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?'


Shake, rattle and write: why the music memoir is booming

From Bono to Jarvis Cocker, Bruce Springsteen to Cosey Fanni Tutti, the last decade has seen an explosion of books by artists from every walk of musical life. Why is this once-rare genre striking a chord with stars and readers alike?By her own admission, Miki Berenyi was not a woman itching to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-15 08:00:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #musical life #readers alike #great time #memoir


Authors Join the Brewing Legal Battle Over AI

Two new class action copyright lawsuits ramp up the growing scrutiny of large language models and other generative artificial intelligence tools. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sarah silverman #detailed synopsis #memoir #novelists


Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sarah silverman #detailed synopsis #memoir #novelists


RIP to one of the great horny novelists of the 20th century, Milan Kundera.

I was surprised to read this morning that Milan Kundera, the eminent Czech novelist best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died yesterday at the age of 94. Mainly because I thought he was already dead. For a generation of literary types (Gen X in particular), Kundera was the cool,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 15:34:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #milan kundera #20th century #unbearable lightness #died yesterday #novelists


The Rest is History: Andrew Ridker on Writing About the Recent Past

For years I refused to read historical fiction. It seemed to me that there was something artificial—dishonest, even—in summoning a time and place that hadn’t been experienced firsthand. I couldn’t see past the affected dialogue, the funny hats, and my suspicion that the author was making it all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 08:51:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recent past #science fiction


Milan Kundera, Acclaimed Czech Novelist, Dies at 94

The Czech-born writer, who spent his most creatively productive years in exile in France, was known for his light, philosophical touch and acerbic views of men and women, most notably depicted in 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #milan kundera #unbearable lightness


YA author shoots to No 1 on Amazon bestseller list after viral TikTok video

TikToker Jerrad Swearenjin approached Shawn Warner during a book signing because he looked ‘super defeated’A debut author struggling with sales became Amazon’s No 1 bestseller this week after a video of the writer at a quiet book signing went viral on TikTok.58-year-old Shawn Warner was sitting... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-07 13:47:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book signing #fort worth #debut author #bestseller list


Authors file a lawsuit against OpenAI for unlawfully ‘ingesting’ their books

Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay allege that their books, which are copyrighted, were ‘used to train’ ChatGPT because the chatbot generated ‘very accurate summaries’ of the worksTwo authors have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the company behind the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, claiming that... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-05 14:33:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mona awad #paul tremblay #books include #copyright law


Bestselling authors Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay sue OpenAI over copyright infringement

Two bestselling novelists filed a suit against OpenAI, claiming the company used intellectual property to 'train' its artificial intelligence chatbot. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-07-01 14:28:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #copyright infringement #intellectual property #novelists


Yomi Adegoke: ‘There’s something inherently cringe about writing fiction’

The influencer and Slay in Your Lane co-author talks about her journey via Twitter to become a writer, and channelling her experience of social media into debut novel The List“Honestly, I’m a better painter than I am a writer,” says Yomi Adegoke, cackling, as she takes a sip of prosecco.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-01 08:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #yomi adegoke #writing fiction #began writing #debut novel


Writing a Book is an Act of Prayer

Lamya H’s powerful memoir Hijab Butch Blues is an honest grappling with what it means to be queer, to be a devout hijabi Muslim person who resists gender normativity, to love faith and community. Seeking other queer women in Islam as a young person, H wonders if Maryam, whom no man has touched,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2023-06-29 11:12:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #queer women #post writing #young person #electric literature #memoir


8 Great Books to Read About the Relationship Between Humans and Animals

These 8 books that explore the relationships between humans and animals in a variety of ways, including the personal and professional. Start with Birding While Indian: A Mixed-Blood Memoir by Thomas C. Ganno. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-06-29 10:35:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Adventures in Memory: On Searching for Truth by Writing Fiction

As a fiction writer, I’ve always felt compelled, memoir style, to pore over my life’s timeline. But in a novel, I can erase, revise, smash, crash, reconstruct, and transfigure that squiggly narrative. A novel has no obligation to mirror or represent anything familiar, recognizable, or real. And... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-28 08:52:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #writing fiction #fiction writer #felt compelled #memoir


Authors leave Hungarian publisher in protest at sale to Orbán-linked college

Libri Group’s takeover by Mathias Corvinus Collegium raises fears of crackdown on literary freedomsThe takeover of Hungary’s largest publishing house and bookstore chain by a private foundation with close ties to the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has prompted walkouts from authors who... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-23 11:38:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #close ties #prime minister #viktor orbn #literary fiction #bookstore chain


This Bestselling Author Says Publishers Rejected His New Thriller Because He’s White. I Read It, and I’m Not So Sure.

If you believe that the role of a novel is to instruct readers on correct moral positions, then Trial is a masterpiece. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2023-06-20 16:38:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestselling author


Authors of ‘And Tango Makes Three’ Sue Over Florida Law Driving Book Bans

The authors of a picture book about a penguin family with two fathers sued the state and a school district that removed the book from libraries. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-06-20 14:25:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #school district #picture book


Queer Indie Bookstore Splits Profits with LGBTQ Authors

A new queer indie bookstore is splitting profits with LGBTQ authors and spreading queer joy and literacy with a rainbow book bus. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-06-20 10:40:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lgbtq authors #bookstore


Female novelists don’t need their own prizes. Let’s abolish them | Martha Gill

Barbara Kingsolver and others are no longer oppressed – they dominate book salesThere is a point at which all special treatment becomes patronising. And we have reached that point, I think, when it comes to giving women a leg-up in the business of writing fiction.Genghis Khan sacked and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-18 06:31:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #writing fiction #martha gill #barbara kingsolver #central asia #literary world #novelists


Cormac McCarthy's fearless approach to writing

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author was always willing to experiment with his prose, pacing and narration, crafting an oeuvre that varied wildly in style and structure. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2023-06-16 17:42:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cormac mccarthy #prize-winning author