Wikipedia bans AI-generated content in its online encyclopedia -TheGuardian

I didn't know it was an issue.

Panzer's next stop in the Catosphere was at The Guardian site. With a tiny bit of digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found one about Wikipedia.

 

According to the post by Oliver Milman, Wikipedia has banned AI material from the site. Included in the post are links to other information.

 

Panzer  says, "When you go to the site, that's not a pay wall you see first. Click the down arrow on the right to read the post."

 

Note: This is a short medium length post. Bring a cup of tea to drink.

 

To read the post tootle over to Wikipedia Bans AI 

Authors dumped from New Zealand's top book prize after AI used in cover designs - The Guardian

Amazon lets you do AI audiobooks and translations.

Today's trip in the Catosphere took Panzer to The Guardian site. There with no digging at all in the posts he found one about AI use.

 

According to Eva Corlett's post, two books were removed from the Ockham Book Awards competition. The books' cover designs were generated using AI and the competition had instituted a no AI rule in August. The post includes links to other articles about AI.

 

Panzer says, "It will be interesting to see what the creating, writing, publishing world looks like in four or five years. AI isn't going away." 

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and three chocolate chip cookies (biscuits). If you plan to follow the links in the post, you'll need to decide what to bring to snack on.

 

To read the post tootle over to AI and Cover Designs

AI translation service launched for fiction writers and publishers prompts dismay among translators - The Guardian

$100 a book?

On today's trip into the Catosphere Panzer stopped in at The Guardian. There our intrepid traveler discovered a post about AI translators.

 

 According to a post by Ella Creamer an AI translation company has opened in the UK.Writers and publishers can have their fiction books translated by the company GlobeScribe for $100 per book per language.

 

Panzer says, "Who checks the translations to make sure they're correct?"

 

Note: This is a long post.  You'll need to decide what you want to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to AI Translation Service 

'AI doesn't know what an organism sounds like': audiobook actors grapple with rise of robot narrators - The Guardian

Now I'm finished for the day.

Panzer found an interesting post about AI narrators at The Guardian site.

 

The post by Elsie Lange concentrates on Australian audiobook actors/narrators and the impact AI narrators will have on them.

 

Panzer says, "It makes sense that there are some emotions an AI narrator wouldn't know how to portray in an audiobook."

 

Note: Because of all the photos and quotes, this is a very long post. You might want to consider bringing your lunch instead of a snack for while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to AI Robot Narrators 

'Reading is part of my identity':the woman taking on the Goodreads owner Amazon - The Guardian

Ready to leave Goodreads?

When Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, he decided to stop at The Guardian site.  There with just a little digging he found a post about The StoryGraph platform.

 

David Barnett's post is an in-depth look at the StoryGraph platform from it's inception to today. Most of the post is told through quotes from founder Nadia Odunayo.

 

Panzer says, "The Guardian does not have a paywall when you log on to read. If the ad comes on when you arrive, click the 'X' to continue reading." 

Note: This is a very long post. You'll need to decide what to bring to snack on while you read.

 

To read the post tootle over to The StoryGraph

Listen up! Why 2024 was the year of the audiobook - The Guardian

Can you tell I like audiobooks?

Today, Panzer's trip in the Catosphere took him to The Guardian site. There he discovered a post about audiobooks.

The post by Ellen Peirson-Hagger explains about audiobooks increase in sales and acceptance in 2024. There's also references to Spotify and Audible's audiobook competition and the entrance of AI into the audiobook market.

 

Panzer says, "If you visit here on Friday and Saturday, you must like romance and cozy mystery audiobooks."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to snack on while you read.

To read the post tootle over to audiobooks

Hugo awards organizers reveal thousands spent on fraudulent votes to help one writer win - The Guardian*

It's good the Hugo awards caught them.

Today, Panzer made a quick trip to The Guardian site. There he found a post about the Hugo awards.

 

According to the post by Sian Cain, the Hugo awards has announced an investigation found hundreds of votes were paid for with thousands of dollars to try and determine the winner at the Hugo awards. There's no names in the post.

