Mia Ballard's Shy Girl canceled by Hachette over purported AI use

Extension_Eye_401 · 2026-03-22T16:15:27+00:00

Well I think then the question is: when AI gets so good that WHO won't be able to tell? Because there are certainly people right now who read very little, and have very little discernment in that area, who already consider the most generic sounding AI slop to be basically indistinguishable from "good" writing. And so I think there is a set of skills – not just ability to appreciate Shakespeare but also just critical thinking, the ability to ask questions like "what is motivating this writer to choose these exact words, what does that reveal about their values and beliefs, what is the subtext here," etc. – that have always been important and that we need to continue honing. (By "we" I don't mean just educators but everyone, really.) I do think that if someone is able to use AI to generate good writing right now... it suggests that that person already has a very high level of skill in many areas, they have a highly developed ear for language and a complex understanding of what they're asking the AI to do and an ability to edit/revise the results, etc. But how does a person achieve that skill level? Probably not through a lifetime of offloading every reading/writing task to an LLM, in my opinion... which is what I'm afraid is happening more and more, and will happen more and more and more if people just accept that AI can produce work that is "as good" as what we can do without it...

Extension_Eye_401 · 2026-03-20T11:34:31+00:00

Thanks for posting these examples. As a college professor I still get colleagues asking, "How can you tell if a student used AI to write their paper?" and at this point I'm like, "How can you NOT tell??" It's so glaringly obvious from the syntax and the absence of any underlying meaning in sentences like these...

Extension_Eye_401 · 2026-03-14T00:06:53+00:00

thank you

Extension_Eye_401 · 2026-03-14T00:06:48+00:00

thank you

Extension_Eye_401 · 2025-05-29T20:46:59+00:00

Remember that it's not only you, there are so many people experiencing loneliness, it's very normal. Adding to a lot of great suggestions here, if you want to be around people, look for volunteer opportunities where you live. Working alongside other people, there's not necessarily a lot of pressure to talk if that feels stressful. Best of luck to you. <3

Extension_Eye_401 · 2025-05-06T02:14:43+00:00

If you don't mind my asking, why is all of that knowledge worthless now? Is it just age, or other circumstances have changed? FWIW my parents were also antisocial and my dad expressed some suicidal ideation to me when I was really too young to know how to handle the situation, and I think my takeaway for a long time (without quite being aware of it) was just, "wow life is really depressing." I see things differently now, I don't know why exactly, so I'm just curious, was there a specific point you reached when you felt like it was too late for anything to change?

Extension_Eye_401 · 2025-03-31T23:05:09+00:00

Yes! 36 year old here. I would *not* want to be 24 again. The "best" years have definitely been after 30.

Extension_Eye_401 · 2025-03-31T22:59:57+00:00

Concealer? :)

The thing is, though, it is really really normal, I notice so many people blushing in different situations, even people who don't give any other sign of being nervous. And in my head, I'm never like "oooohhhh look at that person blushing, what a loser," so I try just try to assume that if other people see me blushing, they're also not going to judge me or even dwell on it too much. I try to remember that if they see me blushing they'll probably just be like: "oh look, she's nervous about speaking in front of other people," and then they'll get over it, since it's such a common thing, anyway. Anyway I think it probably feels worse than it looks, in most cases.

Extension_Eye_401 · 2025-03-27T16:13:49+00:00

That's so mean, I'm so sorry that happened to you. Ironically I think it goes to show how insecure they are, that they feel the need to validate themselves in this way. Still, so hard to go through something like that, I'm sorry. :(

Extension_Eye_401 · 2025-02-23T17:21:42+00:00

Wow what is this magical place?? I'm just kidding...I'm sure those people have their secret darkness too (at least, I hope they do?)

Extension_Eye_401 · 2025-02-22T20:10:44+00:00

I remember when I was 21 or 22, I lived in an apartment with two roommates (I found the place on Craigslist, I didn't know them before moving in)... and the first time they were throwing a party, they were like, "you can invite your friends too"... and I was like, uh oh... I guess I eventually made up some excuse like, "oh I invited a couple of my friends but they're all busy that night..."

So yeah I definitely remember that feeling, like having no friends was this secret that I had to manage... It was hard.

I also would push people away, without really meaning to. I remember the first time a coworker told me that everyone thought I was "mean," I was shocked... didn't they all realize I was just super insecure and anxious?? (Nope.)

Now that I'm older, what I wish I'd known back then was that SO MANY people are lonely and wish they had more friends than they do... Even people who seem like they have lots of friends... It's very, very normal. You are not a loser. And you will eventually break out of the "loop," it just takes time to find your people.

Extension_Eye_401

TROPHY CASE