Advice appreciated on how to deal with editor's allegation of AI use

[EmilyMiller]

The thing is, I know that it's not my fault, but the thought is still there. Part of the issue is that every part of my story bar one has been flagged at least once either upon initial submission, or it was taken down at a later date with AI note attached to it. After a while, it does start to feel personal even though I know it can't be true.

I don't know if I can go through the waiting process again. It'll be 2 months since I first tried to submit this part in four days time and I just don't know if it'll be worth sitting through even more waiting time for what could end up being my 7th rejection

I am 100% certain it’s not personal

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

I think I was frustrated in earlier messages, but I didn’t realize that one person was reviewing 100-150 stories each day, 365 days per year. I assumed it was a team and didn’t realize that the site owner was so overwhelmed.

This is a critical part of the picture. And the poor woman is already traumatized by having to read my endless tales of horny space octopuses and slutty ex-angles.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

General question: why does a white list work? Is anything preventing an existing author using AI?

Emily

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

@Portly_Penguin if I were you, I’d take my toys and go home, request my stories be deleted and perhaps come back with a different profile. Just saying, but you do you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This is a critical part of the picture. And the poor woman is already traumatized by having to read my endless tales of horny space octopuses and slutty ex-angles.

Emily

EB looked closely at Emily's message. Geometry sex now?

This doesn't help anyone with getting past the AI checker, but spelling can change meanings, so every little bit helps. You got that dictionary yet, Em?

 

[DrPope]

General question: why does a white list work? Is anything preventing an existing author using AI?

I think it simply facilitates giving the benefit of the doubt to existing authors and reduces the workload to allow an actual real (as opposed to relying on Sapling) view on AI from new Authors to form.
I mean seriously anyone with half a brain not relying on a AI tool can tell Penguin's style from his previous stories .... it's a no brainer to approve anything he writes really. Likewise if the Space Octopussies are fucking ...it's probably safe to say that your fine too .....

The white list respects existing Authors and reduces the workload for new submissions massively and avoids the main problem which is the bot farms and if a couple of existing authors want to flirt with a bit of Grammerly or Word or such then that is their business

 

[EmilyMiller]

EB looked closely at Emily's message. Geometry sex now?

This doesn't help anyone with getting past the AI checker, but spelling can change meanings, so every little bit helps. You got that dictionary yet, Em?

How do you spell that, d-I-c-k-s-h-u- then what?

Autocorrect either capitalizes Angel or changes it to angle. Bane of my life.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

I think it simply facilitates giving the benefit of the doubt to existing authors and reduces the workload to allow an actual real (as opposed to relying on Sapling) view on AI from new Authors to form.
I mean seriously anyone with half a brain not relying on a AI tool can tell Penguin's style from his previous stories .... it's a no brainer to approve anything he writes really. Likewise if the Space Octopussies are fucking ...it's probably safe to say that your fine too .....

The white list respects existing Authors and reduces the workload for new submissions massively and avoids the main problem which is the bot farms

I don’t really see what is to prevent an author suddenly employing AI.

I think what they have is a black list. Once there is a problem, you get extra scrutiny.

Emily

 

[ElectricBlue]

so it's safe to say that only new and not established authors need to be checked closely ...but nope lets burn the whole place down in a witch hunt.

There have been several reports of established authors being hit with AI rejections, so that's not the case.

At the same time, old and new authors are getting content published daily, so content is getting through. That's no solace to the guys getting knocked back - but something in the "pass" content must be different. Damned if I know what it is, though.

 

[ElectricBlue]

How do you spell that, d-I-c-k-s-h-u- then what?

Autocorrect either capitalizes Angel or changes it to angle. Bane of my life.

Emily

Autocireect is what my Kindle just gave me, so yep, that's two banes, and neither one of them Tom Hardy.

We need a new moral compass, now that you've got geometry.

 

[DrPope]

I don’t really see what is to prevent an author suddenly employing AI.

Nothing but at what point to you want to hurt your existing authors? At this point the harm already outweighs the benefit massively ...if Grammerly re-writes a few sentences for a exsiting author who gives a fuck?

Most write the same stuff for years or even decades ....

 

[DrPope]

here have been several reports of established authors being hit with AI rejections, so that's not the case.

These AI rejections are manifestly false positives in nearly all cases presented here ...so it IS the case
Just because Sapling says its AI doesn't mean it's AI ....

 

[DrPope]

I think what they have is a black list. Once there is a problem, you get extra scrutiny.

The problem exists with Sapling not the authors .... it gives false positives

 

[EmilyMiller]

Nothing but at what point to you want to hurt your existing authors? At this point the harm already outweighs the benefit massively ...if Grammerly re-writes a few sentences for a exsiting author who gives a fuck?

Most write the same stuff for years or even decades ....

That’s for Laurel to decide and she clearly does give a fuck.

Emily

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm really attempting not to get my ass in trouble with either side on this issue. Meaning none of my fellow writers and not with Laurel. I don't know what the solution is going to be. Or if a solution is possible. The better AI gets, the more difficult to spot it will become. The AI could write parts of stories, and with human editing, it might pass, and someday, should fiction AI get good rather than not so good, how do any of us tell what is AI and what isn't?

What is a false positive based one, grammar, overly complicated sentence structure, simplistic sentences?

All of the Above, none of the above?

I put a story in the queue on the 14th, but it's still pending. As I stated, I found some errors, removed them, and put the story back. So it had been there for a day before that but hadn't been reviewed yet. This is longer than usual for me.

 

[EmilyMiller]

The problem exists with Sapling not the authors .... it gives false positives

You keep making definitive statements, and I’m not sure what this is based on.

