Introduction
The trouble with AI junk fiction (whether AI crafted the plot or the text or both, depending on the choice of the “author”) is the next generation is going to grow up on it like previous generations grew up on junk food.
They’re going to get used to it.
They’re going to forget what real authorship reads like.
They’re going to think AI junk reads are the norm.
And the tech giants, the ones who don’t care about junk food or AI junk reading, who only care about money and power are going to sit it out because all they’re interested in is money and being the biggest tech company in the world. They probably eat expensive, quality food anyway, while the rest of us have to suffer limited choice with cr*p ingredients.
The Author’s Problem with AI Junk Fiction
One my fave authors has gone over to AI. It swallowed her and her creativity like the tech monster it is, never to be seen again. Her latest book is like a zombie. It never had a personality to begin with, her personality, the one that used to make me laugh with her unique thinking and her witty asides and the reason I read her books. It’s staring at us with empty eyes, staring without seeing. The mind of the book is empty, because AI created it, in my opinion. And presumably the characters were as well. It’s a pity because her characters were odd, funny and distinctive and I really enjoyed them.
Nobody cares. Or not enough people care. The same as we let junk food take over the world, we’re going to let AI junk fiction take it over as well. The next generation that grows into fiction will think that junk fiction is the norm.
What’s Wrong with AI Junk Fiction?
In the next post, I’ll review Historical Romance, Regency, which I’ve been reading lately.
In the Regency/Victorian Romance genre, there are a couple of authors I know of who have uploaded books to Amazon in the space of two or three months, a backlist that would have taken an author years to build by traditional means. I guess they’re all written by AI, in my opinion.
Here’s how I can tell AI junk fiction
- The first and most important thing is story logic. AI is bad at it.
- Numbers. AI can’t count. When a sentence is so many words, and the AI counts it wrong, that annoys and distracts a reader.
- Example: “Miss B is hoping to ensnare a husband.” Eight words if you count the letter B as a word. When the AI forms a sentence with any other number except eight, e.g. “Five words that define the purpose behind her charm,” it throws the reader out of the story. The sentence is useless and the writer may as well delete it, but of course they don’t. The author’s purpose is to produce as many titles as possible in the least amount of time.
- Small, inconsistent facts. Five people in a painting when there are four. This is closely connected to faulty story logic, in my view, and it is bad. Why? It confuses the reader. It muddies the story map the reader has built in their brain.
- Same story beats, same characters but with different names.
- Attorney is an American word; there’s no such thing in Britain. We have solicitors or barristers. This may not matter for an American audience but it matters for fiction set in England.
AI Junk Fiction is devoid of an author’s personality and style
This is worth an extra paragraph. Because the AI tool has been “trained” on scraping thousands of text by published (human) authors, it produces work in the same general style. The individual style which comprises word choice, sentence structure, choice of themes, and distinctive characters, is processed out, much like a soup mixture which has been pureed. The style is homogenous, meaning series are all the same storylines, the characters the same but with different names.
Read it First Before You Inflict It on an Unsuspecting Reader
A book that’s full of errors will get it thrown across the room. I’m not sure what the digital version is, I guess it’s a one star or two stars rating, or the title being added to goodread’s DNF** list.
An author would pick up most of these faults by a simple read through, but I guess AI authors don’t have time because they’re so busy uploading their AI slop, they won’t stop to check the quality for the reader experience.
This what editors used to be for, various types: developmental editor (would address story logic and inconsistencies), line editor (would correct sentences and syntax that didn’t make sense) and proof reader (would correct spelling and punctuation and other errors). They’re all important. The AI ones don’t cut it. They trip up on the homonyns* and they ignore story logic.
There’s no excuse. MS Word has a read-through function accessed by the View tab. You can pick up a human beta reader at reasonable rates through most of the online employment sites. What AI authors forget is that at the end of the chain, humans are going to read your work and humans are going to pay for it.
Old School Writers and Publishers
Kathleen Ayers, Jude Knight and Tracy Sumner are my all-time favourite Regency Romance authors. I should mention that KA and JK publish (mostly) through Dragonblade; TS publishes independently.
Dragonblade Publishing is one of the publishers I trust for a good read. It even publishes an AI statement in the title’s front matter.
I must add that the writer I commented on earlier for having changed her method to AI writes in a different genre. She is not one of the names mentioned above.
Whisky in the Jar, a review
Whisky in the Jar by Irene Davis is an enjoyable read. I’d call it Historical Fantasy Romance. Its tagline is Passion. Betrayal. Highway Robbery and its dedication (as stated in the front matter) is For women with the devil in them.
It’s an interesting book and different. Its theme is the old folk song Whisky In The Jar and related themes. It’s well researched, has a good story, with endearing distinctive characters. I don’t usually give away spoilers but the book has an HEA.*** If you like historical fantasy romance, I recommend it.
What am I up to?
Lero, Book 2 of Harmonious Mates Agency, Science Fiction Romance, will be out on time on December 1. I’m hoping to finish the final edits next month. Only available on Amazon. It’ll be in Kindle Unlimited. You can preorder it here.
In Regency Romance, I’m working on a concept, working title The Reluctant Duke. I haven’t decided if it will be a book in a series or a standalone, but it’s for my readership of Sapphire Lebesque in case they think I’ve forgotten them and I’m also reworking New Year’s Resolutions. It’s been popular lately. I only publish on Amazon.
Conclusion
Right now, the publishing world is divided between pro AI writers and traditionalists, and readers are, too. Many readers miss the old school authors and their individual style and many readers are loyal to their fave writers, but I predict it will change as new generations of readers treat AI generated text the same way they consider junk food: the norm. The world will be a poorer place for it.
Credits
Header Image by Karel Rakovsky on Picjumbo.com
Notes
* homonyms are words that sound the same as another, but with different meaning.
** DNF Did Not Finish
*** HEA Happy Ever After
No AI was used in the planning and writing of this article.
Recent Comments