AI-generated content will not win
We might as well cut to the chase. Yes, we run every challenge entry through our AI detector; if we find an entry has been generated, it’s disqualified. As Justin Maury, Founder/CEO of Vocal has written, we use these detection systems because we know our readers enjoy authentic content; we also ask you to disclose when you’ve posted on the platform using AI assistance. But a different issue comes into play when we’re thinking about Challenges, and we believe it’s an important one.
For us, it comes down to what Challenges are for. Absolutely, there’s a cash prize and that’s a nice enticement to enter! But really, our Challenges are part of building our Vocal community, and we really hope you enjoy them for that reason. We love to see how supportive you are of each other’s writing, both in the comments you leave and even outside our Vocal ecosystem; and we know — because we’re creators ourselves — what your writing means to you.
Let’s not beat around the bush: writing can be hard! Sometimes we all draw a blank, or feel like what we’re doing isn’t up to scratch. But hey, we also know that’s part of the process. It’s what a friend of ours calls ‘productive discomfort’: it’s the only way you challenge yourself and discover what’s really possible for you. Art — let’s call it that — certainly has a final result. You finish something (at least you tell yourself it’s finished, for now…) and you write ‘The End’ with a flourish. But it’s the process that has got you there: the work of innovation, of seeking new depths (and new heights) in yourself. You know how good it feels, the surprise when you’re working away and it’s as if some other voice is speaking through you. You’re in flow, you’re enriching your work and your life by the power of your creativity.
Let’s be frank: content generated by AI can never make anything new. It’s all a kind of plagiarism — if we’re being blunt — a hoovering up of pre-existing work to create a mash-up replica. Have a listen to the brilliant novelist Min Jin Lee (author of the fantastic Pachinko) on this episode of the Wall Street Journal’s podcast series ‘Artificial’ if you want to hear more in depth; it’s fascinating. She calls ChatGPT’s attempt to replicate her style as ‘a bastardization and a caricaturization of what I care about out’; we’re inclined to agree. Readers respond to Lee’s work because of its originality and its humanity. Neither of those qualities can be found in generated text.
We love to read the work you submit to our Challenges. But that’s what we love about it. It’s YOUR work. Keep at it, fellow humans!