I’m only here trying to help. Clearly I’m not, so good luck with it all.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

This is where I'm sitting. It really doesn't feel like there is a definitive solution to a problem that will no doubt only get worse as time goes on and at this point, everyone is just trying their best to deal with what they have at their disposal. Does it suck? Wholeheartedly, but it might be the only solution to a potentially unsolvable problem.

Being caught in the crossfire isn't fun, but I suppose it's miles better than the alternative and, to be honest, if I have to suffer so that human work gets through rather than AI work, so be it.

That’s a laudable and mature sentiment. I
Always liked penguins!

Emily

 

[ElectricBlue]

The problem exists with Sapling not the authors .... it gives false positives

Where does the mention of Sapling come from? Has Laurel said that's what she's using?

 

[ElectricBlue]

These AI rejections are manifestly false positives in nearly all cases presented here ...so it IS the case
Just because Sapling says its AI doesn't mean it's AI ....

You said that established authors weren't getting rejections, that AI screening was only being applied to new authors. I said that established authors were also getting rejections.

I then asked about Sapling, because, so far as I'm aware, you're the first person to suggest that that's the screening tool being used by Lit. Where's the evidence that it is being used?

 

[DrPope]

You said that established authors weren't getting rejections, that AI screening was only being applied to new authors. I said that established authors were also getting rejections.

I never said any of that I said in fact the complete opposite

The evidence Sapling is being used by Lit is contained in the detective work done that you can find in this and other AI threads ...if the shoe fits

Basically until a public statement is made otherwise its Sapling

 

[OverconfidentSarcasm]

The evidence Sapling is being used by Lit is contained in the detective work done that you can find in this and other AI threads ...if the shoe fits

"I think it's sapling because it flags all of my stories as AI, just like Lit," is hardly something I'd call detective work. Much less "evidence".

 

[NuclearGorilla]

Detection will get better.

AI will get better.

They will battle it out like Lucifer and Michael. It’s entirely possible that AI gets so good that it’s indistinguishable from human-generated content, and we will enjoy and fear these stories in equal measures. But truth seekers will still seek truth, and thus shall we seek out the caves once again, to whisper BDSM octopus stories into our friends’ ears, delighting in how they giggle in the flickering firelight of a dozen burning copies of Harry Potter and the AI-bacadabra.

 

[EmilysRopes]

Again I'm probably missing some obvious point but what would a 'bot farm' gain from submitting multiple stories to Literotica? There seems to be no financial benefit, which I thought was the point of such undertakings.

For human authors to get a lot of help from AI for Literotica submissions seems to have limited upsides and the crowding out of existing authors would be a pity, so I can understand the point of investigation.

As a Literotica reader, which I am more than an author, I'm interested in good stories and good writers. At the moment I believe they are all human, should I worry as a reader if AI stories start to meet my criteria?

N.B. I realise in professional circumstances it is entirely different and people may be deprived of a living.

 

[EmilyMiller]

There is a lot of supposition and statements that things are true without any supporting evidence on this thread. There is also a lot of emotion. That’s all understandable as I get how much it must hurt to be caught up in this loop.

Having spoken to Laurel (@Portly_Penguin can attest to this) there is absolutely no intent to upset authors. I am absolutely not an official Literotica spokesperson, but I can state the following:

1. AI submissions are a big problem for the site. There are a lot of them.
2. The only person who reviews submissions is Laurel - there is not a team of people doing this, just one overworked woman
3. The AI detection tools are far from perfect, but the site has embraced the principle of zero tolerance for AI. This is to protect authors as much as anything
4. This will inevitably lead to false positives - and the sheer volume of AI submissions has slowed the process
5. Literotica wants to publish your stories, but wants to ensure that they are free of AI. This is for the good of the whole community
6. There has sometimes (and I’m not suggesting anyone on this thread is guilty of this) been a disconnect between what authors have initially claimed and then later admitted. This has understandably reduced the site’s faith in authors simply stating “I didn’t use AI”
7. This is a very fluid situation and - to employ an over used phrase - an unprecedented one
8. My personal view is that some calm and understanding would go a long way to improving things

Emily

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

There is a lot of supposition and statements that things are true without any supporting evidence on this thread. There is also a lot of emotion. That’s all understandable as I get how much it must hurt to be caught up in this loop.

Having spoken to Laurel (@Portly_Penguin can attest to this) there is absolutely no intent to upset authors. I am absolutely not an official Literotica spokesperson, but I can state the following:

1. AI submissions are a big problem for the site. There are a lot of them.
2. The only person who reviews submissions is Laurel - there is not a team of people doing this, just one overworked woman
3. The AI detection tools are far from perfect, but the site has embraced the principle of zero tolerance for AI. This is to protect authors as much as anything
4. This will inevitably lead to false positives - and the sheer volume of AI submissions has slowed the process
5. Literotica wants to publish your stories, but wants to ensure that they are free of AI. This is for the good of the whole community
6. There has sometimes (and I’m not suggesting anyone on this thread is guilty of this) been a disconnect between what authors have initially claimed and then later admitted. This has understandably reduced the site’s faith in authors simply stating “I didn’t use AI”
7. This is a very fluid situation and - to employ an over used phrase - an unprecedented one
8. My personal view is that some calm and understanding would go a long way to improving things

Emily

@EmilyMiller

Can you resubmit this as its own thread and perhaps we can get it pinned just as @oggbashan's comment about under 18

This comes up too frequently to not have a pi8nned response and this one is the most comprehensive I've seen.