The Flood of ChatGPT Crap Clogging Up Publishing

Will “A.I.” programs soon pen our symphonies? Is every profession doomed to be replaced with machines? Are we nearing an A.I.-assisted utopia or a robot-run hellscape? Who knows. I’m on the record as a “A.I.” skeptic—I can’t help but notice the A.I. hype cycle has replaced last year’s “Web 3” hype cycle that went bust—but instead of imagining future utopian or dystopian scenarios, let’s talk about the present. Right now, programs like ChatGPT are mildly amusing gimmicks. They produce generic, error-filled writing closer to cheap plagiarism than any kind of intelligence. They’re nowhere close to replacing our great novelists. Or even the okay ones. But this week we’ve seen evidence that ChatGPT doesn’t actually have to get good to be bad news for writers.