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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While ebooks are everywhere, electronic textbooks never really caught on, despite their potential to bring immersive learning at a lower cost. Amazon is trying to change that with the Kindle Textbook Creator, a free app from its newly formed Kindle ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marcus J. Borg, author of key books on the historical Jesus and champion of progressive Christianity, has died. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 1964, the great science fiction writer Stanisław Lem published his philosophical magnum opus Summa Technologiae. But it wasn’t translated into English (from Polish) until two years ago. Lem’s book is an exhilarating take on the future of humanity. It jumps from idea to idea throughout science... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brian Krebs, author of 'Spam Nation' (Sourcebooks, 9781402295614), will appear on the 'Diane Rehm Show' on Thursday, January 22. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nick Higham talks to Emma Healey, whose book Elizabeth is Missing, has won the Costa first novel award. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers believe that the publishing industry still views them largely through a prism of ethnicity, but industry insiders say that there is no pigeonholing based on race. Authors told The Bookseller they are still defined by their racial identity for marketing purposes and receive more success... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nick Higham meets Kate Saunders who has won the Costa children's book award for Five Children on the Western Front. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The number of youngsters reading for pleasure has declined sharply, but this sector of publishing is booming – which results in some very strange mathsAre children reading less – or more? I’m confused. If less, then what happened to the 854,262 copies of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guidelines for writers have come to light telling them to avoid mention of anything which might offend overseas marketsStringent guidelines from educational publishers, that warn textbook authors off touching on topics from pork to horoscopes to avoid offending students in other countries, have... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'American Sniper,' the memoir by the former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, ousted Laura Hillenbrand’s 'Unbroken' from the top spot on Apple’s iBooks bestseller list, for the week ended January 12. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the attack at 'Charlie Hebdo,' PEN called for renewed efforts to protect "those working on the front lines of free expression.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nicholas Carlson, author of 'Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!' (Twelve, 9781455556618), will appear on Bloomberg Radio 'Taking Stock' on Thursday, January 8; and MSNBC's 'The Cycle' on Friday, January 9. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After suffering two major defeats in its legal battle with Google’s library scanning partners, the Authors Guild this week finally ended the litigation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder Education has acquired independent publisher Rising Stars, which publishes curriculum, assessment and revision resources for primary schools. Rising Stars will retain its imprints and branding and Andrea Carr, founder and m.d., and her team of 28 staff will remain with the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Peláez, author of 'The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History,' talks about what might happen to Cuban cuisine after the embargo is lifted. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Monitor book critic recalls seven of his favorite author interviews from 2014. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s a long way from inception to completion, unless you’re artist and programmer Cory Arcangel, and your book is made up of other people’s tweets about writing a bookThe Inception Button should be used sparingly but when called for, it can be highly effective. Located at inception.davepedu.com,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Founded in 2012, Chile's Edicola publishes new Chilean and Italian authors in Spanish, Italian, and English in both print and ebook formats. The post Edicola: Bringing New Chilean and Italian Authors to the World appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Argentina's La Bestia publishing house brings previously untranslated top English titles, from authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, into Spanish translations. The post Argentina’s La Bestia Revives English Authors in Spanish appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Jeffrey Stayton, whose first book is being published this February, recently sponsored a competition to select six independent bookstores as recipients of $250 grants. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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