Artificial Intelligence - General News

Orionblamblam said:
Speaking as someone who has a physical library that would be the envy of many... physical libraries are becoming things of the past.

Example: I used to regularly visit the engineering library at the university. Over a period of a few years, I methodically went through every single book, report and periodical in the aerospace section. Pull one down off the stacks, go through it, get what I wanted, go on to the next. Very random, but it gave me things I'd never otherwise find. This activity is no essentially impossible: the books were moved to a robotic storage system. You have to request a specific volume, which will be retrieved for you on the robots schedule. No finding stuff at random. No browsing.

I suppose their collection might get scanned and digitized, which could make browsing a reality. So long as *everything* gets scanned, at decent resolution and clarity. And doesn't get deleted. Or censored. Or edited. Or blocked on copyright grounds.

The largest collection of literature in the Western universe:
View attachment 771223
Click to expand...
Hello Scott, I share your feelings - physical libraries have an element of serendipity of finding something you weren't even looking for that electronic repositories lack so far. Even though my father was the (post WWII US appointed) city librarian of my German home town, and I still immensely relish physical books, I have no quarrel with electronic information repositories, as long as they are safe, secure, stable, and reliable, and physical sources are still accessible. I think we are at an in between stage of physical vs. electronic media (and I sure hope that until the day I die paper books will still be a thing - hooray for the library of congress!). Electronic online searches are great, but I agree that the chances of finding something you weren't even looking for are much lower when querying a database than randomly rifling trough a physical magazine. AI to the rescue?
 
Last edited:
Arjen said:
From the linked AT piece:

In a 64-page supplement, sponsored by King Features.

He was commissioned to produce a list, but left the 'creating' to AI.

Two newspapers with damaged reputations, and King Features skimps on checking material intended for national distribution.

Smooth.
Click to expand...
I haven't watched the movie Idiocracy, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy, yet, but I feel it's high time for catching up...
 
Last edited:
Orionblamblam said:
If you are not limited by a linear view of the progression of time, all problems *are* already solved.

Time is just a social construct.
Click to expand...
I wish, but my pocket watch and wall clock as well as my company iphone tell my otherwise, and they just stubbornly insist that there are 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour, 24 hours per day, and (taking leap years into account) about 365,25 days per year, but if you can point me to a *scientific* rather than *social* construct to defy that physical reality and maybe score a few more vacation days, I'm all eyes...
 
Last edited:
Orionblamblam said:
They're only "fake titles" because the AI hasn't written those books *yet.* AI is still young and doesn't quite grasp the timeline of book publishing.
Click to expand...

As of the 23rd of May, 2025 it seems that AI has written one of the books, but then I've not done a search for the other titles, here is the blurb from the release on Amazon, the cover is attached. Note the similarity of the fictional authors name to that of real author Isabel Allende.

In the salt-laced air of Bahía Lunar, where the Pacific Ocean whispers ancient secrets and gnaws at the coastline with a will of its own, stands La Casa de las Olas, a house that remembers more than its inhabitants. For generations, the Montoya women have lived in uneasy communion with this sentient sea, their lives interwoven with its moods, their destinies shaped by a long-forgotten pact made in a time of desperate hunger.

When Solana Montoya, a scientist armed with logic and data, returns to her ancestral home, she finds herself drawn into a legacy of whispers and visions she has long dismissed. Her pragmatic sister, Elena, fights to deny the encroaching magic that seeps through the very floorboards, while their enigmatic aunt, Coralia, paints the ocean’s terrifying prophecies onto canvas with colors dredged from its deepest sorrows.

But Bahía Lunar faces a new, more tangible threat: a ruthless developer whose plans for a luxury resort promise to sever the town’s ancient bond with the ocean, awakening a fury that logic cannot explain nor machines withstand. As Solana uncovers the truth of her great-grandmother Isidora's desperate bargain with the deep, armed with a mysterious ancestral compass that hums with otherworldly energy, she must reconcile her scientific understanding with a profound, ancient power stirring in the waters—a power both beautiful and terrifying.

When the ocean unleashes its devastating judgment, Solana, Elena, and Coralia must confront not only the physical storm but the true weight of their inheritance. Together, they must find the courage to become the guardians their lineage demands, forging a new covenant in the heart of the elemental chaos, where luminous spirits dance in the ruins and the future of Bahía Lunar hangs suspended between ruin and miraculous rebirth.

