Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author • Hacker News Board

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#11

Post by gregjor » Sun, May 07, 2023, 10:21 AM UTC

ofalkaed wrote: post #6

gregjor wrote: post #4

Based on the LLM-produced stuff I've seen online I have to think a market will emerge soon for real writing from actual people. How much reshuffling of stuff already written a hundred times can we put up with? The bar seems pretty low if you only have to compete with ChatGPT.

>I have to think a market will emerge soon for real writing from actual people That market already exists and has existed for quite some time, you make it sound like literature has always been an AI dominated market and salt of the earth people are finally about to get their chance. I assume this is not what you meant and that I am missing something or possibly you know something that I don't and my perception of rea…

Truman Capote once said (of actual writer Jack Kerouac), "That's not writing, that's typing."

Junk like Buzzfeed news and similar sites that just regurgitate other content existed before ChatGPT, I guess those serve some purpose, though I've always thought they mainly exist to host ads and to trap people in a maze of links and pop-ups. ChatGPT can write that junk just as well as a person.

At this point LLM-produced "writing" sticks out because it has no voice, it just repeats and walks around some point derived from the prompt, like someone summarizing Wikipedia articles. I will just click off of that stuff until I find something written by a real person. I hope more people do the same. The novelty will wear off sooner or later and we'll recognize LLM-generated writing as nothing more than vapidly useless filler. In a culture schooled with writing presented as a chore, where the number of words in an essay matters more than an original thought, LLMs promise to relieve a lot of people of the burden of thinking and writing.

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#12

Post by gumballindie » Sun, May 07, 2023, 10:23 AM UTC

ftxbro wrote: post #2

I'm not saying this one is, but some of this kind of post are being written by ChatGPT by people who do a little trolling.

They are and reek of chatgpt pr. Now the real issue here is that if the ceo of openai endorses such negative marketing you can only begin to imagine the kind of toxic person he is and the kind of toxicity openai is creating in the space. I am speculating of course but openai is promoted solely around this kind of publicity.

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#13

Post by gregjor » Sun, May 07, 2023, 10:25 AM UTC

xg15 wrote: post #8

gregjor wrote: post #4

Based on the LLM-produced stuff I've seen online I have to think a market will emerge soon for real writing from actual people. How much reshuffling of stuff already written a hundred times can we put up with? The bar seems pretty low if you only have to compete with ChatGPT.

> How much reshuffling of stuff already written a hundred times can we put up with? I mean, if you look at the barrage of reboots, franchise installments and "memberberry" sequels that make up the bulk of cinema blockbusters...

Good point. Every superhero movie looks the same to me. I always assumed that was due to my age. The thought of LLM-generated "Marvel Universe" sequels going on forever seems depressing, though I long ago learned to just ignore that Hollywood compost bin.

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#14

Post by ftxbro » Sun, May 07, 2023, 10:26 AM UTC

> "Everyone saying the government will pass UBI. Lol. They can't even handle providing all people with basic Healthcare or giving women a few guaranteed weeks off work (at a bare minimum) after exploding a baby out of their body. They didn't even pass a law to ensure that shelves were restocked with baby formula when there was a shortage. They just let babies die. They don't care. But you think they will pass a UBI lol?"

i feel like they would almost have a point here if they could calm down a little

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#15

Post by ofalkaed » Sun, May 07, 2023, 10:52 AM UTC

gregjor wrote: post #11

ofalkaed wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I have to think a market will emerge soon for real writing from actual people That market already exists and has existed for quite some time, you make it sound like literature has always been an AI dominated market and salt of the earth people are finally about to get their chance. I assume this is not what you meant and that I am missing something or possibly you know something that I don't and my perception of rea…

Truman Capote once said (of actual writer Jack Kerouac), "That's not writing, that's typing." Junk like Buzzfeed news and similar sites that just regurgitate other content existed before ChatGPT, I guess those serve some purpose, though I've always thought they mainly exist to host ads and to trap people in a maze of links and pop-ups. ChatGPT can write that junk just as well as a person. At this point LLM-produced "…

And Truman Capote said that regarding a novel which Kerouac worked on for nearly a decade. The scroll for On The Road was the performance of the piece which he had been rehearsing for all those years and had worked everything out before he sat down at the typewriter. Everything but the final form was known which he wanted to be more natural and less refined. The idea that he just sat down and wrote it is folklore, it is fairly impressive in how cohesive it is, especially in style/voice. Capote is not a great appeal to authority regarding literary merit, he was well known for his professional jealousy and inflammatory comments.

