Indie bookseller here—I refuse to order illustrated children’s books without the name of a human illustrator. This doesn’t guarantee that AI wasn’t used but at least allows for human creativity. Embracing technology that increases the atrophying of self is more than dangerous—it’s fatal.
Ya know, Ron, I only have to see your name in the ‘sender’ line on my inbox and my heart instantly swells a little bit. For that moment, I am reminded that there is good in the world and that there are reasons to have faith. I’m so glad that you are younger than I am and therefore, hopefully, that means that I have many years of the pleasure of your thoughts ahead of me.
Other than your AI segment making me want to jump out of window, I need to tell you how much I love and appreciate this newsletter. Please keep it at least 95% human…
Great article. Your P.S. at the end of the 'Certified Human' segment sent chills down my spine, and should cause those who claim it's becoming easier to spot AI writing to seriously reconsider.
I am a freelance editor, and clients who produce internet content have moved to this hybrid process of human writer + AI output. I've been tasked to keep AI detection under 40%. What Ron said without saying it was that AI detection, as it is today, is not reliable at all. There are AI tells, for sure, but those human-written stamps on books should really be considered more of a marketing tool than a promise of authentication. The AI child companion piece opened my eyes. I naively thought the only danger would be the potential to mislead or misinform the child. I had no idea the effects could be so profound. The book "Culpability" touches on this when a preteen girl interacts with an AI companion, and those exchanges are indeed creepy.
Oh, yes -- thanks for reminding me of Bruce Holsinger's novel "Culpability." The car accident that may or may not have been caused by AI gets all the attention, but that girl's intimate relationship with a chatbot is really more unnerving and disturbing! My review, FWIW: https://wapo.st/4wrgxQV
You 100% had me with the section about AI. 😆😭 I’m truly still uncomfortable and upset about this fact. Your last sentence about it (that I assume really was from you) was perfect. 😵 I do think we need to have a way of authenticating people’s own work —that which is not AI created or enhanced—but apparently we’re not there yet. Thank you for a lovely collection of your thoughts, events, experiences, and introductions to authors/works, etc. as always. :) I enjoy it very much.
>>P.S. The entire item you’ve just read was written by AI.
Wow. How depressing. And soon, I guess, we'll be able to dial in the erudition -- I want more or less intellect, more humor, smaller words, more average. A shorter piece, I'm in a rush. A longer piece to impress my boss. More Virginia, less California. And down the drain we go!
Clever high school students now tell ChatGPT: "Write my paper like an above-average 11th grader but with just enough errors and awkwardness to make it extra convincing."
But when ChatGPT replaces their parents and their best friends, cheating on a school paper will be the least of our worries....
Ron, my apologies if you were kidding about AI having written your entry about verification of human- vs. AI-generated writing, but…. I read that segment and didn’t enjoy it — a first for me in regard to *everything* you write. The spark — that Ron Charles spark — was missing. I was relieved to read the P.S. and am happy not to be worried anymore about your state of mind in this new creative environment. (Unless you want me to keep worrying….) Carry on!
God bless you for saying that, Adele! Maybe I can stay ahead of the robots for a few more years (months?). (And thanks for subscribing, too. Much appreciated.)
@Adele, after I read your comment, I thought I might've sensed something lacking, too, so I went back and re-read, to re-remember and feel what I'd been feeling at the time. I wasn't fully conscious of it at the time, but realize now I must've sensed *something* was off. thank you for alerting me (and others I'm sure) to our own senses and sensibilities!
Wow. The topics on AI in your newsletter today are both alarming and depressing. I have long lamented the overuse of phones and tablets that do diminish our social interactions. And your experiment with the Authenticity Certificate is very worrisome. You put it well when you wrote in the caption to the lovely photo of your one daughter reading to your other daughter, “Human connection begins with stories shared together.” Let’s hope that we never lose that.
I am convinced that AI is a weirdly insidious format. Before I read your reveal that the certified “human written” piece was AI I thought Ron is off his stride here. When I read your words I see that gleam in your eye as you poke fun and puns!
Maybe you and Adele (see above) should open your own human-certification service! Clearly, there's a need! (Thanks for subscribing. That helps makes this work possible.)
I really enjoy your missives, Ron. They're always intelligent, thoughtful and funny - a difficult feat. Thank you for your wonderful years at the WP and now continuing in your excellent commentary. You are doing a great job - keep it up!
Indie bookseller here—I refuse to order illustrated children’s books without the name of a human illustrator. This doesn’t guarantee that AI wasn’t used but at least allows for human creativity. Embracing technology that increases the atrophying of self is more than dangerous—it’s fatal.
That's one of the reasons I started reviewing a good picture book every week! (Thank you for subscribing.) (If I may ask, what bookstore?)
The store is 50…I’m way older😉
Talking Leaves…Books in Buffalo
50 years old! I’ve been an employee for 38 years. Picture Books are fighting way above their weight class.
And HBD Emily D.
Wow! That's amazing and wonderful! I hope I get to see that store someday.
I hope so! I’m sure we have lots of people in common. Carla Cohen of blessed memory—from P&P
And now Lissa and Brad, Hannah Oliver-Depp from Loyalty in dc???
Book folks find each other.
☮️
Also I have written for Lit Hub
Last article was about the poet Ed Sanders. I was an original columnist but now just contribute when an idea strikes: hence the infrequency
Love this photo of the girls, Ron!
