Is AI helping or derailing authors? > Likes and Comments

I want to kick off this discussion having seen both the good and bad side of AI. It is unquestionable that AI has helped me speed up my work and even made it look more polished than if I had done it all by myself, especially the prose part. Weaving a complex and nuanced plot, building an immersive world and connecting the dots (the butterfly effect) is still something I trust my own prowess more than AI. So far it seems all good. However one of my recent experience has painted a different picture of AI. Few days back I was asked by a co-author to review their book and provide a friendly feedback.
I started the book. Read a few chapters. Then got busy. I knew it was on my list. Out of rush, I did what I would consider a disservice to my co-author friend. I pulled out an AI tool, fed the entire book to it and asked it to narrate me the whole story. In a matter of few minutes I knew exactly what the novel was all about. My friend expected me to plod through their work, but I chose the easy way just because it was an option. I could argue that if the novel was a page turner or proverbial "unputdownable", I might have read it through, but this is exactly what brings me here. Picking up a book was once thought to be a commitment. It is expected for audience of a novel to have the temperament to persevere through a relatively boring opening in order to receive a big pay-off later. Do you think AI is changing us as readers? Demanding us to be more like an Instagrammer? Instant Gratification is not the only pretext many great books have been written in the past on? What happens to the craft of slow burn writing?

I am yet to figure that out. What is your opinion?

My opinion is that a review is supposed to be what you think of the book. Not what AI thinks it is.

(Tangent: I've noticed human readers can be lazy too, writing reviews based heavily on the blurb, which is really just a sales piece. But that's another story.)

The key takeaway I can offer positively is it's okay to say no to reviewing a book. I never review a book unless I'm in that two-to-three week gap between writing drafts (or waiting for it to publish). That's when you can clear your head and not be worrying about what you should be doing. And you can give your full undivided attention.

If I haven't got the time or the headspace to read a book properly, I'd rather decline than pretend I've given it a fair reading. Authors do notice if you take shortcuts, and it can hurt your reputation with them if you do so.

But that's how I approach it.

Yes AI is effecting this books, from authors, to reviews, to us as moderators.

We have members joining us, just to promote one authors books everywhere, this causes false reviews, false members details, photos, checked not real ...AI.

Also false book reviews....

Also authors creating false accounts.

We could go one.

It can be good, if you use it correctly

Sean wrote: "Yes AI is effecting this books, from authors, to reviews, to us as moderators.

We have members joining us, just to promote one authors books everywhere, this causes false reviews, false members de..."

And then there are members who seem to conduct entire conversations using AI. I've spotted a couple over the past week.

You can get a feel for it by reading their responses. Ask them a direct question and, instead of answering it, they go off on a tangent, offer some polished observations, then turn the conversation back on you with a direct question of their own.

It's a bit like the Rogerian psychologist technique: reflect, reframe, ask a question. The conversation keeps going, but you don't necessarily learn anything about the person you're talking to.

Then you look at their author profiles and see books with what appear to be AI-generated covers. There's nothing inherently wrong with using AI for covers, but look a little closer at the publication dates and you might find dozens of books supposedly written and published in a very short period.

Eighty-five books in a fortnight is ... well, I'll let you draw your own conclusions. Fishier than tinned pilchards.

Sean wrote: "Yes AI is effecting this books, from authors, to reviews, to us as moderators.

We have members joining us, just to promote one authors books everywhere, this causes false reviews, false members de..."

I completely agree. I have seen many books by new authors that have a relatively small number of reviews, but they are generally 5 stars. The reviews are almost identical, and the reviewers have read few books and fewer reviews. This is a clear red flag for me.

George Stenger wrote: "Sean wrote: "Yes AI is effecting this books, from authors, to reviews, to us as moderators.

We have members joining us, just to promote one authors books everywhere, this causes false reviews, fal..."

Do you tend to block them so they're "out of sight and out of mind"?

Yes we do, searching every day, checking and welcoming new members. but we see the false members, when we check their profiles.

IE

Member for a short time, joined lots of groups, promotes same book on all book clubs.

Profile pictures does not fit where born, does not look real.

No friends, read no books etc..

I noticed a couple in this group. Not this conversation though.

Sean wrote: "Yes we do, searching every day, checking and welcoming new members. but we see the false members, when we check their profiles.

IE

Member for a short time, joined lots of groups, promotes same bo..."

Lol. I check a lot of check boxes there. Just one friend yet. Promoting same books. No books read so far. Profile picture is a avatar. But that's probably because I am new to writing, Haven't been a reader in the past (although plan to change that), and real pic is concealed due to privacy reasons. I can guarantee I am not an AI. You will know that if you invite me for a coffee :)

Chris wrote: "My opinion is that a review is supposed to be what you think of the book. Not what AI thinks it is.

(Tangent: I've noticed human readers can be lazy too, writing reviews based heavily on the blurb..."

Agree! I should have just declined to review it or managed my time better. That's why I count this one instance as a disservice to my author friend. I'll intend to keep things more clean in the future. Thanks for your valuable opinion.

Snhyper wrote: "Chris wrote: "My opinion is that a review is supposed to be what you think of the book. Not what AI thinks it is.

(Tangent: I've noticed human readers can be lazy too, writing reviews based heavil..."

Don't be too hard on yourself. We all experience lessons.

Perhaps, when you have time to invest, you can re-read it and submit another review.

Snhyper wrote: "Sean wrote: "Yes we do, searching every day, checking and welcoming new members. but we see the false members, when we check their profiles.

IE

Member for a short time, joined lots of groups, pro..."

Yeah, well, if you've only written one book, it's not like you can promote the next one.... or can you?

It'd be a great way to create buzz... :)