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Many mushroom identification and foraging books being sold on Amazon are likely generated by AI with no human authorship. These books could provide dangerous misinformation and potentially lead to deaths if people eat poisonous mushrooms based on the AI's inaccurate descriptions. Two New York mushroom societies have warned about the risks of AI-generated foraging guides. Experts note that safely identifying wild mushrooms requires careful research and experience that an AI system does not have. Amazon has since removed some books flagged as AI-generated, but more may exist. Detecting AI-generated books and authors can be difficult as the systems can fabricate author bios and images. Relying on multiple credible sources, as well as guidance from local foraging groups, is advised for safely pursuing mushroom foraging.

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[-] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 35 points 1 year ago

using amazon for books is like using aol for internet access

[-] somedude@lemmy.ninja 6 points 1 year ago

not arguing, but what do you use instead (other than your local book store)?

[-] nocturne213@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago
[-] frog@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago

Ooooh, thanks for this! They have a UK site too, and they have second-hand books. I already did most of my college textbook shopping on AbeBooks (owned by Amazon), but if Alibris have the other ones I need, phase 2 will happen there.

[-] gullible@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

Is there a way to see specific reviews of sellers or is it strictly a star system? I love the site design, it doesn’t e n d l e s s l y dick around with you like amazon’s current setup.

[-] nocturne213@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

I do not recall, i have not used it much since i got my college textbooks in 08.

[-] cubedsteaks@lemmy.today 1 points 1 year ago

lol my city has several libraries which aren't book stores.

[-] lowleveldata@programming.dev 4 points 1 year ago

What do you mean? Kindle store is not bad at all

[-] dax@beehaw.org 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

yeah, where else do you expect self published authors to make their mark?

I've extremely enjoyed the self-pub route so many authors can take these days. Some of my favorite series come from people who didn't even want to bother with the traditional publisher and I am so much happier for it.

So I mean, if you have some alternatives for self published authors to reach a broad audience with a minimum of fuss, that's great. I'm just not seeing a valid replacement, myself.

edit: that said, some are dumpster fires in a pit of eternal despair. but I'm a big boy, I can figure that out for myself.

[-] greenskye@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

I very much appreciate the self publishing that's been possible, but I do know that the way they enable this is pretty exploitive and I think we still have massive room for improvement. My understanding is that it relies heavily on exclusivity agreements to force the majority of players onto their platform. I think we would've seen the Amazon self publishing business smacked down by anti trust lawsuits ages ago if we lived in a more sane timeline.

Despite the exploitation going on now, it's still better than the old monopolies the traditional publishers held, but I hope we can eventually see self publishing flourish outside of the Amazon ecosystem

yeah thats on me. im old and remember them for selling physical crap forever ago, plus i forgot people pay for digital stuff.. again, not my thing.

[-] lowleveldata@programming.dev 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Oh grandpa, digital stuff is great! You can read any of those hundreds of books on the go (given you didn't forget your glasses, that is)! You should definitely try it next time you go fishing!

[-] RobotToaster@infosec.pub 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

digital stuff is great!

Until they pull a 1984 and delete your copy of 1984

[-] lowleveldata@programming.dev 3 points 1 year ago

I mean, do you really want to miss out on such a real life dystopian experience?

[-] StringTheory@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago

If you forget your glasses all ya gotta do is enlarge the text size. Digital is pretty groovy.

[-] Pulptastic@midwest.social 1 points 1 year ago

I bought most of my college books used on Amazon way back when. I did that again the last few years, sometimes Amazon had the best price and or lead time. I also used a few other sites.

this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
309 points (100.0% liked)

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