The rise of robot authors: is the writing on the wall for human novelists?

Artificial intelligence can now write fiction and journalism. But does it measure up to George Orwell – and can it report on Brexit?Will androids write novels about electric sheep? The dream, or nightmare, of totally machine-generated prose seemed to have come one step closer with the recent announcement of an artificial intelligence that could produce, all by itself, plausible news stories or fiction. It was the brainchild of OpenAI – a nonprofit lab backed by Elon Musk and other tech entrepreneurs – which slyly alarmed the literati by announcing that the AI (called GPT2) was too dangerous for them to release into the wild, because it could be employed to create “deepfakes for text”. “Due to our concerns about malicious applications of the technology,” they said, “we are not releasing the trained model.” Are machine-learning entities going to be the new weapons of information terrorism, or will they just put humble midlist novelists out of business?Let’s first take a step back. AI has been the next big thing for so long that it’s easy to assume “artificial intelligence” now exists. It doesn’t, if by “intelligence” we mean what we sometimes encounter in our fellow humans. GPT2 is just using methods of statistical analysis, trained on huge amounts of human-written text – 40GB of web pages, in this case, that received recommendations from Reddit readers – to predict what ought to come next. This probabilistic approach is how Google Translate works, and also the method... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #big thing #statistical analysis #web pages

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The rise of robot authors: is the writing on the wall for human novelists?'


Justin Torres, Author of ‘Blackouts,’ Wins National Book Award for Fiction

Ned Blackhawk received the nonfiction award, with “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-16 12:36:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #justin torres #nonfiction award #national book award


On Literary Empathy and the Performative Reading of Palestinian Authors

The literary community holds onto empathy as a dear goal while navigating the complexities of the human experience through the eyes of characters from diverse backgrounds. Readers worldwide have long celebrated the promise of empathy as a conduit for profound understanding, and reading from... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-16 09:49:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #palestinian authors #human experience #diverse backgrounds #readers worldwide #profound understanding #literary community


Welcome to De Los | Reads: A roundup of books designed to amplify Latinx authors

The first edition of De Los|Reads features a new fiction book from Mario Vargas Llosa, a cookbook from Sandra A. Gutierrez, several memoirs and a book for children who aren't ready for bed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-16 05:37:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction book #books designed #cookbook


German publisher halts sale of top author’s books after leak reveals he received €600,000 from Putin ally

Broadcaster NDR launches investigation after Hubert Seipel admits receiving support for work on two books on Russian leaderA German publisher has announced a stop to the sale of books authored by a leading journalist and Russia expert after an investigation showed he had received at least... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-15 14:31:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #vladimir putin #russian leader #german publisher


How to watch AI Book Club Night with authors Fei-Fei Li and Joy Buolamwini

Fei-Fei Li, author of "The Worlds I See," and Joy Buolamwini, author of "Unmasking AI," join the L.A. Times Book Club. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-14 20:40:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joy buolamwini #fei-fei li #unmasking ai #times book #book club


Judge Will Toss Part of Authors’ AI Copyright Lawsuit

A federal judge said he will dismiss part of a lawsuit filed by a group of authors including comedian Sarah Silverman that claims Meta’s Llama AI application infringes their copyrights. However, a core claim of the suit—that Meta’s use of unauthorized copies to train its AI model is... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #federal judge #lawsuit filed #unauthorized copies


‘It is a beast that needs to be tamed’: leading novelists on how AI could rewrite the future

Novelists and poets, Bernardine Evaristo, Jeanette Winterson, Stephen Marche and others, consider the threats and thrilling possibilities of artificial intelligenceChatGPT seems to have blindsided us all. In less than a year it has proved that it can make writers redundant, which is one of the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-11 09:00:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bernardine evaristo #jeanette winterson #stephen marche #writers guild #jodi picoult #creative writing #novelists


Roli Seaboard Rise 2 review: I wish I had a horror movie to score

I am, primarily, a guitarist. Dabbling in keys and synths has always felt a bit unnatural from a physical standpoint. A keyboard doesn’t respond the way a fretted instrument does. This isn’t surprising, nor is it a bad thing. It’s just not what I’m used to. The better... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-11-10 15:00:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #libraries


John le Carré’s son to write new George Smiley novel

Nicholas Cornwell will return his father’s best-loved spy to the page in a new novel set between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyFans of thriller writer David Cornwell – better known by his pen name John le Carré – may have thought they had seen the last of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-10 14:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #george smiley #author died #nick harkaway #le carr #penguin random house


Jenna Bush Hager and Her Sister Barbara Discuss Writing Their New Book

The twin sisters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush published their third picture book this week. They sat down to discuss fighting, writing and chosen family. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-09 10:02:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #picture book


Stephanie Land on the Routine That Helped Her Write Her New Book in a Month

Stephanie Land’s new book, Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education, is out today, so we asked her a few questions about her routine, writing advice, and how she deals with writers block. Who do you most wish would read your book? Anyone who has authority over a person who... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-07 09:50:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stephanie land #higher education #writing advice #writers block #memoir


The 'Wall Street Journal' Drops Its Bestseller Lists

With this past weekend's edition, the 'Journal' has ended running weekly bestseller lists. The paper had carried a total of seven lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestseller lists #past weekend


Writing Discipline Envy: Tracy K. Smith Wakes Early and Meditates

Tracy K. Smith’s To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul is available tomorrow, so we asked her a few questions about her readers, when she writes, and her favorite book to recommend to others. * Who do you most wish would read your book? People who are weary of the limits of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-06 09:56:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #favorite book


Akimbo Bookshop, Rochester’s Radical Bookstore, Rises from the Ashes

Helped by the bookselling community, Akimbo reopened in April after a fire destroyed its first location. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookselling community


Column: She set out to build robots. She ended up exposing big tech

Joy Buolamwini, author of "Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines," joins the L.A. Times Book Club on Nov. 14. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-03 00:31:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #build robots #joy buolamwini #unmasking ai #times book


Amazon Sues Scammers Targeting Authors

Amazon sues some 20 websites falsely claiming an affiliation with Amazon that are designed to lure authors into paying fees to publish. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


UK: London Book Fair Names Its 2024 ‘Authors of the Day’

London Book Fair names the four author and illustrator talents chosen to be highlighted in in March at the UK's leading trade show. The post UK: London Book Fair Names Its 2024 ‘Authors of the Day’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-30 14:04:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post uk #london book fair


'Goosebumps' Author R.L. Stine Reveals His Favorite Scary Books

Celebrate Halloween with these horror-filled reads from the iconic children's book author and learn what Stine's been up to lately. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2023-10-27 20:00:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book author #children's book


Sales Rise, Profits Soar at Amazon

Total sales at Amazon increased 13%, to $143.1 billion, in the third quarter ended September 30, 2023, over the comparable period in 2022, and operating income jumped to $11.2 billion, from $2.5 billion in the third quarter 2022. Online sales rose 7%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sales rise #total sales


A Quiet Author’s Written Rebellion: An Interview with Ananda Devi, by Dinah Assouline Stillman

A Quiet Author’s Written Rebellion: An Interview with Ananda Devi, by Dinah Assouline Stillman Interviews [email protected] Wed, 10/25/2023 - 09:46 Photo by Harrikrisna AnendenAnanda Devi is a noted francophone poet, writer, ethnologist,... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2023-10-25 14:46:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sexual encounter #first novel #short stories