National Novel Writing Month defended the use of AI. Now authors are stepping down from its board [Video]

Writers are storming off the board of National Novel Writing Month, a popular literary non-profit that challenges writers to pen a novel in 30 days, after it posted a statement supporting the use of some types of artificial intelligence (AI).

The organization, called NaNoWriMo for short, runs the challenge every November, and has grown to about 500,000 annual participants around the world since its inception in 1999.

On Sunday, NaNoWriMo posted a statement on its website that said it does not explicitly condemn or endorse AI, and suggested that opposition to the technology ignores “classist and ableist issues.”

Cass Morris, a fantasy writer and editor who started participating in the program as a junior high student in 2001, said she “immediately” decided to step down from her position as a board member after reading the post, arguing that using AI would discourage creativity and ruin what made the challenge valuable to aspiring writers in the first place. 

“This community …