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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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[–] greenskye@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

I very much appreciate the self publishing that's been possible, but I do know that the way they enable this is pretty exploitive and I think we still have massive room for improvement. My understanding is that it relies heavily on exclusivity agreements to force the majority of players onto their platform. I think we would've seen the Amazon self publishing business smacked down by anti trust lawsuits ages ago if we lived in a more sane timeline.

Despite the exploitation going on now, it's still better than the old monopolies the traditional publishers held, but I hope we can eventually see self publishing flourish outside of the Amazon ecosystem