Authors Are Accidentally Leaving AI Prompts in Their Novels

2025-05-2317:503113www.404media.co

‘I’ve rewritten the passage to align more with the J. Bree style’ appeared in the middle of a tense scene with a scaled dragon prince.

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‘I’ve rewritten the passage to align more with the J. Bree style’ appeared in the middle of a tense scene with a scaled dragon prince.

Authors Are Accidentally Leaving AI Prompts In their Novels
Photo by camilo jimenez / Unsplash

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Comments

  • By bell-cot 2025-05-2318:051 reply

    Would the old-school alternative would have been any better? "This scene was a hot mess; I had one of our in-house ghost writers rework it. -Ed."

    • By mcv 2025-05-267:39

      That second rate novels use AI is probably unavoidable, but is at least one pass of proofreading by a human really too much to ask?

  • By smeeger 2025-05-260:315 reply

    i find it really strange that these romance novels, which contain graphic descriptions of sex and very often brutal acts of rape, not only have their own section in barnes and noble but can be found right of the register end caps at at least one target store near me. this is straight up pornography. and its being sold in tons of stores right in the open where kids can read it. its just very strange because 20 years ago im pretty sure target was not carrying graphic rape pornography. so now gambling is legal, sports betting, 10% of women are making porn and rape fantasies are being sold front and center in target. this feels like the biff future in back to the future.

    • By 47282847 2025-05-2616:08

      There is an argument to be made that this is part of a collective trauma recovery process, where all the violence finally comes out from the “collective shadow“ (CG Jung), and finds a less violent and safer channel to be expressed and integrated in more healthy ways than if it was kept buried under repression and taboo.

      It is well documented how repression leads to avoidance, in the sense that rarely people stay present and act in adult fashion when they witness violence, but typically chose actions that protect the perpetrators and not the victims. If this trend helps individuals to become “used to it“ on an emotional level, having processed their own shame around it, there’s a chance they may be able to act instead of shying away.

    • By spicyusername 2025-05-263:401 reply

      What is and isn't culturally acceptable is always in flux. The norms of the 1950s United States are not some kind of absolute. In another 70 years they'll be different from today, as well.

      • By smeeger 2025-05-2914:011 reply

        i disagree. monotheistic values arent random

        • By spicyusername 2025-05-3013:161 reply

          Can you elaborate on that?

          • By smeeger 2025-05-3018:04

            if you look at monotheism it usually draws from the same constellation of things. fasting is encouraged. humility. and some concept of intrinsic sinfulness which is actually a very deep insight into the nature of organisms that prioritize their own wellbeing over everything else. ie all organisms. monotheism springs up in response to the cynical nature of human society. but more broadly to protect us from all the cynical and unnatural consequences of human society, not just selfishness. monotheism is how human beings reconcile with the terrible products of their own society. and therefore it tends to be similar everywhere. but only in places where the population reached a tipping point and broadly adopted a moral crusade against those things.

    • By kelseyfrog 2025-05-2615:511 reply

      40% of kids can't read at a basic level[1]. Kids reading these novels is much less of an issue than we think it is. They likely wouldn't even make it into a bookstore in the first place.

      1. https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-s...

      • By smeeger 2025-05-2914:00

        i dont think its an issue at all. even if kids could read perfectly they would never pick up any kind of book because they simply arent interested books these days. im just pointing out that its creepy and inappropriate

    • By kilna 2025-05-2823:371 reply

      I'm interested in a source for the 10% statistic. There are only 42m sex workers worldwide... and that number is not entirely women, and not entirely people involved in content creation.

      • By smeeger 2025-05-2914:05

        well i would include nearly nude images on instagram in that figure… its showing your naked body and seducing men in exchange for influence and followers and ultimately money. if you add up all the women exhibitioning their bodies to seduce men for money… probably at least ten percent.

    • By ThePinion 2025-05-263:01

      Degeneracy has been successfully normalized.

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