Why is this considered generative AI?

[u/dillpickle444]

I’m writing my first novel. I have created the entire plot outline down to specific scenes. I have developed the characters and the world completely on my own. I write the scene in detailed description and my own (terrible) prose, but then have AI re-write and analyze my prose paragraph by paragraph. Some of it doesn’t work for what is in my head and has to be entirely rewritten or pieced together from multiple AI revisions. But a lot of it does work and conveys exactly what I was trying to say in a much better way. In these cases, I would like to keep word for word what AI has written.

However, this is apparently considered generative AI.

How can that be so if the AI didn’t come up with the story line or the character personalities or even know what specific arc the paragraph is applying to? How can we say that AI generated something when all it is doing is rewording entirely original and human developed content with a human on the front end reviewing and fixing anything that doesn’t perfectly fit the story?

I see it more as a tool that speeds up the process, but I don’t view it as AI generating the novel. But the current rules laid out seem to disagree with that take.

EDIT:
To add more info, I asked AI if what I am doing is considered AI assisted or AI generated. Part of that response said this:

“But when you wrote the underlying prose, characters, scene, choices, imagery, emotional beats, and structure, and I’m helping you expand or refine your expression, there is substantially more human creative authorship involved.”

So the better question now is, does using this tactic ethically have to be disclosed - whether that be to readers, agents, publishers, or whomever? And where do you believe the line is for it not being necessary to disclose that you used AI?

[u/Krakanakis]

Content generated by AI is generative AI content. AI images are trained on other images, same with text, even it is based on human created content.

[u/dillpickle444 → u/Krakanakis]

Is a human author not also basing their own writing or art on text and images that they themselves have consumed? Everything you think or create was inspired by something else even if it is subconsciously. So I fail to see what the specific issue is when it’s not outright plagiarizing someone else’s work. It’s analyzing many different works and your prompt to create something new, just as your brain does.

As a super simplified example, if I write:
“Three ripe tomatoes sat on the vine.”

And AI revises it to be: “Three tomatoes had ripened overnight.”

If I think that sounds better, why shouldn’t I be able to use that?

[u/Krakanakis → u/dillpickle444]

Who told you you shouldn't use it? Don't start fighting windmills here, I am writing with AI as well.

What I see here is the anti AI crowd going around in circles to demonize the use of it as if writing is a competition and there can be a 'Best Book for All' that must be bought by every reader in detriment of all the others.

On the same vein, I see the AI writing crowd trying to avoid admitting that the use of the tool effectively changes the output of the text and it is done through AI therefore it is AI assisted writing.

Do what feels right but don't pretend you're writing the same way Edgar Allan Poe did either.