Between Puppet and Actor: Reframing Authorship in this Age of AI Agents

Abstract: This chapter examines the conceptual tensions in understanding AI agents' role in creative processes, particularly focusing on LLMs. Building upon Schmidt's 1954 categorization of human-technology relationships and the classical definition of "author," this chapter proposes to understand AI agency as existing somewhere between that of an inanimate puppet and a performing actor. While AI agents demonstrate a degree of creative autonomy, including the ability to improvise and construct complex narrative content in interactive storytelling, they cannot be considered authors in the classical sense of the term. This chapter thus suggests that AI agents exist in a dynamic state between human-controlled puppets and semi-autonomous actors. This conceptual positioning reflects how AI agents, while they can certainly contribute to creative work, remain bound to human direction. We also argue that existing conceptual frames concerning authorship should evolve and adapt to capture these new relationships.