Neil Clarke said about "I worry that this path will lead to an increased number of barriers for new and international authors". So, brainstorming potential solutions, where the goal isn't "to stop AI content writers" as much as ensure that writers are have "to do the actual work".
What does proof-of-work look like for fiction? Uploading drafts, ensuring "adequate" time between them and "adequate" revisions? What else would work?
Will I need to use a git commit after every sentence? I write my essays in plain text that is backed up automatically by git once per day with a script and a generic message. There is no say to prove I wrote stuff and did not paste in ChatGPT output.
What if the author is simply required to compose all drafts in some special web editor that streams events to the server? Multiple phases of approval? Statistical analysis of time domain signals?
Proof of work could just mean "do your work here".
Require a summary and/or discussion of the creative process in a cover letter. Similar to requiring software candidates to be able to intelligently discuss what's on their GitHub.
To work it will likely have to be attached to a unique identity in costly ways. i.e. some form of ID verification such as Driver's license/Utility Bills/Bank statement/passport/etc...
What does proof-of-work look like for fiction? Uploading drafts, ensuring "adequate" time between them and "adequate" revisions? What else would work?