Stop asking writers about "AI"
A writer argues that constantly asking authors to weigh in on AI-generated writing is unproductive and distracts from their craft. The author suggests writers' opinions on AI are largely irrelevant to the technology's trajectory.
Background
Benjamin Hollon is a blogger and author of speculative fiction who writes about technology, creativity, and ethics. This piece pushes back on a media habit: when AI enters the news cycle, journalists reflexively ask writers (novelists, poets, journalists themselves) what they "think about AI." Hollon argues this is a lazy framing that treats AI as a monolith and forces writers to defend their livelihoods on demand, rather than examining specific tools, labor conditions, or the tech industry's rhetoric. The piece is part of a broader backlash against "AI anxiety" coverage that centers emotional reactions from creative workers instead of, say, copyright law, training-data ethics, or how automation actually reshapes industries.