Episode Details

AI is changing the way authors write, but is every use of AI created equal? From researching to generating the words on the page, AI has entered nearly every stage of a writer’s life. But is using AI inherently unethical, or does the answer depend on what you’re asking it to do? In this episode of Authors Talking Bookish, we examine a spectrum of controversy surrounding the use of AI in order to help you determine where you stand.

SHOW NOTES:

The Spectrum of AI Adoptions: Research vs. Marketing vs. Writing vs. Brainstorming

Research (High Acceptance)

Marketing & Administration (High Acceptance)

A New Complication: AI as search engine

Drafting & Prose (Controversial)

Ethical Friction: Who owns the training material?

Author vs. AI Accusations: High-Profile Book Cancellations

Detecting AI Use

Final Ethical Questions: Where We Stand

SOURCES & LINKS

Why The Press Release Isn’t Dead, Reader Views, July 2026

AI Optimization for Authors, Author Media, May 2025

Anthropic Destroyed Millions of Print Books to Build its AI Models, ARS Technica, June 2025

Authors Guild and Plaintiffs File Motion for Summary Judgement v. Open AI and Microsoft, The Authors Guild, September 2026

$2M Crime Novel Deal Collapses Amid Questions over AI Use, Emma Loffhagen, The Guardian, July 2026

A New York Times Op Ed , Andrea Bartz, March 2026

The Authors Who Admit to Using AI: “I have absolutely no shame about it,” Annabel Nugent, The Independent, June 2026

Full Show Notes are available on our website as well as free downloads mentioned in the episode.

Authors Talking Bookish https://www.authorstalkingbookish.com

Hope Gibbs, author of Where the Grass Grows Blue https://www.authorhopegibbs.com/

Donna Norman-Carbone, author of All That is Sacred & Of Lies and Honey https://www.donnanormancarbone.com

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