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1. Embed this notice
   Sean Bala (seanbala@mas.to)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 00:00:47 JST Sean Bala

   Solarpunk Magazine announced that they suspect two stories from their last issue were a) written by the same person and b) were done using AI. Reflecting on that issue, I felt like there was something off about the two stories. They felt like they lacked some spark. The stories felt too similar. Like they were solarpunk pastiches with just the right mix of elements to make it recognizable.

   Additionally, I tried looking up one of the authors and I found almost no footprint anywhere online. An author with zero social media or online presence?! Possible in this sort of community but highly unlikely to have NOTHING.

   Great that they magazine took accountability for it and I hope to read more wonderful, human created stories about the future.

   https://solarpunkmagazine.com/we-unknowingly-published-ai-slop-and-were-taking-accountability/

   #Solarpunk #Clifi #Bookstodon #Fiction #SolarpunkMagazine #AI #Writing #SciFi #ScienceFiction #SSF

   • Embed this notice
     OddOpinions5 (failedlyndonlarouchite@mas.to)'s status on Saturday, 18-Jul-2026 00:13:51 JST OddOpinions5

     in reply to

     @seanbala

     so if an AI story in July 2026 almost passes muster, one suspects, given how software often shows dramatic improvement over time, that in a year or so only the most carefull reader will be able to tell

   • Embed this notice
     Sean Bala (seanbala@mas.to)'s status on Wednesday, 05-Aug-2026 00:25:25 JST Sean Bala

     in reply to

     • Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
     • Erin Darrow

     @darrowerin I did not see this comment until @susankayequinn posted about it today. Crazy that ilthe suspeccted author seems to be the same pseudonym.

   • Embed this notice
     Erin Darrow (darrowerin@bookstodon.com)'s status on Wednesday, 05-Aug-2026 00:25:26 JST Erin Darrow

     in reply to

     @seanbala if you haven't seen https://www.bona-books.com/news/we-bought-an-ai-story check it out for more of the full story.

     the publication of these "stories" is discouraging to say the least, but it's good to see a community coming together to address/rectify it.

   • Embed this notice
     Sean Bala (seanbala@mas.to)'s status on Wednesday, 05-Aug-2026 00:44:30 JST Sean Bala

     in reply to

     • Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱
     • Erin Darrow

     @susankayequinn @darrowerin

     Yeah. What I fear most is the loss of trust, which I think so essential in general but for writing in particular.

   • Embed this notice
     Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱 (susankayequinn@wandering.shop)'s status on Wednesday, 05-Aug-2026 00:44:31 JST Sue is Writing Solarpunk 🌞🌱

     in reply to

     • Erin Darrow

     @seanbala I think that speaks to the outsized damage AI is capable of -- it's an accelerant for malicious intent, empowering a few individuals to cause a lot of harm

     @darrowerin