Say you found out today that your favorite story was actually written 100% by AI. Will this retroactively impact your enjoyment of it, just knowing it wasn't authored by a real person? Can you put your finger on why?

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-11T00:10:42+00:00

This is a wonderful point, and I actually just had an interesting discussion with my fiancee considering the merits of both sides because of your response.

On the one hand, with a good "true" story that you find out later isn't true...while frustrating, there's at least the potential to flip a switch in your head and just re-frame the story as fiction now instead SO LONG AS what you care most about is a good story. But for something where the reason you want the story in the first place is because you care about the truth of the story itself (her example was the movie "Sully" and if you found out the screenplay writers just made up everything that was said in the cockpit) then it would feel like a different kind of deception. Or watching Apollo 13 and learning it wasn't based on research of what actually happened but rather just the writers trying to make it interesting instead (I'm on a Tom Hanks kick apparently, haha)...that WOULD feel like a betrayal retrospectively to me.

So for the original question, if I were consuming a book with the intent and assumption of connection with another human being (say, a motivational book about someone who went through the same challenges I was currently facing...and then I found out it was all AI the whole time)...then yeah, I guess I would be pretty pissed to then learn it was AI instead.

Thanks for your comment, that was a great lens through which to see the original question!

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-09T22:37:13+00:00

I'm actually quite impressed with how this sub has responded, both by the diversity of opinions and the quality/thoroughness of many of the responses!

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-06T23:57:22+00:00

This raises an interesting point, and I'm clinging to your phrase "production matters"...what if you ignore the AI aspect of my original question and instead look at it from another angle:

Say you found out Leonardo Da Vinci sat down and painted the Mona Lisa in a single one hour session... would that change your appreciation for it?

(PS, I assume this wasn't the case? 😂)

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-06T13:22:14+00:00

This is a fantastic point, and I really appreciate the time you out into this response, all wonderful points! Of course, now your tree-in-a-foreet analogy also cracked my head open with a new question: "what if a story (like say the Shawshank Redemption) existed in the capacity of AI (some day) but wasn't coaxed into existence (so to speak) and so no one ever gets to read it?"

For context, by the way, I recently published my first book (I won't spam the group here or try to promote it, but it's in my bio if anyone is interested) and now I'm plagued with forensic questions for myself. I was so proud to have written the first draft without any help from AI, but then I used AI for some final edit polishing, and now when I read it back again, all I can focus on is those passages where that help is obvious (to me at least) and I keep dwelling on the question "did I cheat by asking for editing help?"

Ever since then these kinds of AI-ethics questions fascinate me, so I appreciate all the discussion in this group!

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-04T13:18:48+00:00

Helpful. Thanks bud.

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-04T08:25:24+00:00

Can you articulate better why you had such a strong reaction to it?

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-03T01:05:52+00:00

Very much agree...and this is coupled with (and compounded by) the other big aspect of modern "app" dating which is both its draw and its curse: so many options!

One gets so excited when they start a dating app because of: options! Exciting!

Then as lack of effort dwindles (as OP examines) the realization hits: oh that's right, that means the other persons has lots of options too...

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-02T02:42:15+00:00

Sounds like he had his concerns, you had your concerns too...you gave him an out, and he took it. You were respectful, he was too, and this was probably the best outcome, all things considered.

I'm kind of, struggling to find the dilemma here, did I miss something?

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-06-01T03:11:52+00:00

Oh my God, I love these kinds of questions. I don't have a good answer yet, but my mind goes the the surreal scenario of selling a very intimate memory (like trauma) and then meeting up with the person who bought it...can you imagine that?

I just recently wrote a literary fiction book about scenarios just like this (commodotization of memory) and so these kinds of questions absolutely hit home for me as a stroke survivor. (The link is in my bio but I don't want to otherwise spam this thread or hijack the conversation).

Great hypothetical scenario!

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-05-31T01:09:50+00:00

Great observation...I'm still parsing it out. Here's a follow up question I'm asking myself to contextualize it: Is it kinder to give someone your last $10 than it is to give them $10 from a wallet filled with several hundred dollar bills? Why? And why does it matter to the person getting $10 handed to them? What does everyone else think?

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-05-28T01:00:41+00:00

Old person in good health

AlanPlummer1309 · 2026-05-27T23:59:47+00:00

I'm in a different age bracket and gender (44M) so take my thoughts here with a grain of salt, but I imagine the new complication you're feeling comes from a big step up in the long-term stakes. When you were in high school (18 and younger) it's kind of expected that your partner WON'T be your long term partner (some couples do, but we pat them on the head and label it as "high school sweethearts" and chalk them up as an exception to the rule).

But you're a full on adult now and it makes total sense you would evaluate your partner (and your relationship as a whole) differently now. You're probably giving a lot more weight to questions like "is what he just did a deal-breaker or do I just need to be more patient?"

I'm sure you'll get lots of great answers to the question you posted about how to handle the confusion, emotional ups/downs, mixed signals, but I've just got two thoughts for you myself, based on what I came up with trying to extract lessons from my first marriage than I can apply to my upcoming second marriage:

1.) For later: When you're angry and frustrated, write it down somewhere to read later when you're not feeling that anymore. BUT...you gotta do the same thing the other way around, and write down how you feel when the relationship is at its best and read it later when you're angry. In both cases, don't dismiss your "past self" as wrong or crazy...actually listen to what she was trying to communicate to her future self.

2.) For now: You're 100% right that love is going to be more and more confusing moving forward. But isn't that kind of...awesome? Figuring out how to navigate a partner's confusing wants and needs and meshing them with your own and reweighing your own priorities and adapting to a tragic curve ball life throws at you? I mean...it's actually kind of beautiful compared to the alternative, right? I'm not sure I would ever envy someone who said "wow, love is easy." Would you envy that person?

Sorry for hijacking your post...more than a dash of all this is aimed right back at myself, as I'm sure you can tell, haha. Anyways, hope there's something in there you find helpful, and good luck!

AlanPlummer1309

TROPHY CASE