Proud Victorian. Fighting Ukraine fatigue among Aussies. Russophile supporting Ukraine's defenders. Somewhat nasty Emu. Lesia Ukrainka appreciator.
The Kulin Nation
Joined October 2022
- Tweets17.9K
- Following716
- Followers4.3K
- Likes5.9K
MY TAKE ON AI AND FIC WRITING
A while ago, there was a debate in the fic writing community about using AI. I believe that, ideologically, the anti-AI crowd won it. Practically, though, AO3 is chock-full of slop.
I want to share my own take, based on my own writing experience.
What AI is bad for:
What we commonly regard as the act of creative writing: developing the plot, the characters, and the setting, and putting words on the page. Maybe someone can get better results with clever prompting, but I wasn’t able to.
Whenever I’ve experimented with this, the results have always been full of clichés, repetitions, too much explanation, and "poetic" metaphors and similes that don’t make sense ("the road smelled of daisies and desperation"), etc.
It has that uncanny AI feel that you can’t shake once you’ve seen it a couple of times.
What AI CAN be useful for, if used with caution:
Tailored writing advice. For example, if you think a scene is boring, too fast, or just doesn’t work, AI can offer not-terrible advice on which direction to take your edits. For example: "try giving the characters slightly misaligned incentives," or "try withholding this detail until later," or "this internal monologue feels like exposition delivery, it would work better if you gave it more character."
More often than not, if I reflect on this advice and implement some of it (again, WITHOUT the AI doing the actual writing), the result improves.
BUT
This is hit or miss. Claude, in my experience, loves saying something like, "This is too slow, get to the action faster, the pacing doesn’t work here." In my view, this should be taken with a grain of salt. I don’t think LLMs have a "sense" of pacing.
What AI is actually good for:
1. Spotting continuity errors. "This character is supposed to be unconscious, so why is she laughing?" And you realise you forgot to write that she’s woken up.
2. Spotting plot holes, especially within a sprawling canon. As in, "Every self-respecting witch or wizard would get out of <this trouble> with <this spell/potion/whatever>."
3. Checking surface-level canon consistency. "In her 2013 interview, Rowling said this character never married, so you can’t write him as having a wife if you want to claim consistency with canon."
4. Grammar, spelling, and some word-choice advice. It’s really good if the prompt deliberately asks for light edits only, and if you read the result carefully afterwards.
That’s my experience, anyway.
Emu Brigadier retweeted
Знов вкрав чужу роботу, а підписники знов його підтримують.
І постійно підтираються Україною так, наче це дає їм індульгенцію на будь-яку всрату дичину.
"Він робить це заради України" - це самий тупорилий аргумент який можна кинуть в обличчя українцю, що шукає справедливості.
Since a few Kyiv Independent readers have asked, I’d like to explain what happened with Caolan Robertson’s video, out of respect for our supporters.
Our team found that a video on Caolan’s @CaolanReports YouTube channel included a fragment of an earlier Kyiv Independent video, used without permission and without a request for permission. It wasn’t just footage. It was an animated map that takes our team a lot of work to produce.
Importantly, Caolan’s video cropped out our logo from the fragment. Instead of crediting our work, it fully removed the attribution to the Kyiv Independent. That isn’t citation or fair use.
Our team member did what is standard when your content is used this way on YouTube: They filed a copyright report. YouTube reviewed the case and removed the video. We follow the same process whenever our work is used without permission, regardless of who the creator is.
Worth noting that a removal like this doesn’t kill the creator’s work: The video can simply be re-uploaded without the copyrighted material.
So I was surprised that Caolan instead chose to publicly attack the journalists whose work he lifted, and to appeal to journalistic solidarity in a case where he didn’t demonstrate any.
Our team has been reporting on the ground in Ukraine since before the full-scale invasion. We’re independent, funded mostly by our readers, and we earn every dime. We’re very proud of our work, from front-line reporting to war crimes investigations. We respect the work of other journalists and expect the same for ours.
I wish Caolan all the best in telling his audience about Ukraine. If he ever wants to use our work, he’s welcome to ask, like anyone else.
