AI-created fiction shaping up to be stranger than truth

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

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