‘Where does the bot end and human begin?’: what the legendary @Horse_ebooks can teach us about AI

By reusing and repurposing existing writing into viral fragments on Twitter, the account functioned like today’s chatbots. The Guardian spoke to Jacob Bakkila, the human behind the accountMore than a decade before an AI-powered chatbot could do your homework, help you make dinner or pass the bar exam, there was @Horse_ebooks. The primitive predecessor to today’s chatbot renaissance began as a Twitter account in 2010, tweeting automated excerpts from ebooks that, decontextualized, took on unexpected and strangely poetic meanings.Purportedly a spambot, the account surfaced quotes from ebooks that went viral for their absurdist fragments – phrases like “Hello saxophone,” “COULD THIS BE THE”, and “Today we are lucky to be talking”. It amassed more than 200,000 followers at its peak and now, despite being inactive for a decade, the account still holds 131,000 followers. Its most memorable quip – “everything happens so much” – still resonates today. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-03 15:00:04 UTC ]
News tagged with: #ebooks

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘Where does the bot end and human begin?’: what the legendary @Horse_ebooks can teach us about AI'


‘Where does the bot end and human begin?’: what the legendary @Horse_ebooks can teach us about AI

By reusing and repurposing existing writing into viral fragments on Twitter, the account functioned like today’s chatbots. The Guardian spoke to Jacob Bakkila, the human behind the accountMore than a decade before an AI-powered chatbot could do your homework, help you make dinner or pass the bar... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-01-03 15:00:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebooks


R.I.P. @Horse_Ebooks, The Human–Run Twitter Bot That Fooled Us All

@Horse_ebooks is the Twitter account that, until today, spewed frequent bouts of eerily poetic nonsense to more than 213,000 followers: @Horse_ebooks was widely believed to be a Twitter bot whose tweets were sent out by a robot that scraped text from obscure parts of the Internet. That is, until... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #twitter account #fast company #performance art


The Horse is a Lie: 'horse_ebooks' Twitter spam is performance art

Twitter is quite the medium. An endless source of looping GIFs, "viral" videos, and, sadly, bad advertising. Most of the latter category is quickly dismissed by the block and report spam features of Twitter, but the occasional spambot elevates its "craft" to a level of surreal bliss which begs... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #giving users #phone number #sell ebooks


Why this AI pioneer is calling for 'human centered' computing

Fei-Fei Li, author of 'The Worlds I See' and co-director of Stanford's Human-Centered AI Institute, joins the L.A. Times Book Club Nov. 14. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-20 14:00:28 UTC ]
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Judge rules that AI-generated art isn't copyrightable, since it lacks human authorship

A federal judge has agreed with US government officials that a piece of artificial intelligence-generated art isn't eligible for copyright protection in the country since there was no human authorship involved. "Copyright has never stretched so far [...] as to protect works generated by new... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-08-21 15:00:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growing influence #generative ai #legal battles #case-by-case inquiry #ai-generated elements #graphic novel


What Isaac Asimov Can Teach Us About AI

The science fiction writer imagined artificial intelligence—and what it might want—long before this uncanny reality ever became our own. Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2023-03-03 12:19:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #isaac asimov #—long #science fiction


Amazon Changes Kindle eBook Return Policy, Ends Lending Between Kindle Users, and More

What's going on with Kindle? See what changes are coming to return policies, file formats, and ebook lending at Amazon. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-10-19 10:40:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle users #file formats #ebook lending #kindle


6 Manhwa and Manga Like The Beginning After the End

If you're caught up on this classic and looking for something similar, here are eight manhwa and manga like The Beginning After the End. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-07-20 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Was This Decade The Beginning Of The End Of The Great White Male Writer?

In the 2010s, the publishing industry finally wrestled with its problems with diversity. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2019-12-22 13:00:22 UTC ]
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Ending the War on Artisan Cheese begins battle for Oddest book title prize

Shortlist for this year’s Diagram prize also includes The Dirt Hole and Its Variations, Noah Gets Naked and How to Drink Without DrinkingThe Dirt Hole and Its Variations, Ending the War on Artisan Cheese and Noah Gets Naked are among the 2019 nominees for the Bookseller’s annual prize for the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-11-01 00:01:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #diagram prize #artisan cheese #annual prize #previous winners #contemporary culture #book title


This $19 eBook bundle can teach you how to build your own robots

Robots have appeared in popular culture since the early 20th century. And, most of the time, those appearances have led to the fear and mystification of technology. In reality, robots are nothing more than machines following a set of instructions. And now virtually anyone can get acquainted with... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2019-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #popular culture #normal price


'Axe the reading tax': book industry demands end to VAT on ebooks

Following EU directive that allows governments to waive duty on digital publications, calls grow for the UK to end ‘illogical and unfair’ levyThe UK government is being urged to axe the “illogical and unfair” 20% tax currently imposed on ebooks, while print books remain exempt, after European... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #eu directive #digital publications #member states


Apple to begin paying Arizonans $8.6M for ebook settlement

Arizonans who purchased ebooks from Apple Inc., will receive their cut from a price-fixing settlement over the price of ebooks, according to the Arizona Attorney General's Office. Arizonans will see a total of $8.6 million out of a $400 million settlement. Customers who bought ebooks from... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2016-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #receive $6 #purchased ebooks #bought ebooks #price-fixing settlement #ibooks store


Kyle Idleman: My Life Begins Where It Ends

The bestselling author shows readers how to find a 'real life' by unpacking the paradoxical principles of Jesus's teachings in his new book 'End of Me.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kyle idleman #life begins #real life


Where did the story of ebooks begin?

Peter James's Host, published on two disks, was an early example – but exactly where the medium started life is surprisingly tricky to identifyWhat was the first ebook? Debate rages … When Peter James published his thriller Host on two floppy disks, in 1993, it was billed as the "world's first... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growing interest


EU regulator accepts Penguin offer to end dodgy ebook deals with Apple

After the European Commission accepted offers from Apple and four publishers to free up ebook pricing restrictions in December 2012, it's now accepted Penguin's commitment to do the same. Much like Penguin's vow to the US DOJ, it will end its agency agreements with Apple and other retailers, and... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook retailers #agency agreements #most-favored nation #deals struck #european commission


A Mother Is a Story With Neither Beginning Nor End

Next month, the Slate Audio Book Club will discuss Alison Bechdel's Are You My Mother? Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Microsoft, Barnes & Noble teach Apple and Amazon a lesson about educational ebooks

Nobody partners, or negotiates deals, like Microsoft. That's evident from today's stunning agreement with Barnes & Noble, which is sure to turn the ebook market on its head. The two will jointly invest in Newco, temporary name for ebook venture that incorporates B&N's digital and College... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #educational ebooks #barnes noble #ebook market #decade ago


No end in sight for OFT ebook pricing probe

Written By: Benedicte Page and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 15/09/2011 - 09:51 Publishers are being kept waiting for the conclusion of the Office of Fair Trading's investigation into ebook prices, begun at the start of this year, with the OFT now in the process of assessing all the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #benedicte page #fair trading #ebook prices


This is the future of generative AI, according to generative AI

As part of our year-end story package, we tasked ChatGPT with writing a guest post about the future of generative AI. The prompt asked for a 1,200 word article (a number it undercut by quite a margin) that explored both the potential negative and positive outcomes of the technology. We then... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-12-28 16:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #collaborative approach #making waves #virtual worlds #double-edged sword #past mistakes #manga