AI stories may be easier to enjoy, but readers still prefer human authors

Artificial intelligence has changed the way stories are written and read, but the appeal of digital text coexists with the traditional charm of printed pages. A recent study suggests that AI can produce short fiction that rivals or even surpasses human-written works. In the research published in the journal Judgment and Decision Making, 1,682 adults read six short stories, three written by humans and three by AI-generated by ChatGPT.

Participants were unaware of which stories were created by humans or AI and were asked to rate the quality and engagement of each tale. The results were surprising: while AI-generated stories generally received higher marks, those labelled as human-written received more favorable reviews regardless of their true origin. This indicates that readers value two distinct aspects: the immediate enjoyment of reading a story and the sense of authenticity tied to the perceived creator.

The study's senior researcher, Deena Skolnick Weisberg, from Villanova University, told The Guardian that AI could create fiction that is on par with or even exceeds human writing. However, she emphasized that human authors hold a unique value beyond the final product. Writing serves other purposes, such as self-expression, exploration, and experimentation, which remain relevant even when AI can generate convincing prose.

Interestingly, people's preexisting attitudes towards AI influenced their judgments. Those who held a more favorable view of the technology rated AI-generated stories more highly. In two additional experiments, participants were presented with pairs of stories—one written by a human and the other by AI— and asked to identify the source.

Only about 40% guessed correctly in one experiment, while 52% succeeded in the other. This suggests that people struggle to reliably distinguish machine-generated fiction from human work. Familiarity with AI and one's own sense of fiction-writing expertise did not significantly impact accuracy. The researchers suggest that AI-generated stories may exhibit a recognizable style that readers can learn to identify over time.

Additionally, AI writing might be appealing due to its simplicity and ease of comprehension. However, experts caution that accessibility should not be conflated with artistic depth or achievement. The study's scope is limited, focusing only on a handful of short stories, and therefore cannot conclusively prove that AI writes better fiction on a larger scale.

The rise of AI in the arts remains a contentious issue, with concerns surrounding copyright, environmental impact, and the livelihoods of human creators. For now, the study provides insight into the complex relationship between readers and machines. While AI may be learning to craft convincing tales, it remains uncertain whether readers will ultimately value such works as profoundly as human-authored stories.