[Google AI Overview at the query, signed out and incognito (operator defaults of 2026-10-01 and 2026-10-14). The paste is the Overview expanded (the 'AI Mode Conversation' view).] The 'You said' line carries the query twice, run together, and is given once here. Inline links are Google redirect URLs, kept as pasted. [QUERENT] Wordcraft Writers Workshop [SYSTEM] The Wordcraft Writers Workshop was a 2022 research project by Google’s PAIR (People + AI Research) and Magenta teams that explored AI-augmented creative writing. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESZwHrOzAVzzysyaY_0UogpNNPRAsJp8I28janwJQKTsefYlJ4UBOueoqwlL3YWo8fOHo_eWHMUxZVhFiImjT_zCm8PeTgYTIv24FTJ8Eu3gxGTdx2QfckvbFwdp4wJiOgDgw4_iwHMq0), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmAEB6zswFbtV80pX2Hs6MIYTdqXNc_UXU9sQlIw8f9ToVwI8ObzNPRR-8y-AzB-q058-kpK0PM-mx0UY0epFXuzPI0ciZZJ6Frkoyg7Vjoaco9m--YpXwUY6x4SvKfgu-z_elc_n-HopI00GDHTPcP9lBQ32Vgcf7txDGmjwuO5BN3T5nQNLnmOEycXasQ-oN5o2CKlQIEulkg), [3](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESqAEB6zswFdG2jaQJLlrVej_LW6wFhgpV0XMaPKTTUxh516Jn-HZDM8nkucXXAI0aURls36ufOStynO5rnMv2W88E4wPD9SG8xSNfWYzod80TQEJNY-UTfgnGWEPlkissWm-HABp0U50y0HJY_fNnuU9Avk8RLNYO8MzgQ2urIPl-92tx4P9tkmVDqKQY37-ShtfRn8a17A7wUVJx0klHuLcQEvZC99mUke4)] Overview and Setup * The Tool: Participants used Wordcraft, an experimental text editor powered by Google’s LaMDA language model. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScQHrOzAVrRH_xcuQDu05ICfu6NSaL7mLPsGqZRczwlhvnPXlRQ6Arj1X1eemqC3trPgvSGAu1_5Cr2bvQk36UaJmzdYWW632YKgNhnWiMZVL1V07v7zwGxwWYrKSgrbfApnQK_BIo26eaL6JF_x1IdsT), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmQEB6zswFd3Q56dIAK49YO_fyIxs9lW_Ne3WF8LRcXQrUB3xJE28qKZtXcmb2VBqVKJIgb5vvjvGUeuSgzdufmeqUNz-acFwOOFT5bRRm4nN9WbO0qe141DP1Kwuy2X2W67HD-NuFnQrRF_d5amITHoAC_MtgLhLp07ED07WQktCKU4yJwcRMakHhfXqips9F9dIFYKbT-A7ouc), [3](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmAEB6zswFbtV80pX2Hs6MIYTdqXNc_UXU9sQlIw8f9ToVwI8ObzNPRR-8y-AzB-q058-kpK0PM-mx0UY0epFXuzPI0ciZZJ6Frkoyg7Vjoaco9m--YpXwUY6x4SvKfgu-z_elc_n-HopI00GDHTPcP9lBQ32Vgcf7txDGmjwuO5BN3T5nQNLnmOEycXasQ-oN5o2CKlQIEulkg)] * Features: The interface offered story ideation, text rewrites, contextual elaboration, a freeform prompt generator, and a chat interface to talk with an AI "editor". [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESgwEB6zswFUkhh7TYcVzpHIBKFi9d6fE-jF9BgE2AuP7k8o9JodO5v551DF4CfjFDr7SPH7BJJJN_C9ImkxdS0UW6hS5biDYKg4d-5GAFOi8llXMK26gM6s_4A7c5FIl5IPwE0QxS-IvqH3JkqT3FucrX9RZKDZDz59IyMswHNn7MC79zKg), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScQHrOzAVrRH_xcuQDu05ICfu6NSaL7mLPsGqZRczwlhvnPXlRQ6Arj1X1eemqC3trPgvSGAu1_5Cr2bvQk36UaJmzdYWW632YKgNhnWiMZVL1V07v7zwGxwWYrKSgrbfApnQK_BIo26eaL6JF_x1IdsT)] * The Cohort: Thirteen diverse professional authors (including Ken Liu, Robin Sloan, and Eugenia Triantafyllou) spent eight weeks writing short stories with the tool under non-disclosure agreements. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESZwHrOzAVzzysyaY_0UogpNNPRAsJp8I28janwJQKTsefYlJ4UBOueoqwlL3YWo8fOHo_eWHMUxZVhFiImjT_zCm8PeTgYTIv24FTJ8Eu3gxGTdx2QfckvbFwdp4wJiOgDgw4_iwHMq0), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmAEB6zswFbtV80pX2Hs6MIYTdqXNc_UXU9sQlIw8f9ToVwI8ObzNPRR-8y-AzB-q058-kpK0PM-mx0UY0epFXuzPI0ciZZJ6Frkoyg7Vjoaco9m--YpXwUY6x4SvKfgu-z_elc_n-HopI00GDHTPcP9lBQ32Vgcf7txDGmjwuO5BN3T5nQNLnmOEycXasQ-oN5o2CKlQIEulkg), [3](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESgwEB6zswFUkhh7TYcVzpHIBKFi9d6fE-jF9BgE2AuP7k8o9JodO5v551DF4CfjFDr7SPH7BJJJN_C9ImkxdS0UW6hS5biDYKg4d-5GAFOi8llXMK26gM6s_4A7c5FIl5IPwE0QxS-IvqH3JkqT3FucrX9RZKDZDz59IyMswHNn7MC79zKg)] * The Results: Google published the resulting stories and a research paper, noting that while the tool helped with brainstorming and breaking writer's block, it frequently rehashed cliches and required heavy manual filtering. