I'll Take the Misspellings, Thank You Very Much

 By Shari Randall

The advertisement was meant to fill viewers with warm fuzzy feelings, but instead it made my blood boil.

 

If you’re watching the Olympics, I’m sure you’ve seen this ad. A cute little girl wants to write a fan letter to her idol, a track and field star. Her dad decides to use AI (I won’t name the actual company or program but it’s in the image) to write the fan letter.

Yes, our tech overlords think you should have your child use their AI product to write a fan letter to their idol. AI can take out all the pesky misspellings and grammatical mistakes that let you know a letter was written by small human, all those childish errors that tell you the message is straight from the heart. It boggles the mind that this advertiser doesn’t understand that it’s those mistakes that make the letters charming and precious, but it confirms my belief that most tech is created by people who do not spend much time around children. Most parents could predict that this ad would blow up, and not in a good way.

 

Here’s a real-life letter from my great niece, and let me tell you, every time I see “Ont Shary” instead of “Aunt Shari” my heart melts.

Back to this bone-headed ad. My dismay is compounded by a memory of a teacher telling us that “writing is thinking on paper.” So this ad basically says let this machine think for you. Not heartwarming, but chilling.

Many journalists and bloggers have flayed this ad, but a detail that some have missed is that it’s a parent asking AI to formulate the letter. (I have a hard time using the word “write.”) You can see the market for this product — the helicopter parents who worry about their child getting into a “good” school will have AI complete those pesky assignments so their kid can be assured an A. The kids won’t have to lift a finger, read anything, or most importantly, actually learn anything. With this product, children can sail through school with all A’s and learn nothing.

I know there are programs that can identify papers written by AI, but it’s an arms race and those with resources will always be able to stay a step ahead. Perhaps being less tech-savvy and poor will be an advantage. Perhaps those students will be forced to study, write their own papers, and actually learn something.

 

Yes, I sound like a scold, but I’m tired and I’m still mad because this tech behemoth used my first book without my permission to “train” their monster. Billions were spent developing this product, hours of work by the best-educated minds on the planet wasted on this instead of solving world hunger, poverty, illiteracy, or any of the myriad problems humanity faces.

It's funny, but as I was dictating this to my phone, the program refused to type the word  “learn” — ha ha, that AI knows what it’s about.

Before you get the wrong idea, I’m no Luddite. I have no trouble with machines telling me which ingredients to buy for a recipe or making my shopping list. But scientists have warned that a small section of the human brain that helps us with directions has shrunk because we are so reliant on GPS mapping. We know an increasing number of car crashes can be attributed to people mindlessly following the directions of their GPS and not the reality around them. AI is a crutch that can make us stumble to our knees.

 

UPDATE: The ad was pulled after blowback from viewers. The advertisement may have made me see red, but I’m glad it aired. Now we know what the tech companies are up to.

 

What’s your take on AI? 

Shari Randall writes the Ice Cream Shop Mystery series under her pen name, Meri Allen.

 

Amazon, Authors, and Asymmetric Information

By James M. Jackson

Asymmetric information occurs any time two parties to a transaction have different levels of knowledge about a situation.

Sometimes that’s a very good thing: When I go to the doctor with bothersome symptoms, I expect her to know a lot more than I do about diagnosing the problem and how to treat the underlying issue.

Sometimes it is not a good thing: for example, when you buy a used car from a stranger, the seller knows much more about the car than the buyer does. The seller knows whether the car had all its routine maintenance, whether the son red-lined the engine drag racing with friends, whether it sat for a week in a flooded garage. Unless you are a mechanic, or hire one to inspect the car, you will suffer from asymmetric information.

Let’s Focus on a self-published author’s relationship with Amazon when using KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).

What does Amazon provide to self-published authors who use KDP (Amazon’s publishing platform)?

You know your royalty rate depending on choices you make about pricing your book and what markets you want Amazon to sell into. There are no hidden costs.

They provide information about your sales—it’s not always 100% accurate, but it’s reliable, and it’s current (at least reasonably so) to within a day.

If you enroll your books in Kindle Unlimited, you can determine the number of pages members read, again daily, with good accuracy.

Amazon provides these data sooner than what an author receives from traditional publishers.

Where does Amazon use its Asymmetric Information to its advantage?

Book Rankings: No one knows exactly how Amazon determines book rank. Sales have something to do with it: we’re sure of that. But sales over what period? What effect does sales momentum have? Sales memory (past sales)? Pages read by members enrolled in Kindle Unlimited also count toward a book’s ranking, but we don’t know how. Does your book share a level playing field with big publishers? How about with Amazon’s own imprints? (i.e. How level is the playing field level?)

One example of a non-level playing field is this: If you give your book away, Amazon assigns a separate ranking for free books. However, free downloads of Amazon Imprint books included in their “First Reads” promotion count the same as sales and are not segregated into a separate class, meaning these books can (and do) obtain the coveted #1 status in their categories.

Search Results: When you search for a book on Amazon, how does Amazon determine which books to show? Do they favor Amazon imprints? To what extent do they favor those who advertise? Do they look to maximize possible Amazon profit on a book sale?

For example, does Amazon use an algorithm that calculates their revenue for a book purchase, multiplied times the probability someone will purchase the book after seeing an ad + the profit earned from the ad itself?

