of fiction. They had several volunteers read two versions of the same story: one written by a human author, the other by ChatGPT. Participants were then asked to rate each of these stories according to their persuasive quality and their ability to transport the reader into the world of the narrative.
The Findings
The results showed that the volunteers found the stories generated by ChatGPT as interesting as those by a human – but they didn’t find them as captivating. To challenge the participants’ assumptions, Chu and Liu switched how the stories were labelled, so that the story written by a human author was described as the work of ChatGPT, and vice-versa. The findings revealed that readers are more critical of texts presented as being written by artificial intelligence, even if they actually aren’t.
The Implications
This study highlights how people may be resistant to the use of AI in literature: perhaps they consider the art to be too "human" to be generated by a machine. However, some writers are already using this technology in their literary creation. Japanese author Rie Kudan has admitted to using ChatGPT to write 5% of her novel ‘Tokyo-to Dojo-to’, for which she won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize. In China, Shen Yang won second prize at a science-fiction literary competition for "Land of Memories", a short story written in three hours with the help of ChatGPT.
Conclusion
Can we really all become authors thanks to AI? Perhaps. As the use of generative artificial intelligence becomes increasingly easier, it will no longer be necessary to master the fundamentals of writing to produce a more or less accomplished work of fiction. However, it’s unlikely that AI will produce a masterpiece capable of winning the favour of readers on a significant scale. "AI does not write like a master writer. That’s probably good news for people like Hollywood screenwriters – for now," Chu concluded.
FAQs
- What is the purpose of the study?
The study aims to investigate how people perceive AI-generated works of fiction and whether they are interested in reading them. - What were the findings of the study?
The findings showed that readers are more critical of texts presented as being written by artificial intelligence, even if they actually aren’t. The stories generated by ChatGPT were found to be interesting, but not as captivating as those written by human authors. - What are the implications of the study?
The study suggests that people may be resistant to the use of AI in literature, but it also highlights the potential benefits of AI in enhancing creative potential.