We are all on the same side when it comes to this: We want as many voices as possible telling the world about Ukraine. But being on the same side means respecting and crediting each other’s work. Credit matters because the reporting everyone draws on has to come from somewhere.
Thank you.
I believe that one of the reasons the nominally "pro-Ukraine" Westoids are upset with The Kyiv Independent is that this has been their usual MO: appropriate the work of Ukrainians on the ground, build a name for themselves, and feel good about themselves.
Ukrainians, apparently, were too busy surviving and fighting Russia's criminal invasion to pay attention to this kind of exploitation. Or perhaps they believed they had to keep silent so as not to offend the benevolent Westoids.
The Kyiv Independent is standing up for itself. Not only is it protecting its own work, but it is also shedding light on the grift.
I'd say it's long overdue.
Damn, that is low. @KyivIndependent you should remedy this! Asap! This is pissing on supporters of Ukraine🇺🇦 Saddenes me, truly😔
It seems like that Caolan bloke has a pattern.
Bro, you talked to my friend about his personal research that took him THOUSANDS of hours to do, you published the results as your own, and then when he talked to you again you pretended you had never heard of him or spoken to him before. Don’t start this shit. We have receipts if this is the path you want to take. Grow up and drop this shit or we can start something you will not be able to win.
Emu Brigadier retweeted
It is really not that hard to grasp. Someone took another person’s work, removed the logo and credits, and presented it as his own - not for the first time. Now there is a copyright strike. Funny how accountability suddenly becomes controversial when it finally catches up with someone.
The Kyiv Independent has been reporting on this war since day one, without turning it into a personal branding exercise. It has absolutely nothing to apologize for.
Caolan is an influencer/blogger, not a journalist. There is a difference, and this whole affair is a pretty good illustration of it. I hope The Kyiv Independent stands its ground.
And the only people who owe anyone an apology are those threatening The Kyiv Independent. The irony of people presenting themselves as Ukraine’s “supporters” attacking a media outlet that has been covering the war from the beginning is apparently lost on them. Some solidarity. Some support.
Since a few Kyiv Independent readers have asked, I’d like to explain what happened with Caolan Robertson’s video, out of respect for our supporters.
Our team found that a video on Caolan’s @CaolanReports YouTube channel included a fragment of an earlier Kyiv Independent video, used without permission and without a request for permission. It wasn’t just footage. It was an animated map that takes our team a lot of work to produce.
Importantly, Caolan’s video cropped out our logo from the fragment. Instead of crediting our work, it fully removed the attribution to the Kyiv Independent. That isn’t citation or fair use.
Our team member did what is standard when your content is used this way on YouTube: They filed a copyright report. YouTube reviewed the case and removed the video. We follow the same process whenever our work is used without permission, regardless of who the creator is.
Worth noting that a removal like this doesn’t kill the creator’s work: The video can simply be re-uploaded without the copyrighted material.
So I was surprised that Caolan instead chose to publicly attack the journalists whose work he lifted, and to appeal to journalistic solidarity in a case where he didn’t demonstrate any.
Our team has been reporting on the ground in Ukraine since before the full-scale invasion. We’re independent, funded mostly by our readers, and we earn every dime. We’re very proud of our work, from front-line reporting to war crimes investigations. We respect the work of other journalists and expect the same for ours.
I wish Caolan all the best in telling his audience about Ukraine. If he ever wants to use our work, he’s welcome to ask, like anyone else.
We are all on the same side when it comes to this: We want as many voices as possible telling the world about Ukraine. But being on the same side means respecting and crediting each other’s work. Credit matters because the reporting everyone draws on has to come from somewhere.
Thank you.
Emu Brigadier retweeted
JOURNALISTIC SOLIDARITY DOES NOT MEAN IMPUNITY. COPYRIGHT THEFT IS NOT JOURNALISM.
I fully support Olga Rudenko and the editorial team of The Kyiv Independent.
What I find astonishing is how Caolan Robertson is attempting to portray himself as the victim after his team used another newsroom’s journalistic material without permission — even removing the original source’s logo.
This is not simply a technical mistake. This is a matter of journalistic ethics, intellectual property rights, and professional accountability.
And I believe this incident deserves much wider attention.
