Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱1d ago

Dystopia Status Level: ADS IN BOOKS 😡

My dear readers, you can leave Amazon, I promise. Even reducing Amazon usage helps, but *especially* for books. There are alternatives.

Here's how to find them:
https://susankayequinn.com/how-to-buy-sues-books-a-guide-to-retailers

Show threadDavid Scott Moyer1d ago
@susankayequinn I am all for the alternatives, but there are no ads imbedded in amazon ebooks.
Show threadSue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱1d ago
@farbel first, you don't know that; second, they're *already* putting chatbots in the ebooks; third, Amazon has a long long LONG history of just rolling out stuff in small batch trials to see how it floats; fourth, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was AI accidentally left in the ebook by a shitty AI enthusiast author; fifth, people have OPENLY talked about ads in ebooks FOREVER; sixth, if this is none of the above, wait a minute, that will change.
Show threadDavid Scott Moyer1d ago
@susankayequinn First, I read a LOT of books on my aging kindle and have NEVER seen an ad. Second, nor have I ever seen a chatbot. Third, I don't know one single other person who has seen an ad or chatbot in an Amazon ebook. Your fourth point, I might believe, but that is not indicative of anything Amazon is doing other than allowing people to publish AI drek. Fifth, talk is talk. Sixth, everything changes, but that doesn't make your reposted meme true.
Show threadSue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱1d ago
@farbel Amazon isn't just "allowing people to publish AI drek" it pushes me to use their AI translators and AI narrators every time I log into the author portal. It's been using AI to summarize and then bury reviews written by humans. It's PUSHING AI SLOP everywhere. It is literally shoving its chatbots into everything.
Show threadDavid Scott Moyer
@susankayequinn Interesting. When I log in, it doesn't do that. I wonder why? My reviews appear to all be there in their original format. I wonder why? I see that chatbot is an option in the app, if, for some odd reason, a reader wants to ask questions about a book instead of just reading it. I have never come across it in my reading, because I don't do that.
Mar 21 at 10:39pmWeb
Show threadHannah Steenbock1d ago

@farbel

It's above the reviews of every book I look at on Amazon, a "summary" of what people love about the book. It's not labeled as "AI", but that's clearly what it is.

Below that are the usual reviews, they are not changed. But how many people actually read on beyond that summary?

I know people no longer review much on Amazon, either, they just hit the stars at the end of an ebook, and that's it.

I will never review on Amazon again, I use Bookwyrm now.

@susankayequinn