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
Michael Waldman, author of "The Second Amendment: A Biography" (Simon & Schuster, 9781476747446), will appear on the "Diane Rehm Show" on Thursday, May 29. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#simon schuster
Hachette Book Group in the US has continued the public discussion of its terms battle with Amazon... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The National Literacy Trust (NLT) and Bloomsbury Children’s Books are launching a prize to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bloomsbury children
The American Booksellers Association told the Associated Press Tuesday that its core membership has increased to 1,664, up from 1,632 last year and more than 200 higher since 2009. It's the fifth straight increase for ABA membership. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Dystopia in teen fiction can be a vehicle to help teenagers explore feminism, according to three... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#teen authors
#teen fiction
Nicholas Belardes, author of "A People’s History of the Peculiar A Freak Show of Facts, Random Obsessions & Astounding Truths: A Treasure Trove of Freaky Facts and Strange Stories" (Viva Editions, 9781936740833), will appear on "Coast to Coast AM" on Friday, May 23. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#treasure trove
#viva editions
Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, authors of "Cowgirl Creamery Cooks" (Chronicle Books, 9781452111636) will appear on NPR’s "Morning Edition" on Friday, May 23. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#chronicle books
#morning edition
On May 21, the social network launched its "Ask the Author" function, a feature that allows readers to submit questions to their favorite authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#submit questions
#favorite authors
Revenue at U.K.-based Bloomsbury rose 11% in the fiscal year ended February 28, 2014, to £109.5 million, compared to the previous year. Operating profit dipped to £7.7 million from £7.8 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sales rise
#earnings dip
Elizabeth Warren, author of "A Fighting Chance" (Metropolitan Books, 9781627790529), will appear on the "Colbert Report" on Monday, May 19. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#elizabeth warren
#metropolitan books
#colbert report
HarperCollins is hosting a virtual romance festival, with contributions from fellow publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#romance writing
The former publisher of literary imprint Flamingo, and later Portobello and Granta Books, has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#gwyn jones
#granta books
Preliminary sales estimates from the Association of American Publishers StatShot program showed that sales of digital downloads of audiobooks rose about 18% in 2013, while sales of physical audio were about even with 2012, a trend that is in keeping with what has been happening with physical and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital downloads
#digital books
PW contributing editor Peter Brantley talks with UC Berkeley law professor Pamela Samuelson, founding member of a new author advocacy group, the Authors Alliance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#founding member
#authors alliance
John Murphy, divisional v-p and director of publicity at St. Martin's Press, has been promoted to the newly created role of v-p, publishing strategy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#john murphy
#publishing strategy
In June, Michael Coffey, one of PW's co-editorial directors, will retire. With this move, Jim Milliot will take the helm as editorial director of the company. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#michael coffey
Dari Alexander, author of "The Quick and Clean Diet: Lose the Weight, Feel Great, and Stay Lean for Life" (Globe Pequot/Skirt, 9780762791934), will host a special called “Body and Soul with Dari Alexander" on Fox News on Friday, May 9. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#feel great
#fox news
The author of "World War Z" and "The Harlem Hellfighters" says it's okay to have over 200 drafts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#max brooks
#world war
#harlem hellfighters
Cathy LaGrow, author of "The Waiting: The True Story of a Lost Child, a Lifetime of Longing, and a Miracle for a Mother Who Never Gave Up" (Tyndale Momentum, 9781414391908), will appear on NBC's "Today" on Friday, May 9. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#cathy lagrow
#true story
#lost child
#tyndale momentum
First quarter sales in 2014 fell 11% at Simon & Schuster, to $153 million, but operating income rose to $11 million from $10 million in the first quarter of 2013, parent company CBS reported. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#quarter sales
#sales fall
#earnings rise
#simon schuster
#$11 million
#$10 million