Opinion | Artificial Intelligence may prove to be the right stuff for writers

Can we use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write a novel? The writing fraternity might scoff at the idea, but it has already happened. Ross Goodwin, a novelist, went on a road trip across the US in an attempt to emulate Jack Kerouac—to experience being on the road and find something essential to write about. The result, 1 The Road, is being marketed as the first novel written by AI. This writer is a microphone, a GPS, a camera hooked up to a laptop, and plenty of linear algebra.

Writers may not recognize AI as a fellow-author, but they themselves do make use of technology in their craft. Besides the more obvious kinds of software that writers employ, a program that actively assists their creative process might meet their approval. One aspect of the process that could benefit from AI is continuity.