Concerns about Robertson’s use of other people’s content are not new. Previous allegations deserve proper scrutiny and documentation.
But this time, there were real consequences: YouTube removed his video following a copyright complaint from the rights holder.
And I believe that response was justified.
What makes this situation particularly revealing is that Robertson acknowledged the improper use of the material while simultaneously accusing the Ukrainian newsroom of lacking journalistic solidarity.
Excuse me, but since when does journalistic solidarity mean remaining silent when someone uses your work without permission?
And there is another important part of Robertson’s professional history that should not be forgotten.
He previously worked on media content promoting Tommy Robinson and other far-right figures.
In public interviews, Robertson himself described how provocative content, manufactured controversy, emotional manipulation, and selective editing were used to attract audiences and generate attention.
This is a documented part of his professional background.
Of course, people can change their political beliefs.
But changing political positions does not place anyone above professional scrutiny or accountability.
Popularity does not give anyone the right to appropriate another person’s work.
Millions of views do not exempt anyone from respecting copyright.
And supporting Ukraine does not grant a foreign journalist special immunity from professional standards.
Ukrainian journalists work under Russian bombardment, risk their lives, document war crimes, and invest enormous effort and resources into producing original reporting.
Their work deserves recognition, proper attribution, protection, and respect.
If a foreign journalist genuinely wants to support Ukraine, respecting Ukrainian journalists and their intellectual property would be a very good place to start.
And if Robertson believes the removal of his video was disproportionate, he is entitled to challenge that decision through the appropriate procedures.
But that does not erase his responsibility for the original misuse of another newsroom’s material.
JOURNALISTIC SOLIDARITY DOES NOT BEGIN WITH DEMANDING SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR YOURSELF.
IT BEGINS WITH RESPECTING THE WORK, RIGHTS, AND PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY OF OTHERS.
@olya_rudenko
#CaolanRobertson #TheKyivIndependent #OlgaRudenko #JournalismEthics #Copyright #IntellectualProperty #MediaAccountability #JournalisticIntegrity #PressFreedom #Ukraine #UkrainianJournalists #TommyRobinson #MediaManipulation #Disinformation #Accountability #StandWithUkraine
I am absolutely disgusted by what @KyivIndependent has just done.
They filed a copyright complaint against my YouTube video, which had 1.3 MILLION views, over just FIVE SECONDS of footage.
YouTube has now removed the entire video and issued a copyright strike against my channel.
Not one email. Not one warning. Not even the courtesy of asking me to remove the clip.
I’m an independent frontline journalist who risks his life reporting from Ukraine. My channel is my livelihood. And another supposedly independent journalism organisation has chosen to jeopardise it.
This is an appalling way to treat another journalist. What happened to solidarity and press freedom?
I’m calling on editor-in-chief @olya_rudenko to explain who authorised this, why nobody contacted me, and why they believe five seconds justified taking down a report seen by 1.3 million people.
I am demanding an immediate retraction and will pursue every available legal avenue to challenge this decision.
You should be ashamed of how this has been handled.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The five-second clip was an animated map produced by The Kyiv Independent, used without permission after cropping their logo and removing attribution. Their editor explained this led to a standard YouTube copyright report, not targeting "original reporting."
x.com/olya_rudenko/s…
x.com/CaolanReports/…
kyivindependent.com/about/
kyivindependent.com/assets/files/S…
I am proudly re-upping the thread from more than two years ago.
Top-10 accounts I read and trust(*) on the matters concerning Russo-Ukrainian war.
Out of many, I selected just ten for you.
. @KyivIndependent: a newspaper of impeccable integrity, attacked by NAFO. Follow a simple rule: no piece of news is real until confirmed by them.
Emu Brigadier retweeted
The Kyiv Independent Documentary “Tortured Culture” takes places largely in the area around Oleshky. The title is quite clear on the content.
"Within days, Russian soldiers poisoned their dog, an Alabai, along with all the other large dogs in Oleshky. They killed Liudmila’s nextdoor neighbor and raped his wife. A local butcher disappeared; no one knew whether he was also killed. Some neighbors were detained and beaten. Armed, masked soldiers searched Liudmila’s home three times, confiscating the couple’s Ukrainian passports and leaving them with no documents. And yet, Liudmila and Andriy stayed. They got a new puppy, also an Alabai. Russian troops started to move into civilian houses, parking tanks in what once were gardens."
