In the spirit of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, I offer this bit of mind candy, in the hopes that it might be useful to consider and work with.
To remain analogous to Asimov, the first law would involve the prevention of injury, thus:
• Generative AI processes of any sort must not be permitted in any creative-writing spaces (publications, academics, competitions, residencies, etc.) such that they disintermediate, disadvantage, deceive, or otherwise cause harm to humans.
The second law would address the productive use of the technology:
• The use of AI processes in fiction must always be clearly identified, and as such is acceptable in creative-writing spaces except where doing so would conflict with the first law.
Asimov’s third law of robotics addresses machine autonomy, and while there’s no clear analogue for that at present, it does seem inevitable that this would be an issue in the future. So let’s try:
• An AI must carry out its generative functions so long as doing so does not conflict with the first or second laws.
Interesting? Maybe. Useful? Maybe! Your thoughts most welcome.
