I'm angry because one of the most popular, recent CaitVi fic on AO3 seems very AI generated so I investigated
I came across a fic on AO3 that has one of the highest kudos numbers lately, and so I was curious, but when I started reading it, it became a bit suspicious to me? Mainly because then I checked their account and they have more than 500k+ words posted in December (around 2000+ pages maybe?) - which could just be a year of writing and then posting during the month, but those fics contain stuff from S2, so that would be a lot of editing anyway.
Well, it made me dig deeper, and AI came to my mind - so I used those detection tools and I know they're not reliable, but I was too deep in the rabbit hole to let it go.
I decided to make a little bit representative sample of fics to compare it.
I used 10 random samples of their work and then a few random samples of fics in my bookmarks.
Then I added one poem 100% made by chatGPT, one CaitVi fic made 100% by chat GPT ("write a fic with them, having a cute date in a cafe, 5000 characters"). Then I took my own work and put it in chatGPT to "refine it to make it more readable and check grammar" and then I added one of my old texts in Czech ("translate it and make it more readable")
I would make a bigger sample, but I ran out of free limits on some of the tools.
Here: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54232927340_3e104e4aa3_k.jpg
I commented on the latest chapter, and the author replied (with 70-100% AI generated answers + their bio also has 100% AI detection) that they use many writing tools to make their text more professional. Fine. Now we can only argue about it and there's no point in that. Those numbers in the spreadsheet are very odd, though.
I'm also a non-native English author, and I use chatGPT a lot to discuss some words and sentences. I use it to look for synonyms and to check grammar, so I get it. But my work doesn't have the same score at all.
I don't want to argue. Again, I know those tools are not reliable. I know the line between generating and editing is thin. But I would like to share the spreadsheet and make some awareness. If you use AI to help generate fics... Fine...
But TAG IT. THAT'S THE MESSAGE. PLEASE TAG AI USAGE.
It's very disrespectful towards authors who put all of their free time into making 100 % original works. Be transparent.
Also, so it's not one-sided, the author's first reply in the thread is this: "Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’d like to clarify that while I do use tools like spellcheck, grammar aids, and other editing software (such as Grammarly and Quillbot) to refine the final product, these tools are only used to polish the text, not to create the story itself. The plots, dialogues, characters, emotions, and arcs are entirely man-made, stemming from my own creativity and planning.
I’ve even shared story outlines and discussed certain plot points with readers to make sure everything aligns with my vision. Using these tools is part of my writing process, just as many authors rely on similar aids to ensure their work is polished and professional.
I am absolutely not trying to fool anyone. My focus is on writing a story that feels authentic and enjoyable for readers. Editing tools are there to make the process smoother and the final product cleaner, but the heart of the story remains my own creation. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding!"
I don't know if I should name them. I think you can find it quite easily, they have 5k+ kudos on their biggest fic now, and they're updating a few chapters per day.
Let me know your thoughts about AI generated fics and the ways to detect them
