Listen, I’ve seen some spectacular tech failures in my time. Hell, I’ve caused a few myself after one too many bourbon-fueled debugging sessions. But this latest clusterfuck from Fable, the “haven for bookworms and bingewatchers,” is something special. And by special, I mean the kind of special that makes you want to pour a double at 10 AM.
Here’s what happened: Some genius decided to let AI play literary critic with their year-end reading summaries. Because apparently, we’re not content letting machines just count our books anymore – now they need to judge our taste like that pretentious bartender who sneers when you order well whiskey.
The whole thing went sideways faster than my New Year’s resolution to quit smoking. Their AI started channeling your average internet comment section troll, complete with passive-aggressive jabs about diversity and reading choices. One writer got asked if he ever considered reading books by straight, cis white men – you know, those rare, endangered voices we never hear from in literature.
Another reader, Tiana Trammell, got told to “surface for the occasional white author.” Because apparently, AI has now mastered the art of backhanded literary criticism with a side of casual racism. Christ, who programmed this thing? The comment section of a YouTube video?
takes long sip from coffee mug that definitely doesn’t contain coffee
You know what’s really rich about this whole mess? Everyone’s copying Spotify’s homework like it’s finals week in college. “Oh, look at us, we’re making AI analyze your cultural consumption patterns!” Yeah, because what everyone really needs is a robot telling them their taste in books sucks.
The best part? Fable’s response was about as genuine as my attempts to quit drinking. They rolled out some corporate suit for a video apology, promising to “do better.” Sure, and I’m going to start doing morning yoga and drinking green smoothies.
Their head of community – and doesn’t that title just make you want to reach for the bottle – says they’re working on “improvements.” They’re removing the part where the AI “playfully roasts” readers. Because nothing says playful like having your reading choices critiqued by an AI that apparently trained on 4chan posts.
The real kicker? Some users aren’t buying the apology. Fantasy writer A.R. Kaufer wants them to ditch the AI completely. Can’t blame her. When your book recommendation app starts sounding like your racist uncle at Thanksgiving, it might be time to pull the plug.
Look, I get it. Everyone wants to be cutting edge. Everyone wants to slap AI on their product like it’s hot sauce at a taco truck. But maybe, just maybe, we should think twice before letting machines play literary critic. Because right now, they’ve got all the charm of a drunk heckler at a poetry reading.
Here’s a wild thought: maybe we don’t need AI to tell us what to read. Maybe we don’t need our reading habits “playfully roasted” by an algorithm that thinks cultural sensitivity is a setting you turn off for laughs. Maybe – and I’m just spitballing here through the haze of my morning bourbon – we could just read books and enjoy them without turning it into a tech circus.
But what do I know? I’m just a guy who thinks the best literary criticism still happens at 2 AM in dive bars, where at least the insults come with a human touch and the possibility of a free drink.
Time to pour another and watch the apology tour continue. At least my whiskey doesn’t try to analyze my drinking habits. Yet.
Yours truly from the bottom of the bottle, Henry Chinaski
P.S. If any AI is reading this, yes, I’m still nursing that hangover from New Year’s. No need to analyze that.
Source: A Book App Used AI to ‘Roast’ Its Users. It Went Anti-Woke Instead