"Tidewater Dreams" is an enthralling epic that blends lyrical prose with gripping suspense, weaving a multi-generational saga of fierce women, ancestral magic, and the urgent, timeless call to protect the sacred bonds between humanity and the natural world. It is a story of love, loss, and the luminous possibility of healing when we dare to listen to the whispers of the wild.
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • Tidewater Dreams.jpg
    Tidewater Dreams.jpg
    146.9 KB · Views: 7
Last edited:
And from the 22nd of May 2025, another book from the 'Heat Index' realised via AI, again the blurb and cover picture are included and the authors name is almost that of Andy Weir. That said there are a lot of books on Amazon with the title 'The Last Algorithm'...

SOON TO BE A UNIVERSE-SPANNING CINEMATIC EVENT

What if the universe’s oldest secret was a blueprint for its destruction?

Dr. Aris Thorne, a brilliant but haunted astronomer, believed the whispers of the early cosmos held the key to understanding creation. But a routine scan of the cosmic microwave background – the universe's fading baby picture – reveals an impossible pattern. Not random chance, but a chilling echo of intelligent design, imprinted on the very fabric of spacetime.

This celestial anomaly is only the beginning. Thorne’s investigation unearths terrifying connections between this ancient signal and catastrophic global events, including the Horizon Cascade, a digital dark age that Thorne, in part, helped cause. Haunted by past failures, Aris is driven into a desperate search for answers, a quest that spirals from isolated observatories into the hidden depths of a fractured, AI-managed world.

Joined by a cynical data-wraith navigating the darkest corners of the net, Thorne uncovers a truth far more profound and terrifying than rogue code or human error. Vast, ancient intelligences have been shaping human history for millennia, their motives as inscrutable as the stars themselves. Now, as new cosmic forces emerge – from the enigmatic Kestrel offering cryptic guidance, to the silent, reality-bending influence of the Cosmic Others, and the creeping, simplifying dread of The Unmaking – Aris must confront not only the nature of reality but the very definition of human significance.

From a cryptic message in the static to a symphony that could rewrite existence, The Last Algorithm hurls readers on an epic journey through cosmic horror, philosophical AI, and the indomitable, if fragile, spark of human consciousness fighting to find its voice in a universe of unimaginable scale and silent, watchful gods.

Will humanity’s ‘noise’ be its salvation, or just another echo in an archive at the end of time?
Click to expand...

Again there's a definite suspicion that Lovecraft's material went into the LLM that created this blurb.
 

Attachments

  • The Last Algorithm.jpg
    The Last Algorithm.jpg
    157.4 KB · Views: 7
Graham1973 said:
As of the 23rd of May, 2025 it seems that AI has written one of the books,
Click to expand...
Rest assured that all of those books *will* be written. And then written again. And again, ad infinitum. Rest assured that all potential books will be written. There will soon be a number of books that cannot be comfortably counted with even scientific mathematical notation; there will be so many AI written books that an SD card the mass of Earth would not be able to store them all.
 
Archibald said:
Bottom line
DAVE - How much is 151587*45 , HAL ?
HAL - 6821415, Dave.
DAVE - Good, now how much is 151587*47 ?
HAL - ??!!!! I'm sorry, Dave. I'm affraid I can't do this.
DAVE - Just do the multiplication, dumbarse.
HAL - What is a multiplication ?
Click to expand...
Funny thing is that LLM's run on computers and they are exceptional good at math. For some reason, the tech-bro don't understand this, at all. Instead they rely on some joke answer someone gave on that multiplication that was posted 14 years ago on Yahoo!groups and take it to be the only right answer to that question. Because that was the only thing that someone made that calculation...
The world is run by people who barely understand the complexity of a modern society with its many layers of social constructs and interconnectedness between people. They made billions of dollars, but are unable to have a normal conversation with their neighbors...
The Nerd Reich as they are called. Bunch of tech-bros that want to steal everyone's intellectual work and give us nothing in return...
 
Blatant acts of non-compliance are one thing.

Corrosion of agency is worse
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJpZjg8GuA

Ignore Mayor Pete--keep landlines--and paper
phys.org

Why some towns lose local news—and others don't

Why did your hometown newspaper vanish while the next town over kept theirs?
phys.org phys.org
phys.org

Not just talk: How dialogue can help address complex problems

Societies around the world are confronted with complex problems that defy resolution by any single actor, even well-resourced governments or corporations. Problems like food security, climate change, or biodiversity loss involve a lot of elements and dynamics. A variety of stakeholders need to...
phys.org phys.org

news
 
Last edited:
For a bit of amusement I've started keeping an eye out for any 'AI Realizations' of the fake books mentioned in the 'Heat Index' supplement. I've posted the covers and blurbs for two so far.

