The introduction of generative AI is making me slow down

A few years ago, November was when writers worldwide would transform into hermits. We would hunker down and attempt to write 50,000 words by the end of the month — the equivalent of a novel. Rarely could we be seen during this time, except when fetching food and drink and dealing with other bodily inconveniences. And when you did see us, we’d be distractedly muttering about the problems and solutions to our manuscripts-in-progress, almost never pausing our workflow even away from our desks. The tradition was called NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month. Apt, right?

Not so since last year. The nonprofit that hosted NaNoWriMo accumulated a scandal too many, related to its handling of finances and conduct. The final straw was when the organization released a pro-artificial intelligence (AI) statement, declaring that the “categorical condemnation of artificial intelligence has classist and ableist undertones.”

(For the record, as a writer with SMA, I dissent against that opinion. I hadn’t even used AI for research until a couple months ago. Moreover, the ease with which you could generate 50,000 words with a click defeats the purpose of the challenge. It makes no sense.)

This yearly tradition and gathering of the writing community are among the things I’ve felt robbed of by AI. Yet my contemplation of AI’s ubiquity and role in our creative lives has perhaps led me to a healthier mindset.

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I used to envy fast writers. No matter how hard I try, unless it’s a text to a friend or a rant in an email, I couldn’t ever sustainably write 1,667 words a day for 30 days: the minimum to complete NaNoWriMo’s challenge.

One contributing factor is that I was homeschooled. Academics weren’t a priority during my childhood. My parents had feared the stress of meeting Singapore’s formal education milestones would literally be the death of me. Every time we attempted to stay on track, I ended up in the hospital, coughing for my life. As a consequence, I never quite developed the discipline to do something I didn’t really want to do for an extended period of time.

But my main issue is the triple-whammy of living with SMA, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and chronic pain. To quote my best friend, Brie, SMA itself “is a full-time job.” With ADHD and chronic pain, I’m working another two jobs part time at least, on top of my other responsibilities.

Some may assume I’m using my medical conditions as an excuse not to work as hard. But I am the one experiencing how all three conditions feed into each other on a daily basis. They can’t feel what I do.

Fatigued due to SMA after a day out? ADHD would come in with brain fog. Strained my body because I was hyperfixating on a draft? A chronic pain flare will suddenly start ringing alarm bells. Experiencing a bad flare? I’m either task-hopping to do what I can when I can or struggling even to eat. Those are just a few examples of the cycles I’m confronted by. Getting any writing done therefore requires careful navigation on some days and a miracle from God on others.

This column is no exception. The first half I drafted during an evening when I stopped and stared into space unintentionally countless times, as though an error message kept popping up in my programming. I gave up after two hours and 500 words, and decided to try working on it again the following morning.

In a world that demands everything be done now, now, now, these frustrating occurrences I live with could affect my self-esteem. After all, if AI can write 50,000 words in a few seconds, why shouldn’t I give up on writing anything else ever again?

Then I realized people were labeling AI’s output as “slop.” More importantly, I remembered that every influential writer and artist revered by the public took years to conceptualize and create their works.

Jane Austen wrote the first draft of “Pride and Prejudice” within a year, but did not publish the final version until 15 years later. Lin-Manuel Miranda began writing “Hamilton” in 2008, but did not perform the show on Broadway until 2015. No one knew we’d be watching “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019 when Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Tony Stark/Iron Man in 2006. I could list works forever.

It’s easy to conclude that speed rarely equates to quality. It’s harder to recognize that the time and struggle it takes to produce your project often helps you resonate with your audience. If you needed that reminder, this is it. AI couldn’t make readers feel seen like my column does.

Note: SMA News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of SMA News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to spinal muscular atrophy.