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Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Diana Carney biography likely written by AI sparks conspiracy claims
"How did they know that she would be the first Lady of Canada at the beginning of April??" asks a May 3, 2025 X post. The post includes an apparent screenshot of a product page for a book about Diana Fox Carney on the commerce website Amazon. "Notice she is called First Lady of Canada. How the hell 26 days before the election, obviously the fix was in," text reshared in a similar May 5 Facebook post said. Different users across X, Instagram and TikTok shared images of the same supposed biography with claims that its April 2 publication date, three weeks after Mark Carney took office on March 14, was evidence the couple had prior knowledge he would win his bid to become prime minister. Both husband and wife have been targets of misinformation claims since Mark Carney entered the race to lead the ruling Liberals following the resignation of former prime minister Justin Trudeau in January. After winning the leadership contest and taking office as head of government, Mark Carney called a snap election for April 28 which precipitated multiple claims of fraud despite all parties accepting the results which show the Liberal Party winning the most seats and no evidence of widespread issues impacting the vote (archived here). With some alleging the Diana Fox Carney book shows "the globalist narrative playbook in action," the recent claims appear to build off conspiracy theories which point to Mark Carney's ties (archived here) to the World Economic Forum as evidence the couple is connected to a supposed circle of nefarious elites. However, the text, which is no longer available on Amazon, has a very high likelihood of being generated by artificial intelligence, experts say. The Ontario-based AI-detection firm, shared its analysis of excerpts from the book and its summary with AFP. All of the samples scored 100 percent on the scale the company uses to quantify confidence that content is AI-generated (archived here, here and here). "This incident is a perfect example of how quickly generative tools can fabricate convincing‑looking 'biographies' around public figures," said Jon Gillham, the CEO and founder of in an email May 6. Furthermore, samples of the book do not indicate any participation by Diana Fox Carney in its publication. Some posts claim Diana Fox Carney was attempting to grab titles that do not exist by styling herself as the "First Lady of Canada" in the biography's title. The role of the Canadian head of government's spouse is less formalized than in countries such as the United States, with Trudeau's ex-wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, previously referred to as the "unofficial first lady of Canada" (archived here). Gillham said that such a misnomer was further proof the text was invented by artificial intelligence, which can generate inaccuracies in its answers to a prompt. Jane Friedman, a writer covering the publishing industry (archived here), said another clue was the sheer number of books the biography's author, "Victor C. Hopkins," shared in such a short time period. Currently, the author page lists 14 texts about different political figures, all published since the beginning of April (archived here). "It's laughable," Friedman said. AFP was not able to locate a website or contact a page for "Victor C. Hopkins" to find more information about the supposed writer. The Diana Fox Carney biography does not appear to be a unique case, with Friedman saying there are "vast numbers of such books published every day." "It was absolutely dropped onto Amazon to capitalize off current interest in the PM and news headlines," she said. During Canada's federal election campaign, Bloomberg covered a deluge of "strange" AI-generated books on Canadian politics flooding Amazon. Additional social media posts shared conspiratorial claims about the Carneys featuring books with different titles and author names, such as "Victor P. Johnston." Friedman said it falls to Amazon to act as AI-generated content spreads on its platform. Amazon spokesman Tim Gillman told AFP in a May 7 email content guidelines exist "governing which books can be listed for sale, and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not." Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon's e-book platform, requires authors verify their identity (archived here). Publishers must also disclose when content is AI-generated but this information is not currently available to customers (archived here). Keyword searches reveal several other Diana Fox Carney biographies with similar titles were also removed from Amazon (archived here and here), but at least one is still available at the time of publication (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
AFP
09-05-2025
- Business
- AFP
Diana Carney biography likely written by AI sparks conspiracy claims
"How did they know that she would be the first Lady of Canada at the beginning of April??" asks a May 3, 2025 X post. includes an apparent screenshot of a product page for a book about Diana Fox Carney on the commerce website Amazon. is called First Lady of Canada. How the hell 26 days before the election, obviously the fix was in," text reshared in a similar May 5 Facebook post said. Image Screenshot of an X post taken May 8, 2025 Image Screenshot of a Facebook post taken May 9, 2025 Different users across X, Instagram and TikTok shared images of the same supposed biography with claims that its April 2 publication date, three weeks after Mark Carney took office on March 14, was evidence the couple had prior knowledge he would win his bid to become prime minister. Both husband and wife have been targets of misinformation claims since Mark Carney entered the race to lead the ruling Liberals following the resignation of former prime minister Justin Trudeau in January. After winning the leadership contest and taking office as head of