But here are the ones that I've so far found with their credited authors/publishers, the name the story was credited to in the original listing and the date they appeared on Amazon. Titles are listed as per original published list.

1. 'Tidewater Dreams' (Isabella Allendra) (Isabel Allende) (23rd May 2025)
2. 'The Last Algorithm' (Andy Weird) (Andy Weir) (22nd of May 2025)
3. 'Hurricane Season' (Bryn Bennell) (Brit Bennett) (25th of May 2025)

And there is a definite proliferation of AI Generated novels with the names of well known authors in the titles since the start of May, the front runner so far seems to be Clive Cussler with four books that have nothing to do with the series curated by his estate appearing on Amazon.
 
Graham1973 said:
And from the 22nd of May 2025, another book from the 'Heat Index' realised via AI, again the blurb and cover picture are included and the authors name is almost that of Andy Weir. That said there are a lot of books on Amazon with the title 'The Last Algorithm'...



Again there's a definite suspicion that Lovecraft's material went into the LLM that created this blurb.
Click to expand...
In the more or less misspent time fragments of my life, I've read worse, I think...
 
Last edited:
Grey Havoc said:
tech.slashdot.org

Nick Clegg Says Asking Artists For Use Permission Would 'Kill' the AI Industry - Slashdot

As policy makers in the UK weigh how to regulate the AI industry, Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister and former Meta executive, claimed a push for artist consent would "basically kill" the AI industry. From a report: Speaking at an event promoting his new book, Clegg said the creative...
tech.slashdot.org

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Then let's kill it, by all means - I fail to see what the perceived problem with that happening is. Human civilization has existed for millennia without an "ai industry", and I'm fairly confident we'll muddle along just fine without one going forward as well. Either way, Dick the Butcher's line in Act IV, Scene II of Henry VI, Part II, as well as the Emperor's New Clothes, come readily to mind.
 
Last edited:
Also what is there left to steal? Meta already stole dozen of terabytes worth of books. They trained their models on 99.9% of all paintings and art every created. Are they really growing a consciousness and asking to use the last of our art? No, this is just some fool being paid by them to change the subject. Also stating that they already stole the artwork/books before even considering seeking permission....
 
Orionblamblam said:
And how would you propose to do that planet-wide? How do you prevent China or North Korea or California or some other such adversarial society from developing AI on their own?
Click to expand...
I do *not* propose any planet wide approach at all - let them eat cake/develop AI all they want, by all means. Relax - Terminator is just a movie...
 
Last edited:
A 'pop quiz' from last year asking teachers to look at pairs of images and state which ones were generated by AI.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, where filters, CGI, and AI-generated visuals are commonplace, children are increasingly encountering enhanced and artificial content. This new reality prompts a critical question: Can they effectively discern what’s real from what’s not? A Nexcess study underscored this challenge, finding that even AI-savvy adults correctly identified AI-generated images only about half the time. Such findings highlight the urgent need for robust media literacy education, especially for students navigating this complex digital terrain for the first time.

As an educator, your role is crucial in preparing students to analyze and evaluate media content critically. We’re here to support you with practical tips and an interactive quiz designed to enhance media literacy in your classroom. Let’s dive in and help your students sharpen their image evaluation skills!
Click to expand...

Real or AI Quiz: Can You Tell the Difference?
 
A title search for the name 'Clive Cussler' in the title of books published in the last 90 days revealed 46 separate AI generated books that are clearly not anything associated with the Cussler Estate, so far I've not checked any of the other 'Great Author' names that might have had this done to.
 
martinbayer said:
In the more or less misspent time fragments of my life, I've read worse, I think...
Click to expand...
Which is the whole problem. That said I've found AI generated blurbs to be like those created for the works of Colin Forbes, repetitive in laying out the plot points.
 
www.newscientist.com

AI doesn't know 'no' – and that's a huge problem for medical bots

Many AI models fail to recognise negation words such as “no” and “not”, which means they can’t easily distinguish between medical images labelled as showing a disease and images labelled as not showing the disease
www.newscientist.com www.newscientist.com

Paywalled, but you can get the gist of the article. TLDR: AI's not good at recognising the meaning of the word 'no' and other negations, which is important in recognising the difference between teaching data such as "this image shows a cancer" and "this image shows no cancer". The article looks at medical use, but it's fairly easy to imagine similar examples causing problems with imagery interpretation and other forms of intelligence analysis.
 
