A book app used AI to ‘grill’ users. Instead it was anti-wake
Fable, a popular story social media application which describes itself as a haven for “bookworms and avid readers,” has created an AI-powered year-end summary feature that recaps the books users read in 2024. Its intention was to be playful and fun, but some of the briefs were a little different. oddly combative tone. For example, writer Danny Groves’s synopsis asked whether he was “in the mood for a straight white male perspective” after labeling him a “diversity devotee ”.
Meanwhile, book influencer Tiana Trammell’s summary ended with this advice: “Don’t forget to show up with a white author every once in a while, okay?”
Trammell was stunned, and she quickly realized she wasn’t alone after sharing her experience with Fable recaps on Threads. “I have received many messages from people with inappropriate comment summaries about “disability and sexual orientation,” she said.
Since its launch Spotify is bundledYearly summary features have become popular on the internet, providing users with lists of how many books and articles they have read, songs they have listened to, and assignments they have completed. Some companies are now using AI to produce or enhance the entire presentation of these metrics. For example, Spotify now offers one AI-generated podcasts where robots analyze your listening history and make predictions about your life based on your preferences. Fable jumped on the trend by using OpenAI’s API to generate summaries of their reading habits over the past 12 months for users, but they didn’t expect the AI model to provide meaningful commentary. the look on the face of an anti-woke expert. .
Fable later apologized on several social media channels, including Threads and Instagram, where it posted a video of an executive issuing mea culpa. “We are deeply sorry for the hurt caused by some of our Reader Briefs this week,” the company wrote in the caption. “We will do better.”
Kimberly Marsh Allee, Fable’s head of community, told WIRED that the company is making a series of changes to improve its AI briefs, including an opt-out option for those who don’t want them and the more obvious reveal shows that they are AI-created. “We have now removed the part of the model that playfully stimulates readers and instead the model just summarizes the user’s preferences about books,” she said.
For some users, adjusting the AI may not seem like a satisfactory response. Fantasy and romance writer AR Kaufer was astounded when he saw screenshots of some of the synopses on social media. “They need to say they are completely eliminating AI. And they need to issue a statement, not just about AI but also with an apology to those affected,” Kaufer said. “This ‘apology’ on Threads seems disingenuous, referring to the app as ‘playful’ as if it somehow excuses the racist/sexist quotes/ racism.” Faced with the incident, Kaufer decided to delete his Fable account.
So does Trammell. “The appropriate action would be to disable this feature and conduct rigorous internal testing, incorporating newly implemented protections to ensure, to the best of our ability, that no What other platform users could be harmed?
