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Writing For Equality: An Interview with Dr. Tony Malone

Annie Cosby

May 19, 2023 | 3 min read

Dr. Tony Malone in his writing studio

We're proud to introduce you to Dr. Tony Malone, a writer, artist, and human rights campaigner in Ebbw Vale, an old mining town in the South Wales Valleys in the UK.

We sat down with Dr. Malone to chat about his work, especially the important books he's brought into the world, like The Diversity & Inclusion Glossary.

How would you describe your profession?

I use words, craft words, and define collaboratively in words the suffering of others and how we can stop this. I have worked as a writer, artist, and campaigner in the human rights space for over 20 years. I am honoured to be published and often speak out on inequality across the world.

What inspires your writing and your work in the LGBTQIA+ space?

I didn’t want to be a human rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, or a diversity and inclusion campaigner. I wanted to be a painter. However, two things happened: I studied Buddhism, and I discovered the inequality of the world.

I was fortunate to live nearby some of the greatest LGBTQIA+ campaigners in the UK, including Caroline Jones, Sue Sanders, Julie Newman, Clare Summerskill, and many more who kindly took the time to share the craft of peace activism, of social influence and change. I was invited to help draft the current equality laws in the UK and Europe, leading to my more recent work with LGBTQIA+ refugees in Uganda, Kenya, Myanmar, and Pakistan.

The suffering of all communities who are oppressed drives me to do more, to write more, and hopefully be an ally to all who face inequality. I am determined to leave this world in a better place than I found it, by fostering change and then getting out of the way for those who shape and make that change to create a better future.

The Diversity and Inclusion Guide

Why do you think The Diversity & Inclusion Glossary is important?

This project came as a suggestion from a publisher I previously worked with and my good friend Sue Sanders, who is the founder of LGBT+ History Month. We hit a point where terms, words, and meanings change, quickly. Where people who are well-meaning are struggling to not use offensive or outdated terms and had nowhere to go to.

I called on fellow activists from across the western world, from all backgrounds and communities, and put together a working team of 220 people, each with slightly differing views on equality. The project when on for two years of discussions, meetings, changes, and eventually when I felt ready, I sat at my Freewrite and "just went for it"...

It has received great reviews, been copied online a lot (which is great), and an agreement that we widen this into other languages and editions in the future has been made. To date, the book has sold 43,000 copies — just since June 2022.

What other projects are you proud of?

I would also like to mention my most undersold book — ou know, the one I poured my heart and soul into, and it just sat there on the shelf… A natural wildlife book about birding, specifically the bird the Pied Wagtail. It is one of my most fun projects, it sold just over 200 copies, but I am proud of this as it was about a different area than I would usually write.

You've written 100K words on your Freewrite. Any tips for other writers with similar aspirations?

Make time, and then make that time precious. Ignore your friends, be anti-social, become a recluse and write. Listen to criticism when people read your draft, but don’t always act on it. Buy a hat, scarf, or some other costume that makes you feel like a great author and enjoy living that life.Never be afraid to be you, in person or word. (I am still learning this last one.)

Any fun facts about yourself that you'd like to share?

I was the official Tea Ceremony Master to HH the 14th Dalai Lama, and when I am not writing or working to resolve inequalities, I am usually out performing tea ceremonies and teaching young people mindfulness through tea in the Scouts or Guides.

Thank you so much, Dr. Malone, for sitting down with us to share your fascinating journey. You've done so much incredible work so far, and we know you've got more in mind!

Readers can learn more about Dr. Malone at http://tenzinla.com or follow him on Instagram or Twitter.

Annie Cosby

Writer

Annie Cosby is the Marketing Manager at Freewrite, a former fiction editor, and the author of seven books — and counting. Her work deals with Celtic mythology and has twice won the YA Indie Author Project in Missouri.