Panzer says, "This is very, very bad."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Hugo Awards Fraudulent Votes

 

 

*With a tip of Panzer's kitty fedora to Kevin's Corner for the original news link

AI heats up as OpenAI, Google and Mistral release new models - The Guardian

No more interruptions. It's nap time.

Panzer didn't make it home from his trip to Publishers Weekly before another storm of clapping and cheering got him on a new adventure quest. This time he found himself led to The Guardian site. With no digging in the posts at all he found one about AI (Artificial Intelligence) was the cause of all the jubilation.

Alex Hern says in his post that during a twelve hour period OpenAI announced GPT-4 Turbo's release, Google announced Gemini Pro 1.5's release and Mistral announced Mixtral 8x22B's release. The post goes in,to more details about the releases and reactions to them. It's a long-medium length post, so there's a lot more information.

Panzer says, "Inquiring kitty minds want to know: If all three of them were in a chess match, who do you think would win?"

 

Note: When you get to The Guardian site, the popup ad isn't a paywall. It's asking for a donation to keep the site open. If you don't want to do a donation, click the "X" on the right hand side to disable the wall.

 

 To read the post tootle over to OpenAI Google and Mistral

'Impossible' to creatAi tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material, Open AI says - The Guardian

Do humans think about what they say before they say it?

Today, Panzer made a trip to The Guardian site. There with a little digging in the posts, our intrepid kitty hunter found one about OpenAI and ChatGPT.

According to Dan Milmo's post, OpenAI is claiming that without the ability to "train" it's chatbot using copyrighted material without the copyright holders permission, the bot wouldn't be as smart or functional as it is now or in the future.

 

Panzer says, "It's an interesting argument: If I can't use people's work without their permission or knowledge, then my machine won't work right. That means, instead of me asking for permission to use the copyrighted material, you need to let me train my machine its okay to steal. Right?"

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and two cookies (biscuits) for today's snack while you read.

To read the post tootle over to AI ChatGPT

Shortlist announced for Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize - The Guardian

 When Panzer was sweeping the floor in the Panzermobile he found a folded up post under the carpet. Smoothing it out our fastidious kitty boy discovered it was a post from The Guardian site about Waterstones.

 

Another debut book prize?

According to Sarah Shaffi's post, Waterstones announced six finalists for their debut fiction prize. The books cover a wide range of genres, locations and times. Waterstones booksellers select the books to be considered for the prize. The post includes a synopsis of each book's plot and has author quotes.

 

Panzer says, "They look like interesting books."

 

Note: This is a very long post. Bring a big glass of iced tea, a sugar cookie (biscuit) and a brownie for this reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Waterstones Debut Fiction

George R.R. Martin signs five-year, eight-figure deal for more HBO projects - The Guardian

 Today as soon as Panzer entered the Catosphere he heard clapping and cheering outside the Panzermobile. Following all the jocularity took our adventuresome kitty boy to The Guardian site. There he discovered a post about Game of Throne author George R.R. Martin was causing all the hullabaloo.

 

Five years? How old is he now?

According to the post by Sian Cain, George R.R. Martin has signed a contract to work on a Game of Thrones prequel called House of the Dragon. The new project is planned to be shown in 2022. The post has several links, including one to the original one announcing the project. A couple of days ago Panzer told you about the plans for more Game of Thrones connected projects.

 

Panzer says, "Yay! I knew it! More Dragons!"

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring a thermos of tea, a thermos of cocoa, ten muffins, six cupcakes, four chocolate chip cookies (biscuits), and a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle.

 

To read the post tootle over to George R.R. Martin

Fiction prize renamed in honour of Margaret Atwood and late partner Graeme Gibson - The Guardian

 Panzer made a stop at The Guardian site today. With a little digging in the posts he found one about the renaming of the Writers Trust of Canada fiction prize.

 

Laughed so hard I fell off the desk.

According to Alison Flood's post, the Writers Trust of Canada has changed the name of their fiction prize to the Atwood Gibson prize. Margaret Atwood shares some funny stories in the post about early fund-raising activities for the Writers Trust.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty didn't know they were two of the original founders of the Writers Trust of Canada."