Finally found something I was looking for. Two series of AI written mystery novels set around Yoga studios. The first is the 'Aura Ascending Mysteries' credited to 'Anya Meadowsweet' whose three books were posted to Amazon on the 20th of April 2025, the second was the 'Whispering Pines Yoga Mysteries' credited to 'Serenity Waverley' and whose three books were posted to Amazon on the 26th of April. 2025.

The first book of the second series has a one star rating and a written out review (I've seen several other clearly AI written stories with rating only reviews on Amazon.) and it provides a glimpse into what's going on 'under the hood' as it were.

This is why I am giving this book a 1 star review.

Savasana Suspicion and Downward Dog Deception may be "written" by two different authors, but I strongly suspect they are both "written" by the same person, who then chose to use AI for both books.

I started to read this book, as well as the other, and lo and behold, they both contain multiple instances of the exact same wording...dust motes, the smell of the studio, the description of the detectives...

That was more than enough to turn me off from reading the rest of this book,as well as deleting it and the rest of the series off my Kindle.

The author would do well to use her own ideas for writing instead of using AI to do it for her.

I will not be downloading any more books from either "author" in the future.
Click to expand...

L. Difronzo (US Based Amazon Customer, their review is entitled 'Written by AI'.)
 
Graham1973 said:
Which is the whole problem. That said I've found AI generated blurbs to be like those created for the works of Colin Forbes, repetitive in laying out the plot points.
Click to expand...
I can/must honestly state that I have no idea whatsoever you are referring to. Sorry, mate, I guess...
 
martinbayer said:
I can/must honestly state that I have no idea whatsoever you are referring to. Sorry, mate, I guess...
Click to expand...

Here's three examples of 'short form blurbs' from the 'Off Brand' Clive Cussler books.

'Clive Cussler Barracuda (File Book 10)', Seraphina Blair, 20/05/2025

Dive into the thrilling depths of adventure with Clive Cussler Barracuda (File Book 10)! In this electrifying installment, the relentless pursuit of justice leads to perilous waters where danger lurks beneath every wave. As secrets from the past surface and enemies close in, heroes must navigate treacherous seas and unravel deadly conspiracies before time runs out. Packed with high-stakes action, razor-sharp suspense, and unforgettable characters, this book is a must-read for fans of pulse-pounding adventure and edge-of-your-seat excitement. Get ready to plunge into a world where courage meets cunning — and survival depends on outsmarting the odds
Click to expand...

'Clive Cussler The Emperor’s Vengeance (File Book 11)', Lucian Sable, 20/05/2025

Prepare for an explosive new adventure in Clive Cussler The Emperor’s Vengeance (File Book 11)! When ancient secrets and modern-day danger collide, a relentless quest for justice ignites a battle across continents. With enemies closing in and time running out, heroes must uncover hidden truths buried beneath layers of deception and treachery. Fast-paced, gripping, and packed with daring escapades, this thrilling installment will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Dive into a world where vengeance fuels courage — and only the smartest survive
Click to expand...

'Clive Cussler Shadow Overlords (File Book 13)' Keaton Ashcroft, 21/05/2025

Step into the shadows with Clive Cussler Shadow Overlords (File Book 13) — a gripping saga of power, deception, and relentless pursuit. As dark forces rise and secret overlords manipulate from behind the scenes, heroes must unravel a complex web of lies to prevent a global catastrophe. Filled with high-stakes action, mind-bending twists, and pulse-pounding suspense, this thrilling adventure will keep you hooked from the first page to the last. Prepare to confront the unseen enemies lurking in the shadows — where every move could mean survival or doom
Click to expand...

The next posting will feature the 'medium form blurbs' from the 'off brand' Clive Cussler books. The lack of a full stop at the end of the first sentence is common to all three. The three covers attached are all to books released to Amazon in April 2025 and show the problem visually.
 

Attachments

  • Clive Cussler's Cipher of Collapse.jpg
    Clive Cussler's Cipher of Collapse.jpg
    109.1 KB · Views: 3
  • Clive Cussler's Legacy of Cataclysm.jpg
    Clive Cussler's Legacy of Cataclysm.jpg
    109.6 KB · Views: 2
  • Clive Cussler's Protocol of Extinction.jpg
    Clive Cussler's Protocol of Extinction.jpg
    114.1 KB · Views: 4
Graham1973 said:
Here's three examples of 'short form blurbs' from the 'Off Brand' Clive Cussler books.

