Stage In The Sky

I have so many thoughts about AI when it comes to being an artist, especially as it relates to Hollywood and the publishing industry.

Recently, there were graduations where young graduates booed when the idea of AI came up.

And I get it. I think the reason why they booed was because so many companies and corporations are banking more on AI capabilities than on human beings.

At the same time…I also understand the corporations and companies.

If you have access to a tool that can get you the desired result of an employee, and it costs you pennies on the dollar compared to the yearly salary you’d have to pay that employee…I won’t go so far as to say, “Why wouldn’t you use it?” because I know we’re talking about real people’s jobs and livelihoods here.

But I would say this: they’d be foolish not to at least explore it.

And here’s my attitude about the whole thing. Maybe I’m just a different breed from some of my peers. Maybe it’s just the way I was raised in the 90s when Michael Jordan was dunking on fools and people still embraced the spirit of competition instead of acting like every challenge was some kind of injustice.

But when it comes to AI, I say: Challenge accepted.

What do I mean by that?

Well, the first time I really started hearing complaints from the Hollywood and publishing industry was back around 2022, when people started warning that a lot of writers would lose their jobs. Once upon a time, it took a full room of writers to work on a show like your favorite sitcom or hour-long drama. You’d have a group of people pitching jokes, shaping episodes, fixing dialogue, mapping out arcs, and doing all the things that make television work.

But with AI, the fear is that all you’d need is one or two writers going back and forth with a machine to produce something close enough to the same script. Maybe not the same soul. Maybe not the same spark. But close enough for the studio or company that’s trying to save money.

Thus, a lot of writers lose their jobs.

Still…I say, “Challenge accepted.”

“But Rock! How could you possibly say that? You’re a writer! How would you feel if you lost your job to AI?”

Well, think about what AI is.

Earlier, I described it as a tool. That’s all it is. It’s not a unique individual or person with lived experiences. It’s not a human being who has suffered, loved, failed, envied, competed, regretted, or carried grudges for twenty years. It’s a program using data and artificial intelligence to produce what you’ve requested it to do.

So, when people hit me with, “But, Rock! You’re an artist too! You should be insulted and offended that AI could possibly replace the roles of writers.”

Ladies and gentlemen…you’re reading the words of a rebel, an individualist writer who’s been producing original stories since 2009.

My main gripe, one of the biggest complaints I’ve always had with Hollywood and the publishing industry, is that they constantly focus on riding trends and cashing in on what’s popular instead of prioritizing the creation of something new.

Hollywood and publishing are businesses. I get that. They’re not going to pour money into something that hasn’t been proven or something they don’t think will sell. I understand the logic.

But let’s not pretend this is all about protecting the sacred honor of art.

For years, these industries have seen what others have done — usually things that caught the industry by surprise, like John Wick or Twilight — and then everybody jumps on the trend to copy and cash in on that success.

One unexpected hit happens, and suddenly everyone wants their version of it. Their version of that fantasy series. Their version of that YA dystopian franchise. Their version of that superhero universe. Their version of that prestige drama. Their version of that identity-centered story that just so happens to fit the cultural fashion of the moment.

I hate that.

Let me rephrase…I hate that humans who call themselves artists and work in the industry do that.

So to see that AI will possibly reduce roles because you don’t need a room full of “artists” to do what the industry has already been doing for years…

Instead of looking at that as, “Woe is me,” I say…embrace the pressure! Take on the challenge!

If you know that AI is capable of so much, then focus on what AI CANNOT do.

And I already know what it can’t do…which is why it suits me.

“What, Rock? What can’t AI do that has you so confident and giddy about today’s current Hollywood and Publishing landscape?”

It can’t be me. There’s only one Rock Kitaro on this planet and that’s me.

Trust me, I’ve seen what AI can do. It’s amazing. It can produce characters, stories, and plots that are just as good as what’s already been done.

But neither AI nor anyone else can produce what I can produce.

Think about J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, or Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.

AI could never have come up with those stories, the dialogue, or the intensity by which those authors created them. Those works could only have been produced by unique individuals whose minds and lived experiences resulted in those stories.

My characters are unique because they react honestly to the situations they’re in, not how I want them to react in order to satisfy some political message, cultural trend, or moral fantasy.

That’s the key. Honesty. My blunt, brutal, unflinching honesty about humans, about the world, about culture, patterns, love, hate, rage, revenge, loyalty, weakness, cowardice, attraction, rivalry, and ambition.

