ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT

I've seen a lot of angst and vitriol amongst creative artists and writers online as the use of AI becomes increasingly prevalent in our day-to-day lives. 

For some, it represents an opportunity and a useful tool to enhance productivity.  To others, it is sacrilege, theft of intellectual property and the highest form of treason, that apparently demands a witch-hunt and public online flogging when it is observed or detected.

I care little for the debate; I would rather inform my readers and detractors up front about how I produce my work and outline the tools that I have experimented with.

The fact is that AI is inescapable.  It is baked into new devices and software whether we like it or not.  It is not going away and it is everywhere.

So, for absolute clarity ...

My ideas are ORIGINAL and generated by me.

I have been writing since I was six years old, having embraced the pencil, the pen, the imperial typewriter, carbon paper, dictionaries, encyclopedias, the Dewey Decimal System,  8-bit computers, dot matrix printers, cassette tapes, floppy disks, photocopiers, dial up internet, broadband internet, wireless internet, ZIP disks, MS-DOS, Windows, Unix, Linux, freeware, shareware, professional software, USB sticks, USB drives, databases, intranets and ultimately AI.   

I have written book reviews for newspapers, trained as a librarian and earnt a comprehensive writing diploma from The Writing School (by correspondence, before the internet was even a common thing).

I write manuscripts with:
Microsoft Word and Notepad (!)

I typeset and proofread with:
Reedsy

I produce initial eBook formatting with:
Reedsy

I am testing advanced eBook formatting with:
Calibre and Sigil

I use generative AI to produce book cover images with:
Canva, Dall-E, ChatGPT, LightX-AI and Artistly.AI

I use generative AI to correct, improve, review or summarise my writing with:
ChatGPT, CoPilot, Grammarly

I design and produce my marketing collateral with:
Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva and IrfanView.

I produce this website with:
Google Sites

So ... trust me ... I can write fiction, non-fiction and  I can code from scratch with HTML, CSS, VBscript, etc as the need arises ... I take pride in doing so and I actually believe it is imperative to be able to do as much as you can by yourself.

But I won't be lectured by or drawn into the current luddite crusade of the creative industry to sabotage and belittle those of us who choose to use AI as a tool to enhance their work.  

When I use AI, I do it with manual oversight and intervention and changes/suggestions are only accepted by my own human discretion.

If you can accept that, then please enjoy my work.  If you can't, then I bid you good day and wish you well in your own creative future endeavours.