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POLICY REGARDING AI USAGE

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"Why is your policy so strict? AI is here to stay, so you're just going to lose business. There's no point in fighting it!"

I have given this considerable thought - not in terms of my personal stance on AI, but in terms of whether I should take on clients who have used AI in their manuscripts. It's a surprisingly difficult decision! No business owner wants to alienate potential clients. However, I believe taking a firm stance regarding AI is more important than ever. Here's a short list of reasons:

  1. AI is bad for the enviornment, removes job opportunities from creatives, and steals their work: The debate regarding this isn't new, but I feel it's important to include it in my reasoning.
  2. An Anti-AI stance protects my integrity as an editor: Given how "easy" it may seem for someone to ask a program to edit their work, an AI policy is a promise that I will never use generative AI in any part of the editing process. Not only would it be fully dishonest, but it would also give a worse result!
  3. An Anti-AI stance protects your manuscript: I would not reccomend feeding your manuscript to any LLM-based AI unless you know exactly how it's going to be used, because AI can take your work and add it to the database of information it knows and use it to help someone else generate writing. AI in general is a copywrite nightmare!
  4. AI is NOT the same as spellcheck: A well-meaning person might think that running their project through AI for edits before presenting it to another human being is a courtesy. This is a huge misconception! It can actually add more time onto a project to determine what is your voice and what is the voice of an LLM, and it does not make the work easier for anyone. AI is also prone to making mistakes based on the information it has been fed, so any type of fact-checking it does will need to be re-done.
  5. Allowing AI would cause prices to rise: Due to the amount of extra work involved in re-checking a manuscript run through AI, it would take longer to process for what a client may perceive as less work on my end. This would result in price increases for services that would not feel fair at a glance.

WHAT COUNTS AS AI USAGE?

It can be confusing! Even new computers are being advertised as AI-powered machines. Since AI is a popular buzzword, some companies are even advertising products as being "AI-powered" when the user never engages with AI at all! So here is an easy guide:

  • AI Usage is considered to be intentionally using generative AI to generate, edit, or critique your content.
  • Using a program that advertises AI functionality is not considered AI usage unless you elect to use that functionality.
  • The general rule of thumb is "If you are using the program to make creative decisions for you, it is considered AI usage."
  • If you are unsure if something you use falls under the policy, please reach out and ask. I'm happy to discuss it with anyone asking in good faith.
You can read the full text of the policy here:
Joymancy Editing is a human-run editing service and does not support the use of generative AI. Content (manuscripts, drafts, images, etc.) generated by AI will not be permitted or considered for services. Clients will be asked to attest that they are not using generative AI. Should it be discovered that AI is being used after the contract is negotiated, the contract will be terminated effective immediately without refund, on the grounds that it voids the previously agreed to terms.

In return, editing services are also not permitted to use generative AI for any reason. Macros may be used by the editing party without penalty, as they are not generative AI programs. If the editing party is discovered to be using generative AI on the client's content in any capacity, the contract will be terminated effective immediately with refund.

Evidence of AI usage is considered to be self-admission in conversation or publically stated usage (i.e. public social media) after the contract is negotiated. Client manuscripts will not be run through any AI detection programs without the explicit consent of the client.

The editing party reserves the right to decline future services if they find the client continues to engage with generative AI programs.