When you look at TV shows and movies, yeah, they might be entertaining. I’m not pretending nothing good exists. But in our heart of hearts, we all know a ridiculous amount of modern storytelling depends on plot armor and character luck that would never happen in real life.

In real life, everyone has undesirable flaws. Not just straight white men. Everyone.

And if you’re not allowed to say a certain thing, if you can’t portray someone a certain way, if you’ve got all these stupid illogical rules just because you want art to create a fantasy for humans to aspire to, instead of creating art that reflects real life…then yeah, you’re in danger of being conquered by AI.

Because at that point, what exactly are you protecting? Formula? Rules? Market-tested morality? Characters who behave the way a committee wants them to behave? Stories that are afraid to tell the truth because the truth might make the wrong people uncomfortable?

This is how you get shows where the main character can be rude, arrogant, reckless, or immature, but the story still treats her like she’s automatically right because the writers are more interested in making a point than telling the truth about the character.

And when your story constantly protects certain characters from meaningful accountability because you’re afraid of what it might “say” about whatever group they belong to, then you’re not writing people anymore.

Which is why AI probably could step in and write that kind of show.

Ladies and gentlemen, on July 3rd, 2026, I’m planning to release my next novel, The Knights with No Lords: The One Called Gawain.

I wrote it back in 2021. Since then, I’ve gone through four different revisions and two different rounds of trying to send it to literary agents to get it published the traditional way.

Let that hang in the air for a moment, because this is important.

I’m saying I did it the way the industry wants us to do. I wrote it by myself. I did the research by myself. I revised it multiple times over the years. And then, when it came to sending it to literary agents — all 300 plus of them — I researched each of them individually to tailor personalized query letters.

If I had gotten hit by a bus in 2024, no one would ever have known that I created this awesome story. The same goes for five other novels I’ve written.

They would’ve just been files on my computer. Dreams in my head. Stories I spent years building that never got the chance to reach the people they were meant to reach.

So when, in 2025, I finally signed up for paid ChatGPT services and realized — REALIZED — the possibilities of how I could use this tool to my advantage…

Hell yeah, I jumped on that!

I used ChatGPT to create my book covers, going back and forth until I got them exactly the way I wanted. A process that would’ve taken me weeks and probably cost well over $2,000, I was able to do in an afternoon on a $20 monthly subscription.

I used ChatGPT to feed it my chapters one by one, asking it to analyze and evaluate my stories, point out flaws and inconsistencies, react as a reader, and help me pressure-test the book as if it were a real editor.

Again, that’s another process that would’ve taken weeks per chapter and cost me hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, I was able to do the same day.

And no, before someone tries to act cute, that doesn’t mean AI wrote my book. I did. My copyrights for the works were filed back in 2016, way before ChatGPT was released to the public. (so, I can prove it)

I also used ChatGPT to feed it the websites of hundreds of literary agencies and ask which agents I should submit to.

That’s a huge thing, because for those of you who don’t know, when agents reject your submission — if they’re kind enough to respond at all — while they expect you to pour your time and effort into researching them, their agency, their website…the rejection letters they give back are usually just generic “No thank you” responses with no feedback or indication that they even read your work.

So basically, they want you to send a personalized letter to them, but they’re not going to do the same.

And some of them even have the nerve to say they won’t accept submissions if any part of your query letter was helped or assisted by AI.

I say they have the nerve because let’s not pretend they aren’t doing the same thing when they get our submissions.

If you don’t think literary agencies, publishers, studios, and corporations are using AI behind the scenes to sort, summarize, filter, analyze, package, and evaluate material, I don’t know what to tell you.

I was born at night (10:32pm). Not last night.

“Okay, Rock. Well, if that’s what you think they’re doing, why haven’t they accepted you.”

Because I don’t pander. I’m not writing identity-first fiction. I’m not trying to impress people with how well I can repeat the current cultural script. I don’t write stories built around woke agendas, gay vampires, and characters who exist to check boxes.

Check out this essay I wrote about the literary agency world, and it’ll tell you all you need to know.

All that said, my point is this: if anyone has an ounce of common sense, they should put on their thinking cap and find a way to use AI to their advantage.

And I say that fully aware that I honestly might lose one of my actual jobs in the coming years to AI.

I’m in the same boat as millions of Americans when it comes to that.

But again…challenge accepted.

If my employers think they can use AI to replace what I do, the value I provide, and the judgment I bring to the table, all power to them. If anything, I’d say I failed to see it coming or improve my own value.