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

 

To read the post tootle over to Atwood-Gibson Prize

Amazon Sued Over Its Dominance of the eBook Market (Finally) - The Digital Reader

Today, Panzer decided to make a stop at The Digital Reader site. With a little digging in the posts he found one about Amazon being sued.

 

It will be interesting.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Amazon is being sued for causing the inflation of ebook prices. The lawsuit says Amazon did this by signing contracts with the five large book publishers. The post includes links to the press release about the lawsuit, a copy of the lawsuit and an article explaining the lawsuit at The Guardian site.

 

Panzer says, "You'll want to follow the link to The Guardian site to get the most understandable information."

 

Note: This is a long-short length post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all the links, bring three more cups of tea and three muffins.

 

To read the post tootle over to Amazon sued

Campaign to buy JRR Tolkien's house backed by Lord of the Rings actors - The Guardian

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Guardian site. With no digging at all our intrepid traveling kitty found a post about J.R.R. Tolkien.

It looks important to me.

According to The Guardian's post by Alison Flood, the Project Northmoor wants to raise the money to buy the house where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings. The house would be turned into a museum. To accomplish this, the Project Northmoor charity has started a crowdfunding campaign. Lord of the Rings actors Sir Ian Mckellen, John Rhys-Davis and Martin Freeman are helping promote the fundraising campaign. The post has a link to the Project Northmoor site. The Project Northmoor site has all kinds of information about the fundraising and what the money will be used for. You can read about the gifts you will get by donating at the different levels. You can also donate from there.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty can give up his kitty treats for a day to donate at The Hobbit level. How about you?"

 

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to Project Northmoor, also bring a thermos of tea and twelve muffins. (There are also links there too.)

To read the post tootle over to J.R.R. Tolkien's house

Facebook threatens to block Australians from sharing news in battle over landmark media law - The Guardian

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and shouting coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the hullabaloo took our adventuresome kitty boy to The Guardian site. With a little digging in the posts there he found one about Facebook in Australia.

 Can't you read it at other places?

According to the post by Amanda Meade, Facebook is in a disagreement with the Australian government. There is a proposal under consideration to charge digital platforms that carry news. If Australia passes a new law forcing Facebook to pay for news content posted to the platform, the company will be forced to ban Australians from posting news content. Australian government officials say they won't be bullied by Facebook and are continuing to work on the proposed new law. Facebook says they already have a program to pay news sources. The post contains several links to information about the new proposed law, including a link to Facebook's post about their response to Australia's proposed law.

Panzer says, "When you follow the link below to the post at The Guardian site, you might be asked to register to read it. It's free to signup."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring tea, cocoa, water, muffins, cookies (biscuits), your breakfast, and your lunch to read it. If you plan to follow the links, bring a sleeping bag and your dinner.

To read the post tootle over to Facebook

An author bought his own book to get on bestseller lists. Is that fair? - The Guardian

Today as Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile, he discovered a post under the floor mat on the passenger side. Flattening it out, our fastidious kitty discovered it was a post from The Guardian site about British author Mark Dawson.

According to the post by David Barnett, author Mark Dawson recently made the Sunday Times bestseller list in the UK. Mark Dawson explained how he managed this feat in his Self Publishing Show podcast. When he saw his sales numbers weren't high enough to get his new book into the top 10 at the Sunday Times, he devised a plan. He sent out an email to his U.S. readers asking if they would be interested in buying copies of his book directly from him. When he had 400 people interested, he bought 400 copies of his book. That added enough book sales to the already generated sales to put his book on the bestseller list at number 8. That's how his book became a bestseller. Apparently, in the UK there's no rule against an author buying his or her own book. Several links are included in the post, including one to the author's podcast.

With enough money you can buy anything.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... He was so proud of what he did, he made a podcast about it. Now other authors in the UK can do it to."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links, bring another cup of tea and another muffin. (Don't tell anybody if you listen to his podcast and then do what he did.)

To read the post tootle over to bestseller lists

Bill Clinton writing a second thriller with James Patterson - The Guardian

Today, Panzer decided to make a quick stop at The Guardian site. With no digging in the posts at all our inquisitive kitty found one about Bill Clinton and James Paterson's newest novel writing enterprise.

