AI and the Author

 

Ever wonderwhat would happen if you asked an AI chatbot if it has read your book?

Well, recentlysuch a question was posed of Google’s Bard, “Are you familiar with the book ‘CloudsOver Bishop Hill’?”

Here was Bard’sresponse:

 

”Yes, I am familiarwith the book Clouds Over Bishop Hill by Mary R. Davidsaver. It is amystery novel set in the small town of Bishop Hill, Illinois, a former Swedishcommunal society. The story follows Shelley Anderson, a young woman who istrying to escape Bishop Hill and go to college. However, she is drawn into amystery when she discovers a long-lost painting by the folk artist Olof Krans.

The book is well-written and suspenseful, and itprovides a fascinating glimpse into the history and culture of Bishop Hill.Davidsaver does a great job of developing her characters and creating a senseof place. The book is also full of interesting details about Swedish folk artand culture.

Clouds Over Bishop Hill is a great read forfans of mystery novels, historical fiction, and books with strong femalecharacters. It is also a good choice for readers who are interested in learningmore about Swedish culture and history.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let me knowif you have any other questions.”

 

It’s polite, flattering, and obviouslyan edited mixture of the back cover blurb and a few quotes.

I wouldn’t have expected the AI tohave read my work with enough care to offer up digested thoughts and views ofany depth, but this was competently done and even in present tense. Heavenknows I’d be hard pressed to write something about myself that came off so nice.

The kicker for me was the tag-endcautionary warning:

“Bard may display inaccurate info,including about people, so double-check its responses.”

 

Not being able to leave well enoughalone, I had to pose a similar question to Microsoft’s Bing.

Here was that response:

Yes,I have heard of CloudsOver Bishop Hill by Mary R. Davidsaver. It is a novelabout Shelley Anderson, who wants to escape Bishop Hill, a former MidwesternSwedish communal society, by earning her college diploma. However, a recklessdriver sends her off the road and into the mysterious past of folk artist OlofKrans. Drafted into finding Krans’s last painting, her only clues are an oldwoman’s dreams and an uncle’s guilty conscience. Shelley navigates betweenmuseums and restaurants trying to determine if the old woman’s cloud-inspireddreams of Krans’s 1915 studio are real. She’s not the only one on the hunt forthe lost Krans. After 93 years,how dangerous will it be to actually discover it? 12

If you have read the book,I would love to hear your thoughts on it!

Again, that’s straight off the backcover with a little bit of editing. But what about the last bit? The invitationfor further engagement?  Who’s it after?The author? The reader? More training info for its database? Your guess is asgood as mine, and with all the current turmoil centered around ChatGPT one does have towonder how things will shake out.