V. L. Witt

V. L. Witt is strictly anti-generative AI. To them, generative AI in the context of writing is any AI that creates, writes, or re-writes written works or ideas, world building, characters, or any major part of a story. V. L. Witt does not use any Generative AI in the process of writing, drafting, storyboarding, idea generation, or cover design.

Generative AI vs. Assistive AI

V. L. Witt may utilize assistive AI during certain stages of the writing process. To them, assistive AI is any AI tool that makes writing more accessible. The distinction of generative and assistive AI falls with how the creative work is created. If the creative work is from a bot, that is generative AI. If the creative work is from a human, but used certain assistive tools, it is assistive AI.

Assistive tools used by V. L. Witt:

• dictation (speech-to-text) software – assists those with motor or vision disabilities who cannot write using a keyboard. V. L. Witt has a hypermobility disorder which occasionally impairs their ability to write at a desk or keyboard. For these times, they may utilize dictation software to write without the physical limitation.
• spell check and text-to-speech, only if used during the editing process to check for grammatical errors – assists those with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Note: text-to-speech should not, in V. L. Witt’s opinion, be used to generate audiobooks, as voice acting is a creative skill that is best left to humans. V. L. Witt may utilize spell check and text-to-speech for noticing and fixing grammatical errors such as spelling mistakes and tense (i.e. present tense vs past tense).

Can generative AI be assistive to disabled people?

In V. L. Witt’s opinion, as a disabled writer themselves, no. The belief that generative AI is needed for a disabled person to make a creative work (writing, art, etc) is ableist and infantalizes disabled creators. There are many disabled creators that made creative works well before generative AI was created. Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), John Milton (1608-1674), and Georgina Kleege (1956 – present) are just a few disabled creatives who created something while disabled. Assistive technology should be cultivated to increase the accessibility of certain creative ventures, however generative AI does not support creative ventures, and should not be used as a substitute for creativity, which is a honed skill.