This is a quote from a New York Times article I read today:
" ... 'Shy Girl' appears to be the first commercial novel from a major publishing house (Hatchette) to be pulled over evidence of A.I. use. Its cancellation is a sign that A.I. writing is not only appearing in cheap self-published e-books that are flooding Amazon but is seeping into traditionally published fiction."
The author claims she gave the text of the self-published edition to a friend to edit and the friend used A.I. to edit. Refused to give details because she's suing the friend.
It appears readers caught on: "Still, the tide turned as more readers began flagging what they surmised was A.I. slop, slamming the book for its generic and confusing metaphors and repetitive phrasing."
The NYT piece is here.
~ JBB
I don't suppose she'd care to prove her claims by sharing the pre-editor version of the story.
An newspaper snippet I read said that an 'AI expert' claimed it was 78% AI-written.
AJ
An newspaper snippet I read said that an 'AI expert' claimed it was 78% AI-written.
That's really heavy editing and lots of repetitive phrasing, apparently.
~ JBB
At some point in the near future, we're going to see advertisements that proclaim "100% AI free." It will be just another selling point.
I'd use it, but wouldn't that be the same as "written by a human" (i.e. stating the blatantly obvious). The norm should be written and edited by people, not automation.
At some point in the near future, we're going to see advertisements that proclaim "100% AI free." It will be just another selling point.
Personally, I would not trust such claims. It's simply too hard to definitively prove AI involvement.
I would view any such claim in a "he protests too much" light.
They're currently arguing about what symbol to use to represent AI-free. There are several competing designs but, IIRC, the majority feature the letters AI in capitals with some form of no-entry type diagonal bar through them.
AJ
Sorry, but the worst response would be instituting "AI policing", determining what may be an 'authorized' or an 'unauthorized' use of AI. All that does is further complicate an already difficult situation.
So, is 15% AI okay, 45% or is 75% the official limit.
In my case, if a sentence doesn't make logical sense, it's complete garbage, and if a story is inconsistent, reading like two different people wrote it, it's just not worth reading, no matter what the author claims.
You either know how to write, or you don't.
That said, since the ubiquitous Google spell-checker has now been legally restricted, I'm really struggling, as I'm a tragically poor speller, forced to read several dictionaries front to back, because I can't spell well enough to even look up misspelled words.
That said, it was a great experience, as even today, I have a much more expansive vocabulary than most anyone I know.
So, is 15% AI okay, 45% or is 75% the official limit.
I believe SOL management has settled on 50%. But a number of stories haven't hit that barrier yet are littered with em-dashes, have 'not X, but Y' constructs in abundance, and groups of three etc, symptoms of AI involvement.
AJ
But a number of stories haven't hit that barrier yet are littered with em-dashes,
I wouldn't use the presence of em-dashes as any sign of AI use.
Few months ago I changed the formatting script to replace any two consecutive dashes inline in the text with an em-dash. So there are way more em-dashes on the site now, and it's not necessarily because of AI.
I wouldn't use the presence of em-dashes as any sign of AI use.
I think it's suspicious when an author who never used em-dashes suddenly sprinkles them around like confetti. Not proof by itself but another symptom to take into account.
AJ
But a number of stories haven't hit that barrier yet are littered with em-dashes,
I've been using em dashes regularly for over a decade. No AI is used in the writing of my stories.
I've been using em dashes regularly for over a decade. No AI is used in the writing of my stories.
Your use of em-dashes predates the recent dam-burst of AI-generated content on SOL. Em-dashes on their own aren't enough to conclude that a story contains AI-generated content, but if other indicators are also present ...
I've just read an update to a story not flagged as AI-generated. There are plenty of em-dashes but there are also lots of triples. I'm not going to fat-shame the author but I'm personally convinced it contains AI-generated content.
AJ
are littered with em-dashes,
IIRC, I've never ever seen an em-dash in a German book and very few in British books (written in the British flavour of English and published in the UK). I first was shocked by the extended use of the em-dash (where I would have used parenthesis instead) and more so by its use without enclosed in space in US published books.
In print form I now mostly read US editions, the corresponding British editions are more expensive here in Germany even books written by British authors – despise the shorter transportation route. I still have problems with its usual use without spaces, IMO ThinSpaces or at least HairSpaces should be used.
BTW, some programs don't do end-of-line breaks at an em-dash, causing enormous gaps in the displayed text.
HM.