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The Infinite Echo: Navigating the AI Revolution in Writing and Publishing

Writer's Day: Writing Craft Workshop

This engaging session will explore how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the landscape for writers and publishers. Presented by Sid Dobrin, Professor in the Department of English at the University of Florida, one of the world’s most sought-after experts on Generative AI. He is the Founding Director of the Trace Innovation Initiative at UF and has been named a Digital Thought Leader by Adobe.

This Writing Craft Workshop is presented as part of Jax Book Fest presents: Writer's Day.

The Infinite Echo: Navigating the AI Revolution in Writing and Publishing: From the first stone tools to the printing press, technology has always reshaped the way we tell stories. Today, we stand at a new rhetorical precipice: the era of Generative AI. While some fear these tools signal the end of human creativity, they might be better understood as a radical acceleration of our ancient impulse to narrate. This engaging session will explore how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the landscape for writers and publishers. We will begin by demystifying the black box of GenAI, explaining how these platforms function not as thinking machines, but as sophisticated linguistic mirrors that map the vast dimensions of human digital history. We will candidly address the tensions this technology creates, from the risk of data collapse and narrative homogenization to the ethical questions of authenticity and gatekeeping. However, rather than retreating into a defensive crouch, we will highlight the transformative potential of AI to amplify voices that have historically been excluded from traditional publishing. The session concludes with pragmatic, hands-on strategies for integrating AI into your creative workflow—using it to manage the scale of narrative while reserving the profound labor of expression for the authentically lived experience. Whether you are a novelist, a poet, or a publisher, this talk will empower you to navigate the new AI writing landscape with refined rhetorical taste and a clear vision for the future of storytelling. 
 
About the Presenter: Sid Dobrin, Professor in the Department of English at the University of Florida, has become one of the world’s most sought-after experts on Generative AI. He is the Founding Director of the Trace Innovation Initiative at UF and has been named a Digital Thought Leader by Adobe. He serves as a member of the Florida Institute for National Security, part of the University of Florida’s AI Initiative, and he served on the University of Florida’s AI Blue Sky Task Force. He has also served as a member of the Florida AI Learning Consortium (FALCON) Steering Committee. Dobrin is an MIT-certified AI strategist. He is the author and editor of more than 30 books and numerous articles, including Talking about Generative AI: A Guide for Educators 2.0 and AI and Writing, 2e. In April 2025, he testified before the House Committee on Education and Workforce Development about AI, and in December 2025, he spoke before the Mississippi State Legislature’s AI Task Force. His newest book The Not So Perfect Machine: What Every Consumer Needs to Know about AI is scheduled to be published soon. In addition to his work in Digital Humanities, he is prolific in writing about fishing and ocean conservation, and he is currently editing The Routledge Blue Humanities Handbook. Dobrin is also CEO and Principal for FlyingFish-AI, an AI strategy consultancy.  

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities.

Pre-registration is strongly recommended (space is limited) and must be completed at least 24 hours prior to the start time. Note: A Jacksonville Public Library card and PIN are required for registration. If you do not already have one, you can apply for a library card online.

Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please allow 1–2 business days to process. Last-minute requests will be accepted, but may not be possible to fulfill. Please ask for Learning Services at (904) 255-2665 or email JPLPrograms@coj.net.

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