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#16

Post by chs20 » Sun, May 07, 2023, 10:53 AM UTC

gregjor wrote: post #11

ofalkaed wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I have to think a market will emerge soon for real writing from actual people That market already exists and has existed for quite some time, you make it sound like literature has always been an AI dominated market and salt of the earth people are finally about to get their chance. I assume this is not what you meant and that I am missing something or possibly you know something that I don't and my perception of rea…

Truman Capote once said (of actual writer Jack Kerouac), "That's not writing, that's typing." Junk like Buzzfeed news and similar sites that just regurgitate other content existed before ChatGPT, I guess those serve some purpose, though I've always thought they mainly exist to host ads and to trap people in a maze of links and pop-ups. ChatGPT can write that junk just as well as a person. At this point LLM-produced "…

I'm pretty sure you can't reliably distinguish LLM text from real person text.

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#17

Post by avereveard » Sun, May 07, 2023, 10:58 AM UTC

xg15 wrote: post #9

ofalkaed wrote: post #3

Being replaced by technology should give an author a wealth to write about, especially in a time when fears of being replaced by technology is a major topic, AI lacks this simple human connection and will likely always lack it which offers a wonderful possibility for the writer, a world in which AI is being replaced by humans.

"Hey ChatGPT, write an autobiography of an author who got replaced by ChatGPT. Use first-person perspective. Write in the style of "

eheh that exactly what I did after reading the story, I added stress on empathy and whatnot, and yeah. the topics and plots it produces are solid, and explore the human side of the story well enough

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#18

Post by gregjor » Sun, May 07, 2023, 11:29 AM UTC

ofalkaed wrote: post #15

gregjor wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Truman Capote once said (of actual writer Jack Kerouac), "That's not writing, that's typing." Junk like Buzzfeed news and similar sites that just regurgitate other content existed before ChatGPT, I guess those serve some purpose, though I've always thought they mainly exist to host ads and to trap people in a maze of links and pop-ups. ChatGPT can write that junk just as well as a person. At this point LLM-produced "…

And Truman Capote said that regarding a novel which Kerouac worked on for nearly a decade. The scroll for On The Road was the performance of the piece which he had been rehearsing for all those years and had worked everything out before he sat down at the typewriter. Everything but the final form was known which he wanted to be more natural and less refined. The idea that he just sat down and wrote it is folklore, it…

I quoted Capote ironically, not as an authority on writing, or typing. I would call what ChatGPT produces typing as opposed to writing, which brought Capote's quip to mind.

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#19

Post by gregjor » Sun, May 07, 2023, 11:33 AM UTC

chs20 wrote: post #16

gregjor wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Truman Capote once said (of actual writer Jack Kerouac), "That's not writing, that's typing." Junk like Buzzfeed news and similar sites that just regurgitate other content existed before ChatGPT, I guess those serve some purpose, though I've always thought they mainly exist to host ads and to trap people in a maze of links and pop-ups. ChatGPT can write that junk just as well as a person. At this point LLM-produced "…

I'm pretty sure you can't reliably distinguish LLM text from real person text.

I probably can't reliably distinguish LLM output from average writing from a real person -- the kind of "content" I find online. I believe I can distinguish LLM output from what a good writer produces. Anyone can write a Buzzfeed listicle or "review" of Madrid as pointless as what ChatGPT produces. But ChatGPT won't write Crime and Punishment, 1984, Lolita, Blood Meridian, or even On The Road or In Cold Blood.

People losing their jobs to ChatGPT don't even call themselves writers, at least not seriously. They produce content, most of it regurgitated the same way ChatGPT does it. If I produced content for online click farms I would worry about so-called AI. I don't think Murakami or Cormac McCarthy have to worry, but James Patterson might get replaced by an LLM (if that didn't happen already -- hard to tell).

In my own profession, some programmers already express fear for their future because Github Copilot and ChatGPT can write code just as good as they can. That should tell them to level up their skills, because if whatever they do can just get automated away by a glorified auto-complete they weren't adding enough value in the first place.

Re: Lost all my content writing contracts. Feeling hopeless as an author

#20

Post by enempi » Sun, May 07, 2023, 11:35 AM UTC

ftxbro wrote: post #14

> "Everyone saying the government will pass UBI. Lol. They can't even handle providing all people with basic Healthcare or giving women a few guaranteed weeks off work (at a bare minimum) after exploding a baby out of their body. They didn't even pass a law to ensure that shelves were restocked with baby formula when there was a shortage. They just let babies die. They don't care. But you think they will pass a UBI l…

I mean, as someone who had a newborn during that time it was pretty stressful and upsetting trying to feed them. But I can understand if you have been completely insulated from these issues in your life why you might take more issue with the authors tone.