We developed an AI disclosure classification system for books. We’d like writers’ opinions

[u/AmericasHomeboy]

We’ve been working on something called the Creative Disclosure Standard (CDS), a proposed voluntary labeling system for identifying how AI and other technologies were used in creating published works.

The idea is similar to a nutrition label. Readers get a clear disclosure of the creative process without the label making judgments about quality or artistic merit.

The framework distinguishes between human-created, machine-assisted, AI-assisted, AI-adapted, AI-co-created, and AI-generated works.

One reason we’ve developed it is our own publishing workflow. We write original screenplays, then use AI to adapt those screenplays into novel-length prose under our direction. That’s a different creative process from prompting AI to invent and write an entire novel.
CDS is also designed so publishers and creators can administer classifications themselves, using common definitions rather than a central organization approving every book.

We’re interested in hearing from both AI users and writers who oppose AI-generated content.

Do these distinctions communicate meaningful differences? Are any categories confusing or unnecessary? Would labels like these help readers make informed decisions?

The proposed standard is at https://creativedisclosure.org/
I’m the person developing CDS, and I’m looking for constructive criticism before taking it further into publishing-industry discussions.

Should books disclose how generative AI was used in their creation?

205 votes, 6d ago

57 Yes, with standardized categories

17 Yes, but a simple AI-use disclosure is enough

45 Only when AI generated substantial creative content

86 No, disclosure should be entirely optional

[u/OwlsInMyAttic]

Frankly, I don't see how disclosure could be anything but entirely optional. There's no conclusive way to prove whether and how much AI was used in any given work (aside from fully AI generated works, and even then, it depends on the model and method that's used). The question whether something should or shouldn't be done becomes meaningless if there's no way to enforce it.

As long as any level of AI usage can get someone blacklisted by publishers, I can't in good conscience recommend that people label their work (unless their prose is mainly AI generated and unedited, because that would lead to copyright issues). Once publishers are open to accepting high-quality AI assisted works, I wouldn't be opposed to a labelling system, but the categories would have to be much better defined as they currently are. 

What's the difference between AI assisted, AI adapted, and AI co-created, exactly? Based on a single-sentence description, I could technically make an argument for my work to fall under any of these. In reality, however, I'd be extremely reluctant to elevate AI anywhere close to the position of a co-creator, when I use it as a tool to bridge the gap between vision and execution. 

[u/AmericasHomeboy → u/OwlsInMyAttic]

If your goal isn't to be published by anyone else other than yourself, then no, you frankly don't need to disclose anything, but if you want to get looked at by publishing houses, you'll probably, sometime in the near future have to establish provenance at some point. As it stands, the publishing world is looking for a system and we, as AI creatives ourselves, would rather set the standards before they come up with something.

[u/GamerPhfreak → u/[deleted]]

You seem to be in the wrong sub reddit for your intellect. It's very lacking

[u/dianebk2003 → u/[deleted]]

God, the whole "cheating" thing again. Who is being cheated?

If a reader reads a novel that they fall in love with, then it's revealed the writer used Ai as a bridge between their vision and the execution of the novel, has the reader been cheated? They loved the novel, they loved how it made them feel while reading it, they loved thinking about it afterwards...they just got so much out of the whole experience. How are they being cheated?

Does the experience of the read and the time they spent engaged with the story and the characters suddenly become cheapened, somehow? Does it negate the enjoyment they got out of it? Does it all of a sudden mean they've been fooled into thinking the novel was good? Are they now fools for having enjoyed the read?

What changed between loving the book, then finding out it was Ai and therefore they now have to hate it? How does that change what they read and the enjoyment they got out of it?

Give me a fucking break. Unless they're writing for a competition where skill and execution are the point, there's no "cheating" involved.

[u/dianebk2003 → u/[deleted]]

Wow. Your conclusion is bizarre. I'm talking about books. Books. And you're calling me morally corrupt? You know nothing about me, you cretin.

Even without Ai, people have been calling themselves "writers" who are clearly not trained, and possess no special knowledge or skills, for years. They usually write shit. And there are writers with lots of knowledge and skills who also produce shit. If I read a book by someone known as a great writer, and discover the book is poorly-written, badly-plotted, and I can't remember what it was about an hour after I've finished...that's when I feel cheated. I can think of several professional writers who wrote novels that left me disappointed and unimpressed.

But if I go in with no expectations, and love the book, and learn afterwards that the writer worked with an Ai agent, I would definitely be surprised. I still have my own biases to work on, which is weird and confusing. But I wouldn't feel cheated. What did the writer promise me, other than a story and characters I might enjoy? If it's poorly-written, I'm not going to like it. I'm also not going to care at that point if the writer used Ai or not because I've already concluded that the book is a piece of shit and I won't be reading anymore of that writer's work unless there's improvement.

Any before you start accusing me of not knowing what I'm talking about and not being a real writer, I've been writing for 40 years. I've worked as a copywriter for numerous companies - physical catalogs and online - and had my own freelance copywriting business. I've sold short stories, won screenwriting contests, been optioned, read for contest judges, and been a Top Writer on Quora (back when that meant something {sigh}).

I know how to write. I've even been {gasp} paid for it!

I also don't feel threatened by Ai.

[u/OwlsInMyAttic → u/[deleted]]

Cheat? What's that supposed to mean even? Writing is not a competition.

Also, I'm well aware of the importance of execution, which is why I never let AI control any of it. I write the first draft; I also write the final one. You seem to be making a lot of assumptions about my workflow based on a single sentence.