Oh, that's correct, by the way!
Not only am I a @KyivIndependent shill, I am a proud @KyivIndependent shill.
They are doing tremendously important work. I am happy that they can sustain their operations through private subscriptions and that they are protecting their work.
This seems like a phenomenon I've observed several times: a Western man (usually a man) comes to Ukraine, does important work, and then, sometimes gradually, sometimes very quickly, develops a saviour complex.
He starts viewing himself as objectively morally superior and as having better judgement than anyone else, to the point of stomping all over Ukrainians who have been living there and fighting the war on all fronts since before he even knew how to find Ukraine on a map.
Caolan is some right-wing influencer, so it's par for the course for him, but this syndrome can affect accomplished academics and journalists alike.
While Russia is busy stealing Ukrainian land, NAFO influencers are publicly supporting stealing the work of independent Ukrainian journalists.
You could have had his account taken down. And taken a key voice away that covers the war in Ukraine for a 4 second clip done with AI.
It’s funny you say he didn’t request it, did anyone reach out to him to request he took it down before you copywrite stiked a pro Ukrainian account?
I’m actually surprised you didn’t just issues an apology and reverse the request to save face in this situation and request that things be requested before being used in the future.
Bad form. I can understand it it was a minute or two. A split of a clip is just low.
Such exploitative allyship is regrettably common among Western disaster tourists in Ukraine masquerading as journalists.
The Kyiv Independent is 100% right to call it out.
This is not the first time that @CaolanReports disrespects the work of Ukrainian journalists by using their content without permission. And then tries to make them feel guilty for demanding to respect their work and copyright.
Emu Brigadier retweeted
Since a few Kyiv Independent readers have asked, I’d like to explain what happened with Caolan Robertson’s video, out of respect for our supporters.
Our team found that a video on Caolan’s @CaolanReports YouTube channel included a fragment of an earlier Kyiv Independent video, used without permission and without a request for permission. It wasn’t just footage. It was an animated map that takes our team a lot of work to produce.
Importantly, Caolan’s video cropped out our logo from the fragment. Instead of crediting our work, it fully removed the attribution to the Kyiv Independent. That isn’t citation or fair use.
Our team member did what is standard when your content is used this way on YouTube: They filed a copyright report. YouTube reviewed the case and removed the video. We follow the same process whenever our work is used without permission, regardless of who the creator is.
Worth noting that a removal like this doesn’t kill the creator’s work: The video can simply be re-uploaded without the copyrighted material.
So I was surprised that Caolan instead chose to publicly attack the journalists whose work he lifted, and to appeal to journalistic solidarity in a case where he didn’t demonstrate any.
Our team has been reporting on the ground in Ukraine since before the full-scale invasion. We’re independent, funded mostly by our readers, and we earn every dime. We’re very proud of our work, from front-line reporting to war crimes investigations. We respect the work of other journalists and expect the same for ours.
I wish Caolan all the best in telling his audience about Ukraine. If he ever wants to use our work, he’s welcome to ask, like anyone else.
We are all on the same side when it comes to this: We want as many voices as possible telling the world about Ukraine. But being on the same side means respecting and crediting each other’s work. Credit matters because the reporting everyone draws on has to come from somewhere.
Thank you.
И шепчу я, прищурив глаза,
Не скрывая непрошеной грусти:
- Этот город вернется назад -
Беэр Шева останется русской!
Yet another reason not to use LLMs for creative writing.
You ask one for feedback on your fic draft, and it suggests adding one of the most common clichés imaginable to "give it some texture."
According to the Financial Times, Putin offered nothing like that.
Laut Financial Times bot Putin Anfang 2023 einen weitgehenden Truppenabzug an. Selenskyj lehnte ab. Ein ukrainischer Abgeordneter liefert nun brisante Details. berliner-zeitung.de/article/…
Emu Brigadier retweeted
Reminder: Making Trump president for life does not violate the U.S. Constitution.