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 ]
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The chief executive of The Quarto Group, Marcus Leaver, said the company achieved a “solid” set of results in the first half of the year, with revenues rising 1% compared to the same period a year earlier. For the six months ending 30th June 2015, revenues totalled $66.2m (£42.4m), 1% higher... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Almost one year after SparkPoint Studio acquired the hybrid publisher She Writes Press, the purchase is providing the type of synergy that SparkPoint CEO Crystal Patriarche had hoped for. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK author Andrew Shantos tracks the elation, frustration and quantification of the first two months of publication of his debut novel, Dead Star Island. The post Down, Up, Down Again: The Diary of a Debut Author appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers consider legal action against Moscow publishing house after discovering series about president circulated in their names. The Moscow Times reportsA Russian publishing house has printed a series of books about Vladimir Putin under the names of prominent western analysts and journalists –... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kay Wills Wyma, author of 'I’m Happy for You (Sort of…Not Really): Finding Contentment in a Culture of Comparison' (WaterBrook Press, 9781601425959) will appear on 'Chris Fabry Live!' on Monday, August 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not unlike climate change, it's something that digital-age writers worry about, but can't nail down. I'm not sure what effect the accepting warmth of digital communities has on our literature. I don't think encouraging people can make bad writing suddenly appeal to the masses. Are the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer Catherine Nichols submitted the opening pages to her novel to 50 literary agents under her own name, and then again using a man's name. Can you guess which name got more positive responses? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC reporter Andrew Hosken builds a comprehensive picture of the Islamic State, their ideology, and what life is like under their regime. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US writer Catherine Nichols has revealed that she received eight times as many responses by sending out her manuscript to agents under a man’s name than when sending it out under her own name. In an essay for Jezebel, Nichols said she sent query letters to 50 agents under her own name,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We asked you what three authors you'd take to your desert island. You said William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Stephen King. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent publisher Urbane Publications will publish the physical edition of the next book from Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing thriller writer Tim Adler, while the author will self-publish the ebook. Matthew Smith, director of Urbane, acquired world rights in all languages for print editions... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Restless Books publisher, and creator of the just-announced Prize for New Immigrant Writing, said he hopes the literary honor will help dispel negative stereotypes of immigrants. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger, author of 'Friday Night Lights, 25th Anniversary Edition' (Da Capo, 9780306824203), will appear on NPR’s 'Fresh Air' on Monday, August 3. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Which three authors' collected works would you take to your proverbial desert island? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As author J. Ryan Stradal tours the country promoting his debut novel, he's being wined and dined by booksellers, and was the guest-of-honor at a Dinner Lab pop-up dinner in Chicago that featured a menu inspired by his book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Being sold to Nikkei brings a Japanese-style code of behaviourThe FT has not joined the Independent Press Standards Organisation, or its rival Impress project; it is doing its own regulation thing. And it’s worth pausing over that decision as the Pink One becomes a Rising Sun under Nikkei... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paulo Coelho's mega-selling novels and memoirs - allegorical, abounding in aphorisms and supplemented by a prolific social-media output - have made him a revered figure for millions of modern-day seekers. The screen version of the Brazilian author's life, a period-hopping attempt to shatter the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cambridge University Press saw sales rise 5% year-on-year at constant currency rates to £269m in the year ended April 2015, according to its latest annual report. The increase reflected "significant" expansion in its Education division, which was offset by lower increases in Academic. However... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boris Johnson is to write a biography of William Shakespeare for Hodder & Stoughton for October 2016. The publisher has confirmed the deal, which was reported in the Sunday Times to have been done for £500,000. The newspaper reported that Johnson’s advance was almost seven times his salary... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Guild addresses time limited book contracts, subrights, and the out-of-print clause in the latest installment of its Fair Contract Initiative. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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