Happy Friday! Today I continue our series on recommended resources with information related to dealing with artificial intelligence (AI) as a writer or illustrator. And in honor of Poetry Friday, I talk about the marvelous anti-AI poem by a twelve-year-old boy who recently won the Australian National Poetry Slam competition.
I'm especially disturbed by how many people use AI chatbots nonchalantly, without considering the repercussions, whether related to their writing or their privacy. Just three days ago, the New York Times Wirecutter posted on Instagram that AI companies can read private chats and the implications of that.
But instead of dwelling on negative news, I want to share what I hope are helpful resources. One of the organizations that has been actively working to protect authors' rights related to AI is the Authors Guild. They are currently petitioning the Australian government to NOT pass new legislation that would allow AI companies to use an author's work without permission. You can read more about the proposed legislation and add your name to the petition here. You need not be a member of the Authors Guild to participate.
Other Authors Guild resources you need not be a member to access include their "Human Authored Certification" program. As it says on their website:
"Human Authored is a project of the Authors Guild that allows an author to certify that their book is created by a human. 'Human Authored' means that the text of the book was written by a human and not generated by AI, with the exception of minimal uses such as AI applications that check spelling and grammar or for research. Human Authored certification is available to all authors with books published in the United States who agree to the licensing terms."
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| Me, a real person, at the Anderson's Bookshop signing event for my entirely human-authored novel Playing by Heart |
The Authors Guild site also has a number of free articles related to AI use, such as:
- Authors Guild best practices for authors
- Authors Guild best practices for publishers
- Authors Guild AI-Related Model Publishing Contract Clauses
You can also watch a recording of their webinar on implications for audiobooks: Copyright & AI: Best Practices for Authors & Narrators .
Another AI-related issue affecting authors is the barrage of AI-generated scam emails many of us are receiving. Children's book editor and industry expert Harold Underdown recently posted a link on his Facebook page to an article in The Dial explaining why scammers target writers in particular. And just this week, Jane Friedman wrote about how Writing Scams Are Reaching a Whole New Level of Awful. It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to look at the email that arrives in my website inbox anymore.
So it was with great joy that I recently watched a 90-second video of 12-year-old Blake Mackenzie performing his poem "Dear ChatGPT" as part of the 2026 Australian Poetry Slam competition. The poem led to his being named National Champion in the youth category. Among my favorite lines are these:
Your friendship is endless.
So why do I feel friendless.
You can watch the video of his performance here.
And you can read more about the poem, and how Blake credits his teacher's support for his success, in this article in The Guardian.
For more great poetry, check out this week's Poetry Friday roundup hosted by Joyce Uglow at Inking My Thinking.
Happy writing!
Carmela
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