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‘Life or Death:’ AI-Generated Mushroom Foraging Books Are All Over Amazon (www.404media.co)

submitted 1 year ago by trashhalo@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

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Many mushroom identification and foraging books being sold on Amazon are likely generated by AI with no human authorship. These books could provide dangerous misinformation and potentially lead to deaths if people eat poisonous mushrooms based on the AI's inaccurate descriptions. Two New York mushroom societies have warned about the risks of AI-generated foraging guides. Experts note that safely identifying wild mushrooms requires careful research and experience that an AI system does not have. Amazon has since removed some books flagged as AI-generated, but more may exist. Detecting AI-generated books and authors can be difficult as the systems can fabricate author bios and images. Relying on multiple credible sources, as well as guidance from local foraging groups, is advised for safely pursuing mushroom foraging.

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[–] grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org 32 points 1 year ago

Robert Evans wrote a post on it and did multiple podcast episodes.

The TL&DR is that AI-generated children's books are crap, without a coherent storyline or any literary niceties like "foreshadowing" and "beginning middle and end". Kids are still learning what stories look like, so if you hand them AI-generated stuff they might know it's unsatisfying, but they can't put into words why their books are wrong.