Hmm ... A U.S. President for your co-author.

According to Alison Flood's post, former U.S. President Bill Clinton is writing a second novel with James Patterson. This novel is titled The President's Daughter. Their first novel together, The President is Missing, is being made into a television movie by Showtime.

Panzer says, "Who better to write novels about presidents than a former president?"

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Bill Clinton and James Patterson

Missouri could jail librarians for lending 'age-appropriate' books - The Guardian

Today as Panzer was napping, he was tossed from his bed by yelling and booing coming from the Catosphere. Our poor discombobulated kitty boy could hardly stand on the shaking floor. Staggering into the Panzermobile, Panzer attempted to find the source of all the noise. He discovered it was coming from two places.  One was a post from The Guardian site and the second was a post from the BookRiot site. Both posts were about the attempt by the state of Missouri to pass what many see as a book banning law.

I don't like puppy books. Let's ban them.

According to The Guardian's post by Alison Flood, the Missouri House Bill No 2044 would allow a panel of Missouri parents to determine what books a library could allow children to check out. If a librarian doesn't obey the panel's orders, the librarian is subject to a fine or time in jail. Every library in Missouri would be required to have a panel, but not have any say in the panel's work.

The BookRiot post by Kelly Jensen, delves into the de-funding of libraries who don't comply with the proposed law. The post also quotes extensively from the proposed law. While the proposal does speak to material of a sexual nature, it could be applied to any book the special panel deems unacceptable for children. In this way any book could be banned by the panel.

Panzer says, "Umm ... A human is a child until they are 18 years old. ... So ... The panel decides what they can  read until then?"

Note: Each of these posts is medium length. Bring two cups of warm cocoa and two muffins for today's reading selections.

To read The Guardian post tootle over to Missouri
To read the BookRiot post tootle over to Missouri public libraries

Amazon Breaks Embargo of 'TheTestament' - Various Sources

Panzer was eating his lunch when his food bowl began shaking from all the screaming and shouting coming from the Catosphere. Getting into the Panzermobile, he discovered the noise was coming from different directions. Our busy kitty visited the Publishers Weekly site and The Guardian site and discovered both have posts about Amazon and The Testament embargo. Panzer told you yesterday about Amazon breaking the embargo on Margaret Atwood's new book.

According to the Publishers Weekly post by Claire Kirch, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) has been trying to convince the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Amazon for violating antitrust laws. The ABA now wants to use Amazon's shipment of Margaret Atwood's new novel before the embargo conclusion as new fuel in that argument.

It was an accident.

According to The Guardian's post by Alison Flood, Amazon shipped 800 pre-ordered copies of the novel to buyers by accident. The post includes a quote from Amazon which says "a technical error" caused the books to be shipped early. A quote from Atwood's publisher Penguin Random House says the error "has now been rectified."

Panzer says, "Looks like this kerfuffle* will be around for a while."

Note: These are large posts. Panzer hopes you still have that RV you borrowed for yesterday's posts, because you'll need it and its cooking and sleeping facilities for today's reading selections.

To read the Publishers Weekly post tootle over to ABA
To read The Guardian post tootle over to Amazon
To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to Booksellers

* Yes, it's a word. Google it. Tee hee hee

George R.R. Martin: the end fo Game of Thrones on TV was a liberation - The Guardian

A little hint would be appreciated.

Today Panzer decided to make a stop at The Guardian site. With a little digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty found one about George R.R. Martin.

According to the post by Sarah Hughes and Nosheen Iqba, now that the TV series Game of Thrones is finished George R.R. Martin is able to return to work on the fantasy novels the series was based on. Since he's 70 years old, there's been some speculation he may not be able to finish the remaining two novels. Although a lot of fans didn't like the end of the series, Mr. Martin said that will have no impact on how he writes the end of his books. The post is a condensed version of a much longer interview with the author. There's a link included in the post to the full interview.

Panzer says, "This little kitty does wonder if the end of the book series will be the same as the TV series."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to the full interview, bring a gallon of tea and one dozen muffins.

To read the post tootle over to George R.R. Martin