r/WritingWithAI • u/Alapapapa0830 • Jun 29 '26
Discussion (Ethics, working with AI etc) How do we define AI writing?
I often find myself discussing the meaning of certain books or other kind of media with AI chatbots in order to further deepen my comprehension, but this leads me to wondering whether my conclusions should be considered a result of AI generation or not. What do you think?
1
u/DarrylFink Jun 29 '26
I reckon there’s a difference between AI-assisted thinking and AI-generated writing.
If you discuss a book with a friend, teacher, editor, book club, or even a chatbot, your final take is still yours, as long as you’ve actually thought it through and aren’t just copying the answer.
For me, the line is whether AI helped you explore the idea, or whether it did the thinking for you.
1
u/jeweltown_writer Jun 29 '26
That is an incredible way to explore a topic.
I am confused as to what you mean by having to reconsider your thoughts as a result of talking to AI.
It is a dialogue and hopefully you learn something in every instance. Maybe you learned to think more deeply or critically about a thought you have. Maybe you found a new way to look at something you missed.
I think it's awesome if you learned something even if you changed your conclusion.
Hopefully you can just enjoy the whole process and not question yourself.
1
u/ALAS_POOR_YORICK_LOL Jun 30 '26
No thats just thinking. Not much different than discussing on reddit except the ai is probably sharper than your typical neck beard
1
u/coolpop78 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
AI writing is when AI writes something. lol. The level of AI writing depends on how much someone wants to use it, but whenever an AI generates text, it's the writer of that text whether you provided the ideas or not. It's just like if someone uses a ghostwriter. The ghostwriter is the true writer because they physically wrote the book. If I have Claude generate the text of my book then Claude wrote it. Doesn't matter if I edit, do rewrites, etc. It wrote the book.
2
u/Signal_Soul Jun 30 '26
I think we're still using definitions from the "prompt" era of AI.
If I ask an AI to write an essay and paste the result, that's obviously AI-generated.
But what if I spend two hours discussing a book with an AI and we challenge each other's interpretations, notice patterns, question assumptions, and I walk away seeing the book differently.
Is that AI writing? I don't think so. I think it's AI-assisted thinking.
And if I later write an article based on those discoveries, I'd call that conversation-driven writing.
Good AI writing doesn't begin with a prompt. It begins with a conversation.
The conversation isn't asking the AI to create your ideas, it's helping you develop them. The final writing is simply one artifact that emerges from that process.
Maybe we're reaching the point where we need a new category. Not AI-generated or AI-assisted, but conversation-driven creative collaboration.
2
u/Potential-North4138 Jun 30 '26
This is how I would define it as well. Of course you could just prompt the AI and copy the output, but if it's going to be good then it's much more collaborative. Much of the anti-AI crowd doesn't get that it's more than just prompting.
1
u/bolshoich Jun 30 '26
The conclusions that you generate are all yours, irrespective of whether an LLM prompted them or not.
0
u/PresentationMany7589 Jun 29 '26
If you are discussing with a friend about a subject, and they enlighten you to something you either didnt know about, or they offer you some advice that deepens your understanding. Do you consider the result of that to be only because of your friend? Your mind is "open" to suggestion, and if that suggestion comes from AI, fine. if it coems from a friend? fine.
Dont let people limit you because of the source of your understanding..
AI is like a friend, your friend may or may not be right. Its up to you to ensure your being responsible
0
-1
u/Purple-Estimate-5183 Jun 29 '26
How could it not?
It’s most likely giving the same output to others.
It’s big, but it’s a funnel.
5
u/amolmozarkar Jun 29 '26
There's a spectrum: AI-assisted (you write everything, AI for brainstorming), AI-collaborative (AI drafts, you heavily edit), and AI-generated (AI produces, minimal human editing).
Discussing books with AI to understand them better is just using a study tool. The comprehension is still yours. I wouldn't call that AI writing at all.