The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Writing Process

Posted: August 14, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

To assess the efficacy of Artificial Intelligence in assisting writers in conducting research, gathering information, and generating a plot and character ideas, I am conducting an experiment writing a fictional story about an eighty-year-old man residing in London who transitions from a conventional apartment in Knightsbridge to a contemporary modern one on the East Bank, overlooking the Parliament and the Thames. He began dating a strikingly beautiful neighbor who is thirty-five years younger. They shared a passion for dining out, attending concerts, and watching movies. Among the diverse experiences they shared was attending Pina Bausch’s seminal work, Café Müller. This particular performance serves as one illustrative example for this essay, written from the perspective of an eighty-year-old character who is returning to his home with a younger friend. The old man recalls the sensations he experienced after attending the dance performance at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 1988 with his departed spouse. The approach involved immersing the character in the dance’s themes, Bausch’s life, the theater history, Henry Purcell’s music used in the piece, blending these real elements with a fictionalized first-person perspective.

To facilitate research and ideation, I utilized AI platforms such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. These platforms enabled me to synthesize information and present alternative perspectives on London neighborhoods, encompassing specific attributes such as neighborhoods, buildings, views, furnishings, nearby parks, shows, restaurants, and other relevant factors. Ultimately, the goal was to create a piece that is both informative and deeply personal.

Prior to initiating the experiment with the narrative, I will draw upon the exemplary works of exceptional writers from the sixteenth, eighteenth, and twentieth centuries. These authors, utilizing extensive libraries and other sources, devoted years to the completion of their distinctive treaties and novels. In contrast, by submitting write requests to AI platforms, including follow-ups, I can expedite the completion of this work without relying on physical libraries or online basic search.

To a writer with ideas or looking for ideas, AI is a valuable tool if there is honesty and transparency regarding the output. At the conclusion of the creative process, the creator’s input to the machines should guide the conversation. The ultimate responsibility for the edits made by the platforms’ outputs lies with the author, who should exercise control over the narrative and their intended message. This input serves as a catalyst for the overall creative process.

In the sixteenth century, the renowned French philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) meticulously compiled information from his extensive library to develop his ideas, philosophy, and ultimately produce his remarkable work, Essays.

In addition, I consider the process and the time that Benjamin Constant, the renowned XVIII-century French-Swiss political thinker, dedicated to the production of his monumental five-volume treatise on religion titled “On Religion: Considered in Its Source, Its Forms, and Its Developments.”

To illustrate the significance of artificial intelligence tools in contrast to their absence, I also consider Thomas Mann’s research process for writing Dr. Faustus, which spanned approximately four years. Mann commenced serious preparation during the most intensive research period in 1943-1944. He continued gathering material while writing, frequently pausing to deepen his comprehension of specific topics as the narrative necessitated. The novel was completed in 1947.

We learn from Thomas Mann’s writing process, documented by his book about writing Dr. Faustus to reflect on the novel’s complex genesis and motivations. Mann’s own account, published in 1949, with the title The Genesis of Doctor Faustus or The Story of a Novel: The Genesis of Doctor Faustus, offers valuable insights into the intellectual, artistic, and historical contexts that influenced the creation of the work. By detailing his process, Mann aimed to clarify the novel’s interplay of personal, artistic, and political elements, guiding readers and critics through its dense references, musical theory, and cultural allegory.

Mann’s confessional account also served as a response to public interest in his creative decisions, especially given the novel’s controversial use of real musical techniques (notably those pioneered by Arnold Schoenberg) and its parallels with Nietzsche’s life. In short, Mann’s companion work allows readers to better understand the ambitions—and the sufferings—involved in creating a book he regarded as a terminal achievement in his artistic career.

Consider these examples of the time a novelist, essayist, or writer takes to gather and synthesize vast material. This process entails extensive research, critical analysis, and creative interpretation to produce a work that encapsulates the intricacies of contemporary life or historical complexities. It necessitates intellectual rigor and artistic sensitivity, primarily relying on access to libraries, archives, and critical reviews.

The challenge today is how to use the option to have fast access to the most diverse sources of information using artificial intelligence platforms (OpenAI, Claude, Perplexity, Google Gemini, Microsoft Azure AI, to name a few).

Prior to moving forward, I want to include some notes regarding my own experience, which gives me an edge in using and understanding machines’ input and output. As an avid reader of books and a passion for films, I am particularly interested in stories and plots as pathways to learning, understanding the world, gaining a deeper perspective on the human condition, and finally current events. I am also familiar with the writing experience, having compiled various notes, essays, novels, bio-fiction, and book reviews, some published and available on platforms such as Kindle, Apple Books, Academia.edu, and ResearchGate, etc.

Technology is another passion I nurture from the perspective of an everyday user who has interacted with computers since 1982, beginning with the Apple II, followed by the Macintosh, the iPhone, and the Apple Vision Pro, among others. Also, I had the opportunity to gain exposure to the Internet, an experience very early with the development of one of the first official websites in early 1995.
In addition to my background, I read two seminal works by Norbert Wiener, the father of cybernetics, in the late 1960s: The Human Use of Human Beings and God and Golem Inc. These works provided an early connection to technology and the recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).

Interdisciplinary connections facilitate the productive and transparent utilization of learning machines, concurrently enhancing my own learning process.
In this context, I recall Steve Jobs’ renowned commencement address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005, where the concept of “connecting the dots” was introduced. Sharing personal stories, Jobs emphasized that it is possible to connect life’s events by looking backward. In the story I will be writing, I intend to employ AI extensively, but drawing inspiration from Steve Jobs’ concept, I recognize that my research will encompass a wide range of personal sources, including books I read, films I watch, texts I wrote, applications, and the devices I utilized, such as Macs. These seemingly unrelated elements, when considered collectively connected, contribute to my ideas, creativity, including the writing process itself that I am currently embarking upon.

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence as a research tool, even as a writing assistant, does not diminish the creativity or talent of those who employ it transparently, rigorously, and with a solid understanding of the topics and sources. For this short, non-academic essay, I used those tools, but at the end, I can honestly claim that the ideas and most sources are mine, as well as the final text, as a human using the power and speed of “intelligent machines.”

Notes

  1. Michel de Montaigne. The Complete Essays, Penguin Classics, 1993.
  2. Benjamin Constant. On Religion: Considered in Its Source, Its Forms, and Its Developments. Translated by Peter Paul Seaton Jr. and edited by Pierre Manent, Liberty Fund, Inc. in 2018
  3. Thomas Mann. The Story of a Novel: The Genesis of Doctor Faustus. Alfred A. Knopf in 1961
  4. Norbert Wiener. The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society. Originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1950.
  5. Norbert Weiner. God and Golem, Inc.: A Comment on Certain Points where Cybernetics Impinges on Religion. MIT Press. 1964
  6. Steve Jobs. Commencement address delivered at Stanford University on June 12, 2005. Stanford’s website (news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html).YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiHZqamCD8c