Gatekeepers, the Free-Market, and AI

Welcome to the first Blog Post of the new year. I'm expanding on my weekly Wednesday posts The Inside Story that I feature on my FB page and will be sharing them here as part of my blog series.

While I tend to keep my personal and professional opinions close to my heart, I’ve decided that for this upcoming year I’d switch things up a bit. Within the Indie publishing world, the pesky issue of AI is causing a divide amongst authors and designers, so here’s my two cents.

Gatekeeper: A person or thing that controls access to something.

It is my opinion that some within the Indie community are moving towards the dangerous position of “Gatekeeper.” How, by banning authors or publicly shaming them in various groups. Whilst I understand the purist argument that art (in whatever format/medium) is most valuable when created by the human touch, I’m not yet convinced that authors using AI generated cover art is “stealing” from traditional designers. Why? Because as an avid and sometimes professional photographer, I would then have to subscribe to the opinion/argument that cell phones have stolen away my opportunity to sell portraits and other fine art forms of photography.

One of the attractive things about being an “Indie” author is that I’m free to make my own decisions and that applies to other creatives as well. What and how you choose to create is your own business. Who am I to tell you how to create?

Now, let’s get to the Free Market. It is my opinion that consumers will decide the success or lack thereof of AI-generated art.

Personally, I will not be using AI art or voices for my books. I’m lucky to have had more than 30 years in the creative arts industry and I’m capable of creating my art (save for the voice option which requires a whole other skill). 

I’m waiting for someone in the world of economics or even the Trad world to publish a study that delves into the impact AI is having on the sale of books with and without AI generated covers. Does the consumer care? 

Until then, I’ll continue to create my own work and let the free-market decide. There will be no “gate-keeping” on my side of the fence.

What say you?