I asked Amazon's "AI", Rufus, to summarize my space opera novella "The Warrior Within" for me. Here's what it told me:
"The Warrior Within is a 1980 fantasy novel by Angus McIntyre. It follows the story of a young man named Aric who lives in a world where magic and technology coexist. Aric discovers he has the ability to tap into an ancient power called the "Warrior Within" which allows him to become a powerful warrior.”
(TWW was published in 2018. There is no one in it named Aric)
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#AI
Angus McIntyre
in reply to Angus McIntyre • • •Rufus's description of my novella continued:
“The book explores Aric's journey as he learns to control this power and uses it to fight against the evil forces that threaten his world. Along the way, he encounters various characters, both allies and enemies, and undergoes challenges that test his courage and determination.”
This is the plot of half the fantasy novels ever written. But it isn't the plot of my book.
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Angus McIntyre
in reply to Angus McIntyre • • •Rufus, Amazon's "AI” continues to describe a book that is almost but not completely unlike my novella.
“The novel is known for its blend of fantasy and science fiction elements, as well as its exploration of themes such as self-discovery, courage, and the struggle between good and evil. McIntyre's writing style is described as immersive and descriptive, transporting readers into the richly imagined world of the story.”
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Angus McIntyre
in reply to Angus McIntyre • • •I confess, I like Rufus's flattering description of my writing. But the information it confidently trots out is utterly divorced from reality.
In fairness, Rufus did better when asked about less obscure books, and resisted my attempts to persuade it that “Anna Karenina" was a cozy murder mystery by Virginia Woolf.
But an AI that breaks down badly on edge cases is worse than useless.
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Angus McIntyre
in reply to Angus McIntyre • • •I don't understand why you would deploy something that looks like an information retrieval tool, but simply invents things when it doesn't know the answer.
No one would design a database system that returned random data if a query failed to match any records. (Except perhaps in a specialized application such as a game).
The argument “but it gets it right MOST of the time" cuts no ice. That actually makes it WORSE, because it's harder to tell when the robot is fabricating answers.
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