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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Days after the film adaptation of 'Paper Towns' hit theaters, John Green's 2008 novel hit #1 on Apple's iBooks bestseller list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In regards to the current debate on whether authors should be paid for events in schools, the question, of course, is not should children’s authors and illustrators be paid a fee? Of course they should. In the words of a school librarian, quoted in this week’s Times Educational Supplement: “You... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Diversion division EverAfter Romance has launched a print program for its self-published romance authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seth Meyers on Late Night, a US TV talk show, has embraced interviewing novelists and the result is often a boost in book sales following broadcast. The post A TV Talk Show Appearance That Can Change an Author’s Future appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books about angels are growing increasingly popular with six titles expected for release over the next few months. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As part of the publication of Kimberly Yorio's 'The Joy of Writing a Great Cookbook,' Yorio and her publisher, Page Street, have launched a contest featuring a cookbook contract with Page Street as the main prize. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPR License is reporting that demand for self-publishing audiobook rights has risen 58% over the first half of 2015. The post Self-Published Audiobook Rights on the Rise, says IPR License appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Malcolm Gladwell and Ursula Le Guin lead call to US justice department to investigate its ‘monopoly as a seller of books’Authors including Malcolm Gladwell, Ursula Le Guin, Michael Chabon and Ann Patchett are putting their names to a letter attacking Amazon’s “abuse of its dominance in the world... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors can debut at any age — even after 40, the de facto cut off for young writers — and in the UK a new group is fighting the ageist bias. The post UK Group to Fight Bias Against Older Debut Authors appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author protest group Authors United is asking authors to sign a letter to the US Justice Department, asking it "to examine Amazon's control of the book market." The letter has been drafted with the help of the Authors Guild. Meanwhile both the American Booksellers Association and the Association... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kate Pool of the UK Society of Authors warns authors to look at contracts from digital publishers carefully to compare terms with self-publishing options. The post UK Society of Authors Advises “Always Compare Contracts” appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Josh McDowell on childhood molestation, what he's learned in 55 years of writing, and winning the Christian Bookseller Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ahead of YALC 2015, Gemma Malley, director of communications at Book Trust and author of seven YA novels, takes a look at why authors write YA. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry vet Michael Bhaskar's digital publisher Canelo launches this week with two titles and is offering 50-60% royalties, giving UK authors new options. The post New Publisher Canelo Offers UK Authors Strong Incentives appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Just because Apple is on the hook for allegedly anti-competitive book sales doesn't mean that Amazon is above reproach. As promised, groups representing both authors and booksellers are calling on the US Department of Justice to investigate Amazon fo... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Days before Amazon celebrates its 20th anniversary, Authors United is asking authors to sign a letter to the DoJ for an investigation of Amazon, and ABA submitted a similar request on Monday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With Harper Lee's new novel 'Go Set a Watchman' on sale today, Publishers Weekly asked a collection of authors for their thoughts on her beloved debut, and Pulitzer Prize winner, 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" won't be released to the public until Tuesday, but readers already know that the book reveals a darker side to Atticus Finch. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Citing a major uptick in Internet piracy, the Authors Guild has urged Congress to require ISPs to monitor and filter the Internet for pirated works. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors Guild is asking bestselling authors to push back against the industry's reigning 25% ebook royalty rate "on behalf of all authors, as well as themselves.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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