The Case Against Disclosure: Defending Creative Autonomy in the Age of AI

October 1st, 2025 - 10AM CST


The Case Against Disclosure: Defending Creative Autonomy in the Age of AI challenges the prevailing assumption that creators must disclose their methods when using artificial intelligence. As AI tools become deeply embedded in writing, research, coding, and artistic production, institutions, publishers, and the U.S. Copyright Office have moved toward transparency mandates, requiring creators to document and reveal the extent of AI assistance in their work. This book argues that such demands are neither ethically justified nor practically enforceable, representing an unnecessary and damaging encroachment on the creative process. Transparency, often framed as a safeguard for authenticity and accountability, is instead an instrument of control—one that reinforces outdated notions of originality while failing to account for the realities of AI-driven authorship. The Case Against Disclosure dismantles the myth that process defines authorship, asserting that credibility stems from the willingness to take responsibility for a work, not from exhaustive documentation of how it was made. Through legal analysis, historical parallels, and contemporary case studies, this book exposes how transparency mandates create unnecessary barriers, restricting creative autonomy and imposing impractical bureaucratic oversight on the production of knowledge and culture. Essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and professionals in media, law, and technology,this work presents a forceful argument against institutional overreach, advocating for a future in which creators retain full control over their methods. It is both a scholarly intervention and a polemic, making the case that the right to opaque creation is fundamental to intellectual and artistic freedom in the AI age.


Dr. James Hutson is Chair of Human-Centered AI Programs at Lindenwood University and leads the AI Ambassadors. He holds Ph.D.s in Artificial Intelligence and Art History, along with master’s degrees in Leadership and Game Design. His interdisciplinary research spans AI, neurohumanities, neurodiversity, immersive realities, and educational gamification. He has authored over fifty publications on AI in education, including Creative Convergence, The Algorithmic Researcher, and Generative AI in the English Composition Classroom. Since 2006, Dr. Hutson has served in academic and administrative roles at five universities, including Assistant Dean and Chair of Art History and Visual Culture.
Dr. Daniel Plate, a leading scholar in the field of educational technology, centers his research and teaching on the integration of generative artificial intelligence into pedagogical practice. He earned a B.A. in English and Philosophy from Taylor University, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Arkansas, and a Ph.D. in Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. He currently serves on the faculty at Lindenwood University, where he teaches courses in creative writing, literature, and composition.