^TagBooks

Adult student reading a book in the college library. Young standing male wearing glasses with bookshelves on background.

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post

Author
News
Date
May 28, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Arts and Culture, Books, ChatGPT, Large Language Models (LLMs), LLMs}

In the Wake of AI Books, What Does Authorship Mean?

_{While of course it's easy to use AI to generate text, the quality and storytelling are lacking.} _{News

May 28, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

We all know there are a lot of books out there. Perusing your local used bookstore and you may find hundreds of old romance paperbacks, and somehow most of them managed (at least at one point) to make the New York Times bestsellers’ list. It’s estimated that 500,000 to 1 million books are published each year, and that’s excluding self-published material. The publishing market has become saturated, with the average book selling less than 200 copies. From the advent of the printing press centuries ago to e-books and online publishing, humans alone have managed to generate a mountain of words. But suppose one person could “generate” not just a few books in a lifetime, but hundreds every year? According to Read More ›

Audiobook education. Smartphone screen with audiobook application on paper books black background. Ebook e learning electronic internet mobility concept.

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post

Author
News
Date
May 23, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Audiobooks, Books, Human Actors, Technology}

Audiobook Voice Actor: Storytelling Should Stay Human

_{Handing the narrative baton to a machine can bankrupt stories of their human element} _{News

May 23, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

New AI systems have carved inroads into many industries, not least of all those involving voice and audio. Now the audiobook business is in trouble; since AI has the increasingly good ability to mimic the human voice and generate words, many voice actors and readers have watched the demand for their contributions steadily fall. According to a report from Tech Explore, voice actor Tanya Eby, who has been in the business for 20 years, has seen her workload drop “by half.” Several of her colleagues report similar trends in their own work. AI startups like DeepZen, based in London, cheapen audiobook projects tremendously, making it a challenge for human actors to stay viable. DeepZen technology takes several different human voices Read More ›

boy standing on the opened book and looking at other books floating in the air, digital art style, illustration painting

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 14, 2022

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Books, Creativity, Culture, Dean Koontz, entertainment. media, Politics, Propoganda, Science fiction, society}

Art, Propaganda, and the Role of the Novelist

_{Bestselling author Dean Koontz talks fiction, human exceptionalism, and transhumanism with Wesley J. Smith in new podcast episode (Part I)} _{Peter Biles

September 14, 2022

4

Arts & Culture}

Dean Koontz is a renowned novelist, known for books such as Devoted, The Big Dark Sky, and Odd Thomas. His books have topped the charts as New York Times bestsellers, and at age 77, he doesn’t plan on quitting the craft of fiction any time soon. He is also a longtime proponent of intelligent design and human exceptionalism, both of which find their footing in his many writings. On September 12th, Koontz was featured on the Humanize Podcast, where he and Wesley J. Smith, Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute’s Center for Human Exceptionalism, discussed Koontz’s career as a writer as well as some of the central themes that pervade Koontz’s work. For Part I of this two-part discussion on the Read More ›

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post

Author
News
Date
July 20, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship

Tagged
Abigail Shrier, Bari Weiss, Book publishers, Books, Bookselling, Bret Weinstein, Heather Heying, Roger Kimball, Ryan Anderson}

Why Did the Publishing Industry Go To War Against Books?

_{Readers need to know how things have changed} _{News

July 20, 2021

5

Business and Finance, Censorship}

For many reasons, traditional publishers are trying to dump controversial books. In this series we will try to unpack some of them. First, let’s look at what happens when otherwise Correct people are not the favorites of the Cancel mob. Bari Weiss, formerly of the New York Times, asks us to look at a science teacher couple at a regional U.S. university: Do you remember the names Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying? I wrote one of my earliest New York Times columns about the bravery they displayed as tenured professors — words that do not typically appear in the same sentence — at Evergreen State College. It was 2017 and the professors, both evolutionary biologists, opposed the school’s “Day of Read More ›

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 18, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Authors, Book Publishing, Books, Cancel culture, Chrissy Teigen, Games (computer games), Krishdee Dismon, Leo Benedictus, Richard Dawkins, Science fiction (and Cancel Culture), Scott Cawthon, Writers}

Books: Cancel Culture As an Invisible Army of Censors

_{The new censorship is different from traditional “banned” or “challenged” lists because a younger, much more active crowd is behind it} _{Denyse O'Leary

June 18, 2021

4

Arts & Culture, Censorship, Social Media}

For authors, Cancel Culture, powered by social media, is becoming a serious business. A poorly thought-out tweet from years past — or merely one to which socially powerful people take exception — may destroy a career. The mob has hit genre fiction hard. One author, studying the trend, recounts, Since March, I have been sending discreet messages to authors of young adult fiction. I approached 24 people, in several countries, all writing in English. In total, 15 authors replied, of whom 11 agreed to talk to me, either by email or on the phone. Two subsequently withdrew, in one case following professional advice. Two have received death threats and five would only talk if I concealed their identity. This is Read More ›