AI-created fiction shaping up to be stranger than truth

Artificial intelligence chatbots are creating written material including complete books and stories. They are also creating headaches.

Case-in-point: Neil Clarke, editor of the prominent science-fiction magazine Clarkesworld, temporarily closed article submissions to dig out from a blizzard of what he calls AI spam. Clarke noted that other publications are also being besieged with poorly written AI articles.

Meanwhile, Reuters says more than 200 e-books on Amazon’s Kindle store were written by AI bots. One example: “The Wise Little Squirrel: A Tale of Saving and Investing,” credited to Brett Schickler. Schickler, a salesman in Rochester, told Reuters he used ChatGPT to write the book — which has netted him less than $100.

Cybercrooks living for the weekend

About 44% of companies surveyed by security firm Cybereason reduced cybersecurity staff on weekends and holidays to save money — but that policy might result in an enormous cost. Cybereason says hackers tend to unleash ransomware on weekends and holidays “because they know companies’ human defenses often aren’t as robust.” Successful attacks are often more damaging because reduced staff makes ransomware harder to assess and resolve.

Feelin’ groovy

Sales of old-fashioned vinyl records rose for the 16th straight year in 2022, surging 17% to $1.2 billion, outselling CDs for the first time since 1987, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s year-end report. Overall, revenue from recorded music — comprising streaming, downloading and physical products — hit a record $15.9 billion in 2022, with streaming accounting for $13.3 billion in sales.

Amazon bets on gambling network

Amazon has added 24/7 gambling network SportsGrid to its Prime Video offerings, the latest sports content investment by the e-commerce giant. Amazon has already shelled out more than $1 billion per season for the rights to broadcast NFL “Thursday Night Football” and is a part-owner of YES Network, which broadcasts Yankees games. — THE WASHINGTON POST