Scottish writers and publishers, led by Scotland's national poet, Makar Peter Mackay, are exploring innovative ways to protect new writing from the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI). Mackay, appointed in December, has expressed major concerns about AI's impact on the creation of new literature and books.

AI tools can now assist with research, and even suggest sentence structures, character traits, dialogue options, and plot twists. Mackay proposes solutions to safeguard human-authored works, including food packaging-style guides for AI-written content and special logos for AI-free books.

At a recent workshop, participants discussed how to make it clear when a piece of writing was human-created. Ideas like a Harris Tweed Orb or Kitemark-style mark to indicate "100% AI-free" or "100% organically produced" were proposed.

Mackay also highlighted the importance of literary awards, such as the Highland Book Prize, in promoting and protecting distinctive, human-authored styles. He believes these awards celebrate oddity, diversity, and unique styles—qualities that AI lacks.

Mackay warned of the impact on writers: "Competing with the cumulative knowledge of every book ever written, condensed into some form of conglomerate, is very hard to do. I dread the first time a prize is won by something that turns out to be AI-generated."

As the literary world grapples with these challenges, the goal is to celebrate and protect the unique creativity of human authors.
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