I was going to listen to the *free* Audible summary of
Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, mainly to see if I could endure the read itself (hopefully for obvious reasons).
I was prepared to sit through the bullshit ads, until I noticed I can skip all that. Then as I began to listen to the "summary"... IT'S FUCKING AI.
I could tell immediately because I've experimented on a couple sites where you feed written material in, and they spit out a review, or a summary, or a podcast discussion, or whatever options you can set it to spit it out as. The presentation is usually a couple voices: one male, one female, breathless and with no noticeable verbal miscues or tics. With no introduction of who the speakers are (because they aren't), the commentary volleys back and forth with an assumed casualness, yet feels overly practiced because the fluency is too Uncanny Valley.
But mainly as I listen I can tell something has been missed. The review, or summary, or podcast discussion feels like it's on topic. Key events get discussed. The basic story is covered. However, some plot elements seem to go unnoticed. Characters you felt were pivotal or important are ignored. A theme might be described and held up as a way of understanding the work, only you don't recall coming across it at all.
No thank you. Instead, I'll spend time studying up on the book, from people who have actually read and comprehend it.
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