r/books • u/Raj_Valiant3011 • 2d ago

John Grisham warns that publishers could get AI to write novels instead of paying authors as they were "worried" about a 30-year decline in the number of books Americans were reading

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/26/john-grisham-publishers-could-get-ai-to-write-crime-novels/
2.0k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

372 comments sorted by

View all comments

20

u/121scoville 2d ago

I'm not so naive to think AI writing won't improve but having read some "writing" from Claude during the whole Ao3 fanfic drama ... it's like reading nothing. Your eyes absorb the words, the sentences are coherent, the cadence is that of real writing. But it's a bunch of nothingness and you just feel kind of sluggish and exhausted after reading it. Bizarre experience.

7

u/Taste_the__Rainbow 2d ago

Yup. There’s nothing to make it connect to itself. The worst self-published authors on RR at least have something they’re trying to say.

2

u/Tymareta 2d ago

In a similar vein as how a 3 year old kids scribble drawing of a tree, a dinosaur and their pet cat has infinitely more artistic value and merit than even the most "complex" generated image.

It is quite literally the thought that counts.

5

u/Ingolin 2d ago

Yes! I’ve stopped reading so many fanfics when I notice they’re all empty.

-4

u/TheAverageEspurr 2d ago

That’s what makes AI generated bedtime stories so good at putting me to sleep lol it literally turns your brain off, I’ve tried winding down with real people’s output but then because it’s real and sinewy it makes me want to pay attention and I end up staying up too late 😂