The Words AI Has Trashed

Yet another Top Story littered in AI’s favourite words had me yet again wondering…

is this genuine?

I’ve realised that there are certain words I’m just no longer able to read without immediately questioning the integrity of the poem. Anything professing to be beneath the stars, about a myriad of stars, a love for the stars or about gleaming stars has my suspicions immediately. And I love the stars!!!

Are you attempting to take me on a passage through time? Bound by sweet love or some eternal decree? Are you roaming somewhere forevermore?! Have you taken me into your embrace? Is there some sweet caress or dance of tenderness? Are you painting a canvas of the velvet skies? Or how about something cosmic like stardust?

What’s that about joy, tears or whispered promises? I no longer care. Because I’m not sure I believe you.

Are these words are forever lost to us as writers?

Will we ever be able to recover them?

I have on occasion become frustrated at having to replace them in my own poems. Sometimes the word solace is the best fitting and most appropriate word. Sometimes it’s the only darn one that will fit and yet I just can’t bring myself to leave it within my work. Because it’s now owned by AI.

Want to paint me a Celestial picture? I won’t look.

Want to take me on an Enchanting journey? I recoil.

Is it Twilight? My curtains are closed.

What’s that about a golden hue? Eugh.

And what’s more annoying? There is no better word for hue than HUE!

It’s quite certain that AI loves regurgitating these particular key words. They are all clear give aways. Like a signature. But what if (interjects my “you might be wrong” program) this person just so happened to use these words together in the same poem. What if it’s just a coincidence?

After all, some of these verses are definitely not AI. Some of these words are actually never used by AI and certainly not in that order. So could it be genuine? Still doubtful.

To me this now looks like an AI poem that someone has edited to get around the plagiarism software. Because these accounts are now aware there is a kick back against them. They are reading our articles. They are seeing how we are learning to spot them. And some of these accounts have been getting away with this AI and plagiarised software FOR YEARS. Which means they will go to great lengths to protect them.

Many of these accounts are wisening up and now trying to infiltrate the Vocal community groups and social media chats. Some are even nominating themselves and their AI accounts for Top Stories. Heck, many of them even got Top Story.

Many of them can regularly be found saying “Great work ❤️” in the comments sections of your poetry and articles. Some of them are even going so far as to make longer comments now. I’ve even seen my own comments copied and pasted on the work of others recently!! I easily recognise my own words because I’m usually quite careful to ensure each comment I leave is unique and not generic. I want the author to know that I cared enough to leave a comment specifically for them.

But even I feel pointing out plaguirised comments is a step too far over the line. I have to turn a blind eye because this is a vorex I refuse to be sucked into any longer.

We have all very clearly stated the problem to Vocal. We have made it clear that seeing plagiarised Top Stories and placements in contests is far from acceptable. We have all come forward week after week and said whatever you are doing is not enough and is not working. It is not enjoyable nor sustainable for any one of us to continue reporting the tsunami of content and spam on the site.

Seeing our own work plagiarised and reposted HERE on Vocal is sickening. Even the “creators we’re loving” has AI spammers on it!!! We can all agree this is not our job to become daily AI hunters. We are not going to allow our lives to be consumed anymore by these pitiful people.

People who are probably being paid $1 a day to do this to our work. Or people whose lives are so pathetic that they genuinely believe the very best they can do in life is this. Copy and pasting. Stealing and reposting. Engage your heart here. It may be annoying, but think of the privilege that allowed you to be on this side of the fence and not theirs.

Often this message is interpreted in a way not intended. Engaging your compassion and releasing the anger you have is not (repeat NOT) the same as saying a behaviour or situation is acceptable. It is saying that it will no longer have the power to dictate your emotions.

Nothing outside of you should have the power to dictate your emotional state. That MUST be in your control. Otherwise, you really ought to accept your enslavement with more grace 😉.

Seriously though, to give another the power to so negatively impact your emotions and take your focus away from things you enjoy and love? That’s not intelligence. It’s enslavement.

It’s dragging us all down… and what does that ultimately mean?

A more frustrated and angry world.

More complaining.

Less creativity.

So what do we do at this stage?

We can instead choose to trust Vocal are listening. They say they are. We can choose to trust that AI spam and plagiarised content is just as irritating to them as it is to us. You don’t found or work for a website like this is you have no interest in or passion for writing! We can choose to practice patience while they work trialling and erroring solutions.

We have all professed to love Vocal at some stage. So how deep or superficial is your love? Isn’t love understanding and patient? Or does love abandon ship at the first sign of weakness? Does love stand beside Vocal in solidarity and with faith? Or does it seek to trade her in for another? Someone older and wiser perhaps? Someone with a bigger bank balance to easily buy away problems faced?

I hear a lot of talk recently of Medium - and the grass being greener - so I created a profile recently. What did I find? Within 5 minutes I found that they have plenty of plagiarised content on their site! Perhaps they are better at rejecting AI (I didn’t look for long to find any) content but they are still a minefield of stolen works. And some of those thief’s I found have 10k+ followers!!!!

Madness.

I very much care about following only genuine creators. It’s why I love reading your voice. Hearing about your passions. Seeing your imperfections and mistakes or ranting opinions (on occasion!). I love it if I agree with you and I love it if I don’t. Because I can feel your authenticity. I especially love seeing the collaborations and interviews coming from Vocal creators recently. I love learning what motivates you, what demotivates you, what irritates you and what brings you true joy.

We have a community here that is special. And when we have something that we know is special (individually and collectively) we will naturally become attached to it and seek to protect it.

That becomes our prison.

Recognising we have become caught up in this game of suffering know as attachment is a recurring life lesson! When we can see that we are growing exhausted and frustrated by trying to paddle our boats upstream? That’s when it’s time to turn around and trust the river will carry us to where we are supposed to go. It’s the only sensible option.

P.S.

*** To anyone reading this whose comments I don’t reply to - one of two things is at play. Either I don’t trust your account is genuine or I missed the notification. Neither should create offence. It’s not for you to prove anything to me. If I don’t trust your account it’s because there is a lack of authentic or relatable content there for me. (Or I’m energetically sensing stalker vibes). You get to choose whether to change that or not. What you should not do is attempt to debate it with me. You will not endear yourself to me. Either make changes or don’t. Just don’t bother me. It’s none of my business***