Because that’s one thing I’ve found I’m pretty good at. I’m good at seeing the writing on the wall and finding ways to show my bosses why keeping me around is to their benefit despite the changing landscape. And even if I’m let go, I have backup plans.

Several of them.

But more than anything, reader, this essay isn’t supposed to be an “Ah-ha!” or “I’m better than you!” post where I criticize everyone who has complained about AI.

If it’s coming off like that, I apologize. It’s just my style. It’s how I was raised.

My parents recognized my pain and sadness, sure, but they didn’t let me stay there. I was pushed to pick my chin up and persevere. Be resilient. To constantly ask myself… “Okay, now what are you going to do about it?”

When I look at the AI landscape and the future, I really am excited.

As much as people have an aversion to it, I do see it as an opportunity for a new generation of entrepreneurs to rise up if they can find a way to capitalize on it before the government gets involved and starts putting limitations on everything.

Think about the gangsters from the Prohibition Era, when the government banned the sale of alcohol. Dozens of gangsters became millionaires overnight because of bootlegging.

The ones who saw the opportunity moved fast. The ones who didn’t got left behind.

Think about companies like Kodak, which could’ve remained a giant in the film and photography industry if they capitalized on digital photography when they had the chance. Now where are they?

Think about YouTube and the hundreds of young people who became millionaires because they were among the first to jump on being YouTube vloggers. Think about the ones who were the first to invest in Bitcoin or Google.

Every generation has a shift. Every generation has some new thing that people mock, fear, underestimate, or try to stop. And every generation has people who look at that same thing and say, “How can I use this?”

As an artist, especially for those on Fiverr, I know it has to suck. Business is going to take a hit because people like me have found out we can get AI to do things we would’ve once paid Fiverr artists to do. I’m not blind to that.

But like my parents told me, instead of staying down in the dumps…ask yourself, “What are you going to do about it?”

I encourage you to say, “Challenge accepted.”

What can you offer that AI can’t? What vision do you have? What taste do you have? What experience do you have? What personal style do you have that a machine cannot duplicate because it has not lived your life to acquire your imagination?

I think the future favors the ones with ideas.

Earlier, I talked about authors like JD Salinger or Lord Byron, and I know some are probably thinking, “This dude has an overinflated ego. He thinks he’s on the same level as these writers.”

That’s fair. But how do you know I’m not?

That’s what I’m talking about. Thanks to the possibilities of AI, I believe more of us authors, writers, and artists will have greater chances to prove it to you.

Thanks to AI, I will produce more written works and publish them on my own as opposed to wasting years of my life waiting on permission to show the world what I can do.

Yeah, some people will put more stock in AI than they should, and I think those people are going to get burned in the long run because they’re treating AI like judges, as if they have the lived experience to really know human beings.

As if human beings don’t lie on polls and surveys. As if humans don’t say one thing publicly and feel something completely different privately. As if humans don’t pretend to believe certain things because the group demands it.

As if desire, fear, pride, envy, ambition, lust, shame, guilt, and resentment aren’t constantly fighting inside people at the same time. That’s the kind of stuff real writers are supposed to understand…or at least be brave enough to explore it.

That’s why I see an opportunity to break into the publishing industry. Once upon a time, you needed an agent to be traditionally published. You needed someone else to tell you that your story was worthy of being placed in front of readers.

Now, there’s no way most readers are going to look at a page full of books and automatically know which one was published traditionally through agents and which one was self-published.

They’re going to look at the cover. They’re going to read the premise. They’re going to ask themselves if it sounds interesting.

That’s the game now.

And when it comes to those who are offended by my stance, especially those in the industry, the ones who call themselves purists and protectors of the art, I’ll say this:

You rejected me long before I rejected you.

I don’t hate them. I use them as motivation to stay driven, to stay hungry, and to keep building my own path. Because at the end of the day, I’m not doing this to impress literary agents. I’m not doing this to be welcomed into some exclusive club of “real writers” who all agree on what art is supposed to look like.

Ever since I was a kid, my goal has never changed. It’s not about the money. It’s not even about fame. I simply have awesome stories to tell, and I want people to be entertained by them. Everyone. Even the people who don’t like to read.

When it comes to The Knights with No Lords: The One Called Gawain, I guarantee you there won’t be a single page that’s boring.

That’s all that matters. Stay tuned! July 3rd 2026!