The Set Up

The 2024 study recruited 293 writers to write an eight-sentence “micro” story. The participants were split into three groups:

Writing by human brainpower only
The opportunity to get one AI-generated idea to inspire their writing
The opportunity to get up to five AI-generated ideas to inspire their writing

Then, 600 evaluators judged how creative these short stories were. The results confirmed a widely accepted idea but also offered a few surprising findings.

Prompts from AI Can Jumpstart the Creative Process

Right off the bat, the reviewers rated the AI-guided stories as being more original, better written, and more enjoyable to read. (Interesting to note that they did not find them funnier than the fully human-inspired stories.)

This actually isn’t that surprising. Most writers know the “blank page dread” at the beginning of a project. Even as I write this, I can’t help but wonder, “If I had been tasked with writing an eight-sentence story, what the heck would I have written about?”

Many writers share this sense of needing to pick the “right” story to tell. And that uniquely human concept of perfectionism can end up actually inhibiting our creative process.

A prompt, then, can help us quickly clear this mental hurdle. To test this, I’ll give you one, courtesy of ChatGPT: “Write a story about a teenager who discovers a mysterious journal that reveals hidden secrets about their town, leading them on an unexpected adventure to uncover the truth.”

Can you feel your creative juices flowing already?

Since its release, AI has been celebrated for its ability to assist in idea generation; and this study confirms how effective using artificial intelligence in this way can be for writers — some, it seems, more than others.

AI-Generated Ideas Helped Less Creative Writers More

It doesn’t feel great to judge a writer’s creative prowess, but for this study, researchers needed to do just that. Prior to writing their short stories, the writers took a test to measure their creativity.

Researchers found that those considered less creative did substantially better when given AI-generated ideas — to the point where getting the full five ideas from AI “effectively equalizes the creativity scores across less and more creative writers.”

This isn’t the case just for writing. Another study by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship WZ also found that AI tools most benefit employees with weaker skills.

So is AI leveling the playing field between okay and great writers? It seems it may be. But before we lament, there’s one more finding that proves using AI isn’t all perks.

AI-Aided Stories Were More Similar — And Needed to Be Credited

The researchers took a step back to look at all the AI-supported stories collectively. And what did they find?

The AI-assisted stories were more similar as a whole, compared to the fully human-written stories.

Additionally, when reviewers were told that a story was enhanced by an AI idea, they “imposed an ownership penalty of at least 25%,” even indicating that “the content creators, on which the models were based, should be compensated.”

This leads us to that all-important question about AI-assisted work: who owns the content?

According to Originality.AI, an AI and plagiarism detector, “When there’s a combination of AI and human-generated elements, the human elements may receive copyright protection if they meet the requirements.”

So right now, if a writer uses AI to generate ideas — but writes the content themselves — they retain rights to the work.

However, Originality.AI even admits that “the legal system is having a hard time keeping up” with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. Time will only tell what AI regulations will look like in a few years.

What Does an AI-Assisted Literary Future Look Like?

The researchers from the University of Exeter Business School study raise an interesting point about what the future landscape for writers may look like. If droves of authors begin using AI to come up with ideas, we may end up with a lot of well-written yet dime-a-dozen stories.

So will human beings choose the easier, but less diverse, path? Or will we stick to fighting through writer’s block armed with nothing but our own brain?

Or, a third option: can we somehow learn to harness AI to supercharge our writing process without sacrificing the wholly unique creativity that infuses human creation?

That’s one question that even ChatGPT can’t answer.

Editor's Note: Artificial intelligence may have already transformed writing, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be in control of your own words. Read Astrohaus Founder Adam Leeb's statement on AI and privacy.

Learn more

August 22, 2024 • 8 min read

Reimagining the Future of Storytelling in a World with AI

While AI has capabilities that range from coding to image generation, the model that excites — and terrifies — writers is the LLM. It won’t be long before we see the world’s first blockbuster novel, written entirely by an LLM. What does this mean for art, and writers in particular? Is it all doom and gloom? The answer is, of course, more complicated than yes or no.