The author, a fiction writer since 2014, expresses anxiety about AI-generated text being mistaken for human writing, a fear stemming from the difficulty of proving authorship. To combat this, they developed VellumProof, a tool inspired by GitHub's version control system but tailored for writers.

VellumProof functions by tracking changes to manuscripts, recording added and deleted words with each upload. This creates a verifiable history, akin to GitHub's commit logs, that can demonstrate a writer's progression and effort. The tool includes a graph showing words added per session, serving as evidence of a human author's work. For instance, an initial large upload of an existing manuscript can be annotated to explain the significant word count, distinguishing it from genuine daily writing.

While acknowledging that the system isn't foolproof against determined cheaters, the creator prioritizes building a tool for the honest majority. The underlying philosophy is to provide a reliable method for authors to present their creative process, offering tangible 'receipts' of their authorship rather than relying on subjective interpretations of writing style.