From Tool to Companion: Storywriters Want AI Writers to Respect Their Personal Values and Writing Strategies

Abstract

Modern large-scale language models approach the quality of humanlevel writing. This promises the advent of AI writing companions performing AI-led writing under human control, surpassing traditional writing tools limited to revision and ideation supports. However, human-AI co-writing may endanger writers' control, autonomy, and ownership by overstepping co-creative boundaries. Our design workbook study with 7 hobbyists and 13 professional writers elicited three sets of primary barriers to the adoption of human-AI co-writing. Storywriters desire retaining control over writing rather than letting AI take the lead when they (1) prioritize emotional values in turning ideas into words over the productivity of AI-generated writing; (2) have high self-confdence and distrust AI in challenging sub-tasks (e.g., creating characters and dialogue); and (3) expect the AI control mechanism to mismatch their writing strategies. We lay the groundwork for AI companions that respect storywriters' personal values and writing methods. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in interaction design; • Computing methodologies → Natural language generation; • Applied computing → Arts and humanities.

Transformative Experiences: Zoho's AI Writing Solutions

“…The users generally welcome AI assistance in writing, as it helps diversify ideas, improves clarity and conciseness, and does not compromise ownership [29]. The emphasis is on the importance of AI companions respecting writers' values and writing strategies to maintain control and autonomy [30]. The researcher not only highlights the potential benefits of AI tools in writing but also the need for careful consideration of their limitations and ethical implications.…”

Academic integrity in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) authoring apps

“…Most of all, students are denied opportunity for self‐expression and creativity. Biermann (2022) found that co‐writing between humans and AI may threaten the author's control, autonomy, and ownership. Finally, the cost of these tools raises concerns about equity and access.…”

Navigating English Writing Proficiency Tests in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

“…Although AIWTs can offer advantages, such as enhancing writing skills and consistency, they also have drawbacks that must be considered (Alessandro et al, 2021;Biermann et al, 2022;Chaves & Gerosa, 2021;Floridi & Chiriatti, 2020;Lund & Wang, 2023;McKee & Porter, 2020). One of these deficiencies is that writers may become too reliant on pre-written phrases and templates, leading to a decrease in originality and creativity (Biermann et al, 2022;Floridi & Chiriatti, 2020).…”

“…Although AIWTs can offer advantages, such as enhancing writing skills and consistency, they also have drawbacks that must be considered (Alessandro et al, 2021;Biermann et al, 2022;Chaves & Gerosa, 2021;Floridi & Chiriatti, 2020;Lund & Wang, 2023;McKee & Porter, 2020). One of these deficiencies is that writers may become too reliant on pre-written phrases and templates, leading to a decrease in originality and creativity (Biermann et al, 2022;Floridi & Chiriatti, 2020). Students are also reliant to these tools as AI tools have become a familiar aid for students in their research, and some of them have resorted to using these tools to cheat in their assessments, homework, essays, and even their master theses (Dwivedi et al, 2023).…”

“…The appearance of AIWTs has led to concerns about their potential impact on the writing skills, integrity, and competences of students, teachers, scholars, academics, professionals in field of writing, and publics. As these tools are designed to assist writers by suggesting phrases, sentences, or even entire paragraphs, and in some cases, they can even generate entire articles or reports, it is worried that these tools may make individuals overly reliant on them, and therefore may not develop their writing skills as effectively (Biermann et al, 2022). Though writing is a complex skill that requires a combination of cognitive and linguistic abilities, and the more people rely on AI tools, the less they will practice and develop these skills.…”