--- title: "NaNoWriMo Slammed for Saying That Opposition to AI-Generated Books Is Ableist" description: "NaNoWriMo, a nonprofit writing organization that hosts an annual novel write-a-thon, has released a strange new platform on AI." date: "2024-09-03" modified: "2024-09-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nanowrimo-ai-ableist" categories: - "Future Materials" - "Nanotech" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "ai writing" - "nanowrimo" - "the digest" - "writers" --- # NaNoWriMo Slammed for Saying That Opposition to AI-Generated Books Is Ableist ![NaNoWriMo, a nonprofit writing organization that hosts an annual novel write-a-thon, has released a strange new platform on AI.]() *BROOKLINE, MA - NOVEMBER 14: Lisa "Riz" Risley of Medford, left, and Travis Kelly, right, Municipal Liaison with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), look over Alicia Gregoire's story during an event at the Brookline Public Library. NaNoWriMo is a month-long writing challenge where people try to write 50,000-word novels in the month of November. (Photo by Essdras M Suarez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) \Image: Essdras M Suarez/The Boston Globe via Getty Image\* ## NaNo Oh No A nonprofit writing organization that hosts an annual month-long novel write-a-thon has released its new position on artificial intelligence — and writers are clowning on its incredibly goofy suggestions. The National Novel Writing Month group, better known by the abbreviation "NaNoWriMo," has [included in its "Community Matters" section]() a statement suggesting that criticisms of AI use in writing are classist and ableist. "We believe that to categorically condemn AI would be to ignore classist and ableist issues surrounding the use of the technology," the position statement reads, "and that questions around the use of AI tie to questions around privilege." If you're confused as to why a [writer-led writing organization]() is issuing statements in favor of the technology that many are [concerned will take creatives' jobs]() while [plagiarizing their work](), you're far from alone. "Miss me by a wide margin with that ableist and privileged bullshit," [one user wrote](). "Other people’s work is NOT accessibility." ## Hefty Resignations Two *New York Times* bestselling authors who sat on NaNoWriMo's various boards took their criticisms even further. "This is me DJO officially stepping down from your Writers Board and urging every writer I know to do the same," Daniel José Older, a young adult fiction author best known for his "[Outlaw Saints]()" series, [tweeted](). "Never use my name in your promo again in fact never say my name at all and never email me again. Thanks!" Fellow YA author Maureen Johnson followed suit, [telling the group in a tweet]() that she too was stepping down from its Young Writers' Program because she "want\[s\] nothing to do with your organization from this point forward." "I would also encourage writers to beware," she continued, "your work on their platform is almost certainly going to be used to train AI." In an update to its AI statement, NaNoWriMo acknowledged that although there are "bad actors in the AI space who are doing harm to writers and who are acting unethically" and that "situational" abuses of the technology go against its purported "values," the organization still "find\[s\] the categorical condemnation for AI to be problematic." "We also want to make clear that AI is a large umbrella technology and that the size and complexity of that category (which includes both non-generative and generative AI, among other uses) contributes to our belief that it is simply too big to categorically endorse or not endorse," the statement continues. This "[hand-wavey]()" statement, as one user put it, will likely do little to assuage writers' concerns about this seeming endorsement issued under the banner of social justice — except, perhaps, make NaNoWriMo look all the more foolish. **More on AI "writing":** [*Sleazy Company Buys Beloved Blog, Starts Publishing AI-Generated Slop Under the Names of Real Writers Who No Longer Work There*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()