Ya know, Ron, I only have to see your name in the ‘sender’ line on my inbox and my heart instantly swells a little bit. For that moment, I am reminded that there is good in the world and that there are reasons to have faith. I’m so glad that you are younger than I am and therefore, hopefully, that means that I have many years of the pleasure of your thoughts ahead of me.
That's the nicest thing you could say, Kathejo. I so appreciate you reading and subscribing to this newsletter. Many thanks.
What a lonely and crazy world we humans have created. Reading to little ones is a great delight and solidifies the bond between parent and child.
I was completely surprised when you said AI had written part of your piece and then that it had been certified as 100% human. Shaking my head.
I loved the picture of your daughters.
Other than your AI segment making me want to jump out of window, I need to tell you how much I love and appreciate this newsletter. Please keep it at least 95% human…
Deal!
Great article. Your P.S. at the end of the 'Certified Human' segment sent chills down my spine, and should cause those who claim it's becoming easier to spot AI writing to seriously reconsider.
Thanks, Leonora. My wife -- 11th grade English -- has been telling me for a couple of years that AI-detection software isn't reliable....
Your P.S. about using AI took about six seconds for me to read...and die.
"I want credit for that,” he told me. “I want people to know I did the work, that I agonized over the edits.”
I am a freelance editor, and clients who produce internet content have moved to this hybrid process of human writer + AI output. I've been tasked to keep AI detection under 40%. What Ron said without saying it was that AI detection, as it is today, is not reliable at all. There are AI tells, for sure, but those human-written stamps on books should really be considered more of a marketing tool than a promise of authentication. The AI child companion piece opened my eyes. I naively thought the only danger would be the potential to mislead or misinform the child. I had no idea the effects could be so profound. The book "Culpability" touches on this when a preteen girl interacts with an AI companion, and those exchanges are indeed creepy.
Oh, yes -- thanks for reminding me of Bruce Holsinger's novel "Culpability." The car accident that may or may not have been caused by AI gets all the attention, but that girl's intimate relationship with a chatbot is really more unnerving and disturbing! My review, FWIW: https://wapo.st/4wrgxQV
You 100% had me with the section about AI. 😆😭 I’m truly still uncomfortable and upset about this fact. Your last sentence about it (that I assume really was from you) was perfect. 😵 I do think we need to have a way of authenticating people’s own work —that which is not AI created or enhanced—but apparently we’re not there yet. Thank you for a lovely collection of your thoughts, events, experiences, and introductions to authors/works, etc. as always. :) I enjoy it very much.
A lovely tribute and reminder of our dear friend, Ellie. I miss her.
>>P.S. The entire item you’ve just read was written by AI.
Wow. How depressing. And soon, I guess, we'll be able to dial in the erudition -- I want more or less intellect, more humor, smaller words, more average. A shorter piece, I'm in a rush. A longer piece to impress my boss. More Virginia, less California. And down the drain we go!
Clever high school students now tell ChatGPT: "Write my paper like an above-average 11th grader but with just enough errors and awkwardness to make it extra convincing."
But when ChatGPT replaces their parents and their best friends, cheating on a school paper will be the least of our worries....
Ron, my apologies if you were kidding about AI having written your entry about verification of human- vs. AI-generated writing, but…. I read that segment and didn’t enjoy it — a first for me in regard to *everything* you write. The spark — that Ron Charles spark — was missing. I was relieved to read the P.S. and am happy not to be worried anymore about your state of mind in this new creative environment. (Unless you want me to keep worrying….) Carry on!
God bless you for saying that, Adele! Maybe I can stay ahead of the robots for a few more years (months?). (And thanks for subscribing, too. Much appreciated.)
@Adele, after I read your comment, I thought I might've sensed something lacking, too, so I went back and re-read, to re-remember and feel what I'd been feeling at the time. I wasn't fully conscious of it at the time, but realize now I must've sensed *something* was off. thank you for alerting me (and others I'm sure) to our own senses and sensibilities!
Wow. The topics on AI in your newsletter today are both alarming and depressing. I have long lamented the overuse of phones and tablets that do diminish our social interactions. And your experiment with the Authenticity Certificate is very worrisome. You put it well when you wrote in the caption to the lovely photo of your one daughter reading to your other daughter, “Human connection begins with stories shared together.” Let’s hope that we never lose that.
Yeah, it’s kind of a five-alarm emergency!
I am convinced that AI is a weirdly insidious format. Before I read your reveal that the certified “human written” piece was AI I thought Ron is off his stride here. When I read your words I see that gleam in your eye as you poke fun and puns!
I'm relieved to hear that.
Maybe you and Adele (see above) should open your own human-certification service! Clearly, there's a need! (Thanks for subscribing. That helps makes this work possible.)
I really enjoy your missives, Ron. They're always intelligent, thoughtful and funny - a difficult feat. Thank you for your wonderful years at the WP and now continuing in your excellent commentary. You are doing a great job - keep it up!
- Tom
Thanks a lot, Tom. And thanks for your financial support, too. It's much appreciated.
I was ready to share that those AI confirmation tools are not all that they are cracked up to be...but I guess you found that out!
The cylons have won!
Don't count Adama, Apollo, and Starbuck out yet!!
SO SAY WE ALL!
(I think it's time I rewatch the entire series.)