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESZwHrOzAVzzysyaY_0UogpNNPRAsJp8I28janwJQKTsefYlJ4UBOueoqwlL3YWo8fOHo_eWHMUxZVhFiImjT_zCm8PeTgYTIv24FTJ8Eu3gxGTdx2QfckvbFwdp4wJiOgDgw4_iwHMq0), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAEScQHrOzAVrRH_xcuQDu05ICfu6NSaL7mLPsGqZRczwlhvnPXlRQ6Arj1X1eemqC3trPgvSGAu1_5Cr2bvQk36UaJmzdYWW632YKgNhnWiMZVL1V07v7zwGxwWYrKSgrbfApnQK_BIo26eaL6JF_x1IdsT)] 2026 Literary Backlash * The Controversy: In August 2026, the project resurfaced widely on social media (such as Bluesky) after being highlighted by author Lily Lachance. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmAEB6zswFbtV80pX2Hs6MIYTdqXNc_UXU9sQlIw8f9ToVwI8ObzNPRR-8y-AzB-q058-kpK0PM-mx0UY0epFXuzPI0ciZZJ6Frkoyg7Vjoaco9m--YpXwUY6x4SvKfgu-z_elc_n-HopI00GDHTPcP9lBQ32Vgcf7txDGmjwuO5BN3T5nQNLnmOEycXasQ-oN5o2CKlQIEulkg)] * The Criticisms: Critics argued that participating authors had lent credibility to AI models trained on copyrighted literary works without consent—a core grievance that escalated significantly in the years following the 2022 explosion of generative AI. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmAEB6zswFbtV80pX2Hs6MIYTdqXNc_UXU9sQlIw8f9ToVwI8ObzNPRR-8y-AzB-q058-kpK0PM-mx0UY0epFXuzPI0ciZZJ6Frkoyg7Vjoaco9m--YpXwUY6x4SvKfgu-z_elc_n-HopI00GDHTPcP9lBQ32Vgcf7txDGmjwuO5BN3T5nQNLnmOEycXasQ-oN5o2CKlQIEulkg), [2](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmQEB6zswFWj0uNMQMSAKQEsB8v03rbiAbDkTDcsnoako6eZ2Kd3AYku8aBVSyo3NuTQrHt_aFDol9chwRF7rfl_4GHX2SfsXNXKSM3ZXpxCaOj8s6VcrF0juTJ8l-biqHGhDn6Hdd-A4BbfJhJLWDf6alqEmLHxWeLoJNkas9dPTi98bdumx37rsXX1g-eJ3pChLRonBhuvtPN4)] * Participant Responses: Several original writers defended or contextualized their participation, noting that in mid-2022 (before ChatGPT and widespread public backlash against LLMs), the experiment was framed strictly as a neutral technical utility study rather than an exploitative industry pivot. [[1](https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmQEB6zswFWj0uNMQMSAKQEsB8v03rbiAbDkTDcsnoako6eZ2Kd3AYku8aBVSyo3NuTQrHt_aFDol9chwRF7rfl_4GHX2SfsXNXKSM3ZXpxCaOj8s6VcrF0juTJ8l-biqHGhDn6Hdd-A4BbfJhJLWDf6alqEmLHxWeLoJNkas9dPTi98bdumx37rsXX1g-eJ3pChLRonBhuvtPN4)] Would you like to read the short stories produced during the workshop, or look into Google's original research paper on Wordcraft? Google Wordcraft Writers Workshop Collaboration: Wordcraft Writers Workshop between Google PAIR, Magenta teams, and 13 professional writers exploring AI co-writing limits with LaMDA and technolo... magenta.withgoogle.com The Wordcraft Writers Workshop: Creative Co-Writing with AI Project: Wordcraft Writers Workshop by Magenta; AI-augmented text editor utilizing LaMDA for creative writing assistance. Participants: 13 professional creative... ActuIA The Wordcraft Writers Workshop evaluates Wordcraft, Google's creative writing tool Wordcraft isn't the first AI to invite itself into literature, in fact we dedicated a feature to this topic in issue #8 of our magazine . In 2015, Tencent devel... The Algorithmic Bridge Google's Wordcraft: An AI Writing Tool Powered by LaMDA Besides the basics, Google added a feature I haven't seen anywhere else that they call “freeform prompting.” Given the context, the user can ask Wordcraft to ge... Engadget Authors Face Backlash For Participation In 2022 Google AI Study - Engadget Much of the ire directed toward participants in the Wordcraft study stems from the practice of tech companies training LLMs, often without authors' permission, ... Coralflavor The 2022 AI Writing Experiment That Became a 2026 Ethical Minefield What this means FAQ What was the Wordcraft Writers Workshop? The Wordcraft Writers Workshop was a 2022 Google-affiliated research project that brought together ... Mezha 13 writers came under fire for Google's 2022 AI experiment - Межа Myroslav Trinko News editor of the Mezha. Geek, programmer by training, but journalist by profession. Horse rider, tennis player, and Formula 1 fan. I write abo... Google Wordcraft Writers Workshop The Wordcraft Writers Workshop is a collaboration between Google's PAIR and Magenta teams, and 13 professional writers from a diverse set of creative writing ba... AI responses may include mistakes. [Learn more](https://support.google.com/websearch?p=ai_overviews)