“I’ve known several spies who have wanted to become novelists. And novelists who became spies, of course.”
-Christopher Koch.
People have always used spies to report back, either as part of military strategies, out of jealousy, or for gossip. On November 3rd, 2024 The Department of Justice confirmed that it was reviewing proposals for Ireland to join an EU intelligence-sharing network. On the same date — two years later— a group of us gathered in Limerick to share writing created about AI, the spy of all spies.
Prompts related to so-called ‘artificial intelligence’ were shared by the editors of Unapologetic magazine a few months ago. The open call asked writers to consider personal, social, political and medical factors. I was very interested in that, and also impressed by a focus on “the threat and cultural impact of generative AI invading creative spaces”.
I wrote a piece called Mesmerised By Hares And Heather. It was selected for inclusion in issue five.
AI thievery affects all creatives. Earlier this year, as part of a long form feature for issue 20 of Pagan Ireland magazine, I wrote “You don’t use AI. It uses you.”
The piece went on to state “The rise of AI is seen as both a useful tool and a brain drain. People with dyslexia find it helpful, and it is making access to information better for disabled people. Assistive technologies are crucial, but AI seeping into every facet of daily life is causing damage.
In Irish schools, students are meant to clearly reference any material generated by AI, but teachers can’t keep up with the speed and scale involved. In the UK, AI use is directly contributing to a decline in writing and problem-solving abilities, according to two-thirds of the 9,000 secondary school teachers who took part in a National Education Union poll. The Guardian quoted one teacher in April 2026: “Students are losing core skills – thinking, creativity, writing, even how to have a conversation”. Another declared that “AI is destroying what ‘learning’ – problem-solving, critical thinking and collaborative effort – is.”
Thankfully, in my world, collaborative efforts continue to nourish human creativity. Whether projects happen one-to-one, in small groups, or as part of a huge team, they are precious. Long may we all thrive. The soul of human experience will never be replaced by machines.
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Thanks to Najla for taking the photo of me reading at the launch (the first photo on this page).
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