government, Mark Carney called a snap election for April 28 which precipitated multiple claims of fraud despite all parties accepting the results which show the Liberal Party winning the most seats and no evidence of widespread issues impacting the vote (archived here). With some alleging the Diana Fox Carney book shows "the globalist narrative playbook in action," the recent claims appear to build off conspiracy theories which point to Mark Carney's ties (archived here) to the World Economic Forum as evidence the couple is connected to a supposed circle of nefarious However, the text, which is no longer available on Amazon, has a very high likelihood of being generated by artificial intelligence, experts say. The Ontario-based AI-detection firm, shared its analysis of excerpts from the book and its summary with AFP. All of the samples scored 100 percent on the scale the company uses to quantify confidence that content is AI-generated (archived here, here and here). "This incident is a perfect example of how quickly generative tools can fabricate convincing‑looking 'biographies' around public figures," said Jon Gillham, the CEO and founder of in an email May 6. Furthermore, samples of the book do not indicate any participation by Diana Fox Carney in its publication. Generated book content Some posts claim Diana Fox Carney was attempting to grab titles that do not exist by styling herself as the "First Lady of Canada" in the biography's title. The role of the Canadian head of government's spouse is less formalized than in countries such as the United States, with Trudeau's ex-wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, previously referred to as the "unofficial first lady of Canada" (archived here). Gillham said that such a misnomer was further proof the text was invented by artificial intelligence, which can generate inaccuracies in its answers to a prompt. Jane Friedman, a writer covering the publishing industry (archived here), said another clue was the sheer number of books the biography's author, "Victor C. Hopkins," shared in such a short time period. Currently, the author page lists 14 texts about different political figures, all published since the beginning of April (archived here). "It's laughable," Friedman said. AFP was not able to locate a website or contact a page for "Victor C. Hopkins" to find more information about the supposed writer. A larger trend The Diana Fox Carney biography does not appear to be a unique case, with Friedman saying there are "vast numbers of such books published every day." "It was absolutely dropped onto Amazon to capitalize off current interest in the PM and news headlines," she said. During Canada's federal election campaign, Bloomberg covered a deluge of "strange" AI-generated books on Canadian politics flooding Amazon. Additional social media ed conspiratorial claims about the Carneys featuring books with different titles and author names, such as "Victor P. Johnston." Image Screenshot of a Facebook post taken May 8, 2025 Friedman said it falls to Amazon to act as AI-generated content spreads on its platform. Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Amazon has books on managing ADHD produced using AI and giving 'dangerous advice', scientist says
Amazon is selling books marketed at people seeking techniques to manage their ADHD that claim to offer expert advice yet appear to be authored by a chatbot such as ChatGPT. Amazon's marketplace has been deluged with works produced by artificial intelligence that are easy and cheap to publish but include unhelpful or dangerous misinformation, such as shoddy travel guidebooks and mushroom foraging books that encourage risky tasting. A number of books have appeared on the online retailer's site offering guides to ADHD that also seem to be written by chatbots. The titles include Navigating ADHD in Men: Thriving with a Late Diagnosis; Men with Adult ADHD: Highly Effective Techniques for Mastering Focus; Time Management and Overcoming Anxiety; and Men with Adult ADHD Diet & Fitness. Samples from eight books were examined by a US company that detects content produced by artificial intelligence. The company said each had a rating of 100% on its AI detection score, meaning its systems were highly confident the books were written by a chatbot. Michael Cook, a computer science researcher at King's College London, said generative AI systems were known to give dangerous advice, for example around ingesting toxic substances, mixing together dangerous chemicals or ignoring health guidelines. As such, it is 'frustrating and depressing to see AI-authored books increasingly popping up on digital marketplaces' particularly on health and medical topics, which could result in misdiagnosis or worsen conditions, he said. 'Generative AI systems like ChatGPT may have been trained on a lot of medical textbooks and articles, but they've also been trained on pseudoscience, conspiracy theories and fiction,' he said. 'They also can't be relied on to critically analyse or reliably reproduce the knowledge they've previously read — it's not as simple as having the AI 'remember' things that they've seen in their training data." Richard Wordsworth was hoping to learn about his recent adult ADHD diagnosis when his father recommended a book he found on Amazon after searching 'ADHD adult men'. When he sat down to read it, 'immediately, it sounded strange', he said. The book opened with a quote from the conservative psychologist Jordan Petersen and then contained a string of random anecdotes, as well as historical inaccuracies. Some advice was actively harmful, he observed. For example, one chapter discussing emotional dysregulation warned friends and family did not 'forgive the emotional damage you inflict. The pain and hurt caused by impulsive anger leave lasting scars." When he researched the author, he spotted a headshot that looked AI-generated, plus a lack of qualifications. He searched several other titles in the Amazon marketplace and was shocked to encounter warnings his condition was 'catastrophic' and he was 'four times more likely to die significantly earlier'. An Amazon spokesperson said: 'We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not. We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed and remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines." The Guardian
Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
AI-authored books about ADHD ‘for sale on Amazon'
Amazon has been accused of allowing AI-authored books about ADHD to be sold on its platform. The online marketplace has been targeted by those looking to sell cheap-to-publish books written by artificial intelligence, which can include unhelpful or dangerous misinformation. Chatbots now appear to be writing books about the condition, according to The Guardian. a US company that detects content produced by AI, analysed samples from eight books obtained by The Guardian. The firm then awarded a rating of 100 per cent to each of the samples for its AI detection score, effectively confirming it was highly confident that the books were written by a chatbot. Texts highlighted by the newspaper as being suspected AI-authored reads include Navigating ADHD in Men: Thriving with a Late Diagnosis and Men with Adult ADHD: Highly Effective Techniques for Mastering Focus, Time Management and Overcoming Anxiety. Robot-written texts It comes after AI were accused of copying a Holocaust survivor's memoir last week. Other robot-written texts have included mushroom-foraging books, travel guides and weight-loss recipe books. Michael Cook, a computer science researcher at King's College London, told The Guardian that it was 'frustrating and depressing to see AI-authored books increasingly popping up on digital marketplaces' particularly on health and medical topics, which could result in misdiagnosis or worsen conditions. Yet he added that Amazon's business model incentivised this kind of practice as it made 'money every time' shoppers purchased books, regardless of whether the work was 'trustworthy or not'. An Amazon spokesman told The Guardian: 'We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not. We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed and remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines. 'We continue to enhance our protections against non-compliant content and our process and guidelines will keep evolving as we see changes in publishing.' Threat to creative industries High-profile artists have repeatedly warned of the threat AI poses to the UK's creative industries. More than 1,000 artists have urged ministers to abandon plans to allow their work to be used in the training of AI models. Last month, Abba's Bjorn Ulvaeus joined the row over government plans to water down copyright laws for the benefit of big tech companies. Speaking to The Times, the Swedish star said: 'Copyright is the oxygen which creators and the creative economy depend on for their existence and survival. 'They cannot be sacrificed. Unfortunately, there is an alternative and, in my opinion, more dangerous view, driven by profit-seeking tech companies. That view favours a weaker rights framework and broad exceptions to copyright.'
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
AI-authored books about ADHD ‘for sale on Amazon'
Amazon has been accused of allowing AI-authored books about ADHD to be sold on its platform. The online marketplace has been targeted by those looking to sell cheap-to-publish books written by artificial intelligence, which can include unhelpful or dangerous misinformation. Chatbots now appear to be writing books about the condition, according to The Guardian. a US company that detects content produced by AI, analysed samples from eight books obtained by The Guardian. The firm then awarded a rating of 100 per cent to each of the samples for its AI detection score, effectively confirming it was highly confident that the books were written by a chatbot. Texts highlighted by the newspaper as being suspected AI-authored reads include Navigating ADHD in Men: Thriving with a Late Diagnosis and Men with Adult ADHD: Highly Effective Techniques for Mastering Focus, Time Management and Overcoming Anxiety. It comes after AI were accused of copying a Holocaust survivor's memoir last week. Other robot-written texts have included mushroom-foraging books, travel guides and weight-loss recipe books. Michael Cook, a computer science researcher at King's College London, told The Guardian that it was 'frustrating and depressing to see AI-authored books increasingly popping up on digital marketplaces' particularly on health and medical topics, which could result in misdiagnosis or worsen conditions. Yet he added that Amazon's business model incentivised this kind of practice as it made 'money every time' shoppers purchased books, regardless of whether the work was 'trustworthy or not'. An Amazon spokesman told The Guardian: 'We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not. We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed and remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines. 'We continue to enhance our protections against non-compliant content and our process and guidelines will keep evolving as we see changes in publishing.' High-profile artists have repeatedly warned of the threat AI poses to the UK's creative industries. More than 1,000 artists have urged ministers to abandon plans to allow their work to be used in the training of AI models. Last month, Abba's Bjorn Ulvaeus joined the row over government plans to water down copyright laws for the benefit of big tech companies. Speaking to The Times, the Swedish star said: 'Copyright is the oxygen which creators and the creative economy depend on for their existence and survival. 'They cannot be sacrificed. Unfortunately, there is an alternative and, in my opinion, more dangerous view, driven by profit-seeking tech companies. That view favours a weaker rights framework and broad exceptions to copyright.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
