While reviewing a recent writing conference program, I found there wasn’t a single mention of AI anywhere. Nothing in a workshop title or description. No discussion or interest tables. No panels. No keynotes. No exhibitors or sponsors. Nothing. Imagine being beamed back to 2019.

Counterintuitively, I’m finding this more common rather than less common compared to, say, one or two years ago. Perhaps to avoid headaches and pushback, conference organizers are intentionally keeping AI out of the program. In some instances, the organizers may be morally or ethically opposed to AI and refuse to give it the time of day at their event.

Whatever the reason, excluding AI from the program only makes writers vulnerable to rumor, misinformation, and confusion. At one event I attended, which lacked an AI session, the Q&A periods were overwhelmed by questions on nothing but AI. Because the technology overshadows the creative and publishing process at every step, trying to pretend it’s business as usual, and not the most pressing issue of the day, is becoming a disservice to writers. And if speakers haven’t been chosen with care to address these questions for their community, who knows if the audience will receive a meaningful answer that’s well informed.

I often receive questions in private and on social media asking for my take on something a speaker or industry professional has said about AI at a writing event. Often the message isn’t all that helpful—rants and cynicism make up a lot of commentary. Even when someone is clearly offering a very personal take, the repetition of outrage as well as misinformation shapes people’s beliefs over time—as well as their inclination to ask the questions on their mind. I wrote this FAQ on AI and Publishing to help dispel some of the worst takes, plus clarify what is known, but there remain countless gray areas and issues that ultimately require a conversation—exactly what a conference or class is for.

Here’s what I suggest for every writing conference that offers multiple workshop sessions or panels.

• If the organization has an AI policy (especially an anti-AI policy), make sure all presenters, panelists, and partners know about it. It’s awkward if and when presenters are suggesting AI use for certain tasks, then find out later the organization has an anti-AI policy.
• Even anti-AI events need an AI discussion or panel of some kind. Writers have questions about AI even if they don’t use it or the organization is against it. What if authors’ editors or publishers use it? (And they probably do.) What contract clauses are important to add? What are the the latest developments on AI, copyright, and fair use? How is AI detection being used by agents and publishers? Etc.
• Consider one or more practical workshops dedicated to AI. Ask: Which area is most relevant to your community? For example, one conference with a lot of self-published authors offered a session that considered how AI affects book positioning, book marketing descriptions and Amazon optimization. Another conference for freelancers focused on drafting AI policies and how to handle the issue in client contracts, as seen recently in Mary Kole’s post.

It’s not protecting or supporting writers to consider AI off limits. In-person conferences especially offer a unique opportunity for people to have nuanced and reasonable conversations that counter the more inflamed, emotional posts that populate social media. AI needs to be normalized as a conversation topic and area of inquiry. Whether we agree or not on its use, we have to find ways to talk about it.