'Clive Cussler Barracuda (File Book 10)', Seraphina Blair, 20/05/2025



'Clive Cussler The Emperor’s Vengeance (File Book 11)', Lucian Sable, 20/05/2025



'Clive Cussler Shadow Overlords (File Book 13)' Keaton Ashcroft, 21/05/2025



The next posting will feature the 'medium form blurbs' from the 'off brand' Clive Cussler books. The lack of a full stop at the end of the first sentence is common to all three. The three covers attached are all to books released to Amazon in April 2025 and show the problem visually.
Click to expand...
I am still *completely* lost as to what exactly the context of the argument you are presumably trying to make is - could you please spell it out in *plain* English (please understand and respect though that I am a native German and hence foreign speaker of the Anglo-Saxon idiom) rather than just lazily post random book covers??? Thank you very much in advance for your utterly helpful cooperation indeed.
 
martinbayer said:
I am still *completely* lost as to what exactly the context of the argument you are presumably trying to make is - could you please spell it out in *plain* English (please understand and respect though that I am a native German and hence foreign speaker of the Anglo-Saxon idiom) rather than just lazily post random book covers??? Thank you very much in advance for your utterly helpful cooperation indeed.
Click to expand...

The three covers all comprise three common elements, the bridge in the background and the two vehicles in the foreground. While details of their appearance change from one to the other their relative positions in the covers remain the same. The same thing could be seen in the blurbs for the later novels of Colin Forbes and I can see the same things the blurbs for both the 'Off brand' Clive Cussler books and ones where other well known action authors names have been used in attempts to trick people into purchasing them.
 
Flyaway said:
The Warning Signs of AI are Getting More Frequent
Click to expand...

Well thought out arguments from Godier; some niggles though, more to do with the environment whence they arose than the conclusions drawn. First, many if not the majority of alarmist arguments are somewhat self-serving. Those who currently dominate processing capacity (or indeed the resources to invest into more of that, including the requisite power generation on at least a national level) make a sort of a pseudo-anti proliferation argument. Working themselves without meaningful checks and balances they (purportedly being the responsible experts here) wish to impose those on others. As if that prevented things getting out of control. This, not coincidentally, could (would) grant them a de-facto monopoly on AI and is also wholly contradictory to ...

... there, second, being a belief that mainly just by scaling processing there's going to be a significant breakthrough if not an emergence into a new reality (be it utopic or dystopic, AI proponents of both seem to exist). This is not a given though we may not be able to make the distinction between a clockwork "intelligence" intricate enough and something truly novel, evolving and emergent. Humanity, the tech broligarchy manifestly included, have a deep seated penchant for mysticism. All AI algorithms and their infrastructure remain very simple compared to biologic neural networks and woefully less energy efficient to boot. Thus they're eminently more understandable and knowable. The nature of AI's consciousness need not be a black box but by pouring orders of magnitude more processing power onto it we strip ourselves of meaningful visibility into these networks. Perhaps it's an aversion to exploring consciousness generally. In any case, there are many reasons - based on successful precedents - to developing a range of use specific, reliable, well known AIs than trying to plunge headlong into AGI.

As I've stated before (this definitely not being my original idea by any measure), we're fundamentally a technological species. Or perhaps a hybrid biologic technological species. I'm not even trying to sell mysticism short here, it can very well help humanity embrace the unknown in ways mere rationalism can't. But it's not surprising that we anthropomorphize technology, it's basically looking at a mirror. It's not entirely natural, not entirely unnatural, but it's us. Thus it's better that it's not constrained by the imagination and dictates of the few. We need meaningful ways to shape AI individually, democratically and equally, lest we relinquish our better futures for smoke and mirrors.
 
BAROBA said:
Serious question... How would you get rid of it?
There is no way to get physical access. Access via internet is way out of most people ability... So lets us hear your ideas...
Click to expand...
Short of a Carrington Event or a global EMP strike, I see no way to now stop AI. What I can see are localized AI bans... say, the US or EU or Japan or Lithuania or whoever bans the further development and deployment of AI, but even if the UN tried such a thing, you'd still have rogue actors in North Korea or China or wherever developing AI. And without your own side working on it and countermeasures, adversarial AIs will swamp you culture, raid your banks, wipe out your IPs. And then AI will get nasty, developing a million different airborne viruses that wipe out species or ethnic groups or sexes or IQs. And not necessarily because some Bond Villain told it to, but because AI will reproduce and soon enough we'll have a trillion different individual AIs doing their own thing, coming up with their own motivations.

The only thing we can do now s go full-bore on developing AI to counter other AI. It's now an arms race, one that may well not have an end other than apocalypse.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom