AI and the Writer
Guest Writer: Isabel Anders
“Every garden preserves something of the Garden of Eden and can become a living library for important lessons.”—Mother Bilbee.
What does it mean to be creating (in my case, simple rhymes for children’s picture books) in an age when AI is a noisy fellow traveler in that same lane—increasingly taking up space that used to be open only to human artists and writers?
Are we at “that long-prophesied moment when mechanical minds surpass human brains not only quantitatively in processing speed and memory size but also qualitatively in intellectual insight, artistic creativity, and every other distinctively human faculty?” (NY Times, 3/8/2023).
Not yet (and maybe never), most critics agree. AI lacks, above all, perhaps, a personal morality and a history of living. It literally does not have “skin” in the game.
As I strive to express the spirit of Jesus’ Beatitudes in scenarios children themselves might encounter, I’m reminded that language is “layered.” Timely words seem to pour out intuitively from years of interactions with other living, enfleshed beings—who are also trapped (or thriving) in their contemporary situations, as we are.
How can we as writers bring forward the rich legacy of our own years of learning how to live—not only morally, but also by modeling fundamental spiritual integrity?
How many children today, for instance, have even heard of the Golden Rule: That we are to do unto others as we wish them to do toward us? At the youngest level of readers and listeners, there is a unique opportunity to convey this pictorially, never to exhaust its meaning—but with prayers to instill a taste for goodness at a very young and formative age.
Just as the sun melts butter but hardens clay—some young hearts will respond favorably, and others won’t. And as with any ministry, that is not a reason not to make the attempt—even in today’s highly competitive children’s picture book marketplace.
And so, taking on the challenge, those of us on the Mother Bilbee team are embarking on a modest experiment: asking readers young and old to “join our kindness movement.”
If AI begins to take notice and gather up (“scrape”) my efforts for its own use, I won’t be sorry to see the Word spread, like seed, enhancing the possibility of a wider harvest.
Isabel Anders is the author of Mother Bilbee Tales (MotherBilbee.com) for children ages three to eight: Sing a Song of Six Birds is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon. Her newest title, Mary, Harry, Pete, and Carrie, How Does Your Garden Grow? will be released on September 1.
“Mother Bilbee Tales is a refreshing, delightful update on some of our modern bedtime lullabies that are enjoyed by both the old and the young. The tales are a rhyme of encouragement, especially when we are learning and, even later in life, deciding the next right thing to do!” —The Rev. Joanna J. Seibert, M. D.
Joanna joannaseibert.com