76. Mia Ballard's Shy Girl Pulled by Hachette: Is AI Doomed, or are Human Writers?

This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library. Last week, Hachette made an unprecedented move for a Big Five publisher, cancelling the US release of Mia Ballard's Shy Girl and pulling the UK edition over allegations of heavy AI assistance in the creation of the text. The author and publisher, in the midst of what's sure to be an illuminating legal battle, are being cagey about details, but online comments indicate that large portions of the book are "unreadable," "AI slop," and "make no sense." This case raises some interesting questions: how did a Big Five publisher conduct QC on alleged "slop" and deem it worthy for release? What does this say about the quality of their other titles, and reader preferences? Why on Earth would they admit to this? And, perhaps most importantly--does having a human behind the keyboard really matter all that much? The Meow Library takes a strong position on all of the above: have a listen. This podcast is supported by sales of Meow: A Novel, an international bestseller. Shy Girl by Mia Ballard cannot be purchased anywhere.