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If you’re a reader, you know how frustrating it can be when the film adaptation of your favourite book doesn’t live up to your imagination. But film studios — usually — put in a lot of effort into making sure the movie is true to its literary roots.

Now imagine if someone just fed the book to AI and called it a day. That’s exactly what Urdu novelist Umera Ahmed’s team is worried about.

In an Instagram post on the writer’s official page, they thanked readers for the “tremendous love and support” they had shown her novels over the years and said they had noticed “a lot of AI-generated images, videos and reels trying to depict scenes, characters and dialogues from the novels”.

“We kindly ask all content creators and pages not to generate or share any AI visuals of Umera Ahmed’s work,” the post said.

The team said literature cultivated a very personal experience for those who enjoyed it and AI content deprived readers of that “personal connection”. They also said some of Ahmed’s works — like the novel Peer-e-Kamil — were so “deep, sensitive and spiritual” that no one should dilute their “beauty and sanctity” with AI.

The team said while they valued the creativity and energy that goes into running the many fan pages that post about the writer’s books, “it would be a great shame if people started diluting the beautiful words of Umera Ahmed”.

They asked content creators and pages to let the magic of Ahmed’s words touch them and others “the way it is meant to”.

AI has become a talking point in Pakistan recently after a number of incidents highlighted its negative impacts on the entertainment industry.

On Monday, Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal shared a music video produced by his ministry with extensive use of AI. It was criticised heavily for trying — and frankly, failing — to replace human artists.

Last month, TV personalities Tauseeq Haider and Farah Saadia were given quite the shock when they found out AI-generated pictures of their supposed wedding had gone viral. They both later clarified in a video that they were, in fact, “happily single”.

Actor Hira Tareen also cautioned against contracts being given to actors which could have their sign away their likeness for studios to make AI content with. She advised her colleagues to always read the fine print before signing anything.