Unless you were on that island with Tom Hanks in Cast Away, you have likely heard a lot about ChatGPT, Bard, and other artificial intelligence chatbots in the last two months. I mean a lot. Like too much.

You have likely heard about the revolutionary changes coming to the web, the world, education, and more. I am here to tell you as authors, take a breath. Don’t give up the ship. It will all be okay.

Let me qualify. I am not addressing students using chatbots like ChatGPT. They will misuse them.

I am not addressing how these tools (and that is all they are) will affect or add to misinformation on the web. They will surely add to the problem.

I am not here to address lightweight articles on the web like, how to pack a suitcase. They will make them easier to create.

All three of these things will undoubtedly be affected by chatbots.

I am here to address the role of book and peer review journal authors. The world of academic journal and book publishing was changing before chatbots and will continue to change.

But what makes this authorship group unique is the quality of what they have to say; the depth and gravitas.

Publishers choose to publish scholarly authors because of who they are and what they have to say. They are interested in them because of their dozen or so years of higher education; because their work adds to the body of knowledge. Their unique work and insight into their fields.

Chatbots like ChatGPT are synthesizers and aggregators of existing knowledge. They may arrange content uniquely. They are not adding to the knowledge or literature in any substantive way.

So, if you want to become an author (or stay an author), have something unique to say. Add to the literature. Be someone that matters. Be a visionary. Don’t follow a path; make a new one.

Yes, we will have to deal with this new world with chatbots and all the pluses and the minuses they bring. But as an author with something to say, be confident in your role and all that you will contribute to your field.

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John Bond is a publishing consultant at Riverwinds Consulting. He just released a new book: The Little Guide to Getting Your Journal Article Published: Simple Steps to Success. He is also the host of the YouTube channel “Publishing Defined.” Contact him at jbond@riverwindsconsulting.com.