Amazon does “manipulate” results to reflect its interests: recently some authors have entered their book’s name in Amazon’s search box and discovered the first page of results did not include any of their books. Most people don’t click past the first page, which means when that happens the affected author’s books become nearly invisible, even to people who specifically searched for the author.

Amazon tells authors to choose seven useful keywords to categorize their books to help readers find them when they search. Yet only Amazon knows how they use this information and what they combine it with when they deliver search results.

Amazon usually shows “Also Boughts” relative to each book. How are these determined? Is it a level playing field (i.e. do Amazon imprints get included more often as also boughts that other books?) Do books with ads automatically get different treatment?

When authors advertise on Amazon, the asymmetry becomes worse.

Only Amazon knows how it determines how much to charge for a click.

Only Amazon knows how it determines which ads it presents and where.

Amazon knows exactly who clicked on your book’s link—you don’t.

Similarly, Amazon knows which book everyone bought—you have no idea who buys your books.

What’s an author to do?

Knowledge and boycott are the primary tactics to counter asymmetric information. If you choose to self-publish, Amazon is too big a marketplace to boycott, leaving knowledge as your only choice. Knowledge takes two forms: First one should understand where asymmetric information exits (and hopefully this blog helped). Then, to the extent possible, learn strategies to counterbalance Amazon’s advantages.

It’s not just authors . . . readers, too!

Amazon’s asymmetric information advantage also affects us as readers. It knows what we read (if we use a Kindle or Kindle App, it even knows when we read). It knows what books you’ve searched for, what ads you click on, and which ad placements attract your attention.

Not that I want you to become paranoid about asymmetric information, but based on your purchases, Amazon might even know if you are naughty or nice–oh wait, that’s Santa Claus—and besides, you already know that about yourself.

Chainsaw Jim signing off

And now it's time to say goodbye to all our family . . .

No, not the Mickey Mouse club . . . This is my final post for Writers Who Kill for the foreseeable future. I've loved being here, but focusing my writing efforts on new projects means I must give something up. However, my alternate Sunday slot will be more than ably filled by Kaye George who I have been friends with for more than a decade. I'm sure you'll be well served.

If you want to stay in touch and see what I'm up to, you can sign up for my newsletter and/or find more information about me and my books at https://jamesmjackson.com/index.html.

Clothed in Imagination

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. ~ Mark Twain

If clothes make the (wo)man, does that mean that what you wear is a visible representation of your life, your story? Last year I paged through a J. Peterman catalog (they call it an Owner’s Manual) for the first time and saw that each item of clothing had a mini-story associated with it. Perhaps to add an additional layer of fantasy, most of the items are illustrated instead of photographed. I understand that they use this long copy technique to sell clothes, but honestly it made me look at my wardrobe and wonder what tales my clothes are telling.

Here are some sample stories from the catalog for your reading pleasure:

Trouble.

               An indiscretion here, some questionable assets there, and next thing you know a little ad in the back of that fashion magazine catches your eye:

               “Legally obtain a second passport…become a Perpetual Traveler, avoid taxes, governments and hassles.”

               You could head for Luxembourg or Turks and Caicos, but I suggest Quito, Ecuador. You can’t beat the year-round climate or the expat bars, and the dollars to sucres exchange rate is still favorable.

               In preparation for departure, I suggest you pack this soft cotton corset and matching skirt, with its blossoming skirt panels with pintucks.

               I can see you now, the soul of innocence, sitting in a café on the Avenida Amazonas, sipping a Trago spiced with cinnamon and reading about your mysterious disappearance in the International Herald Tribune.

Italian Colors of Vernazza.

 

Are intoxicating, like this dress, like Maya.

We first met as she sauntered across the cobblestone wearing it (I would later describe it to her as mosey, but she said that was too American).

It’s when I discovered I had synesthesia. Frank Lloyd Wright claimed to hear music when he designed buildings; Nabokov saw the letter o as an “ivory-backed hand mirror.”

Me?

Upon seeing Maya mosey (sorry) in her cheery linen dress, I heard an ebullient tambourine and smelled freshly cut nasturtiums. When she got close, with the soft linen clinging and contrast trim hitting her tanned legs, I had the sensation of tasting the most exquisite carambola.

Interesting, I know. N.B. Wine is not an antidote for synesthesia.

“My will to win.”

It was almost a confession, really.

He buttoned his slicker, his hands still shaking from being underwater for three minutes. Hair still smeared in sand. Skinned forehead still bleeding in a way you can only do pinned on the soft sea floor 30 feet down, 100 yards out.

I’d of course heard that statement before—haven’t we all? But this was different. It wasn’t a claim, a boast, nothing artificial like those words usually come wrapped in. It was a personal weight. Not quite a burden because he loved it. But something deep he carried with him that often tortured him, like his father’s expectations.

Salty ocean air can be an elixir (and breezy).

Apparently, you can also tell your story using jewelry. For instance, some jewelry companies like Origami Owl sell clear lockets in which the wearer can display meaningful charms that capture her story.

But who has time to shop for the perfect shirt or accessory when there are so many stories to tell? Or, am I too absorbed in my characters’ lives and fail to tell my own story?

As an aside, I don’t completely agree with Mark Twain. For instance, Lady Godiva is still remembered for riding naked through the streets in the 11^th century to protest a tax imposed by her husband. Today, she has delightful chocolates named in her honor.

Do you wear your story? Or, do you throw on whatever is handy and spend your time telling your characters’ story?