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Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: Ben on February 18, 2023, 05:20:15 PM

Title: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Ben on February 18, 2023, 05:20:15 PM
This is a new one on me. Apparently publishers are now hiring "sensitivity readers" to review the works of already published authors and are editing the books based on input from these readers. The example here is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (they "fixed" the oompa loompas).

I'm wondering how this is not some kind of intellectual property theft? A publisher has the right to publish or not publish someone's work, but how do they have the right to rewrite it?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-woke-overhaul-offensive-words-removed/
https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2023/02/18/thanks-to-sensitivity-readers-the-oompa-loompas-are-now-gender-neutral-and-no-longer-tiny/
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: WLJ on February 18, 2023, 05:35:23 PM
Han shot first
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: 230RN on February 18, 2023, 09:12:04 PM
Gives new meaning to my too-often repeated phrase "the Fix is in."
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Big Hairy Bee on February 19, 2023, 10:28:11 AM
Recently, Because of Winn-Dixie, a book I often teach, had an edit in which a character is reading Gone With Wind has been changed to David Copperfield.  A terrible change because GWTW had context in the story and David Copperfield does not.

Glad I have a set of the early printings.

Another book I teach, The Outsiders, also has a pair of characters reading GWTW as well. 

This is ridiculous
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Perd Hapley on February 19, 2023, 10:55:33 AM
Recently, Because of Winn-Dixie, a book I often teach, had an edit in which a character is reading Gone With Wind has been changed to David Copperfield.  A terrible change because GWTW had context in the story and David Copperfield does not.

Glad I have a set of the early printings.

Another book I teach, The Outsiders, also has a pair of characters reading GWTW as well. 

This is ridiculous

Must be DeSantis's fault. He won't let kids read about reading about slavery.
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: 230RN on February 19, 2023, 11:51:31 AM
Han shot first

... reasonably in fear of immediate death or severe bodily harm...

Justified.  Innocent.

Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Devonai on February 19, 2023, 02:24:08 PM
It's a topic of discussion in the self-publishing world. Some authors are hiring them to try to avoid getting "canceled." The problem is that these sensitivity readers only specialize in certain "triggers," such as sexual assault, gender norms, race relations, cultural appropriation, etc. One would have to hire multiple readers to cover all the potential problems. Then there is, of course, woke culture changing the goal posts every other day. What was acceptable last year is now an unforgivable sin.

Then, what's left? It probably isn't literature anymore. More and more authors are banding together to try to stop the empowerment of this type of thinking. Ironic, I think, that those so far on the left have something in common with those on the far right. Ban the book, cancel the author... they're in good company together.
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: 230RN on February 19, 2023, 03:45:47 PM
“Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” --Asimov
___________________________________

And so we are faced with machine-chosen phrases related by probability tables and tied together with adroitly-selected grammarical rules.

Reminds me of the time I wrote a program to generate potential automobile and pharmaceutical names en masse with a view to copyrighting them in batches and wait for the licensing money to roll in.

Then I found out you can't copyright things in bunches like that.

So where does all this machine-generated text fall in terms of copyright law?

Terry, 230RN
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Hawkmoon on February 19, 2023, 03:46:23 PM

I'm wondering how this is not some kind of intellectual property theft? A publisher has the right to publish or not publish someone's work, but how do they have the right to rewrite it?


https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/18/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-to-remove-language-deemed-offensive

From reading this article, I get the impression (not stated clearly) that the copyright holder is on board with and possibly even involved in making these "small and carefully considered" changes.
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Hawkmoon on February 19, 2023, 03:49:02 PM

So where does all this machine-generated text fall in terms of copyright law?

There's a member of a writers' forum I occasionally lurk on who claims that all AI-generated text is per se a copyright violation, because it has to be copying something that someone wrote some time.

He likewise claims that all AI-generated art is a copyright violation, for the same reason.

Yes, he (? I think it's a he) is serious.
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: 230RN on February 19, 2023, 04:01:31 PM
There must be a way to automatically class machine-generated text as in public domain.

The problem then becomes, how do you prove / disprove it was / was not machine-written.

I can't tell whether Devonai's post above was machine-written or composed by a human.   (Just taking that cogent post as an example, Devonai, no offense intended.)

Terry, 230RN
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: MechAg94 on February 20, 2023, 09:27:15 AM
There's a member of a writers' forum I occasionally lurk on who claims that all AI-generated text is per se a copyright violation, because it has to be copying something that someone wrote some time.

He likewise claims that all AI-generated art is a copyright violation, for the same reason.

Yes, he (? I think it's a he) is serious.
I am sure if you got the right lawyers involved, you could show that every word and phrase has been used in a work of literature somewhere so anything you write or say would have you owing  royalties to someone.  Isn't that more or less what goes on in the music industry?

Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Ben on March 27, 2023, 07:54:37 AM
Now they are "fixing" Agatha Christie.

This is all nothing more than modern book burning.

https://twitchy.com/fuzzychimp-313137/2023/03/27/please-make-it-stop-agatha-christie-word-murder-on-the-sensitivity-express/
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: Hawkmoon on March 27, 2023, 08:06:36 AM
Now they are "fixing" Agatha Christie.

This is all nothing more than modern book burning.

https://twitchy.com/fuzzychimp-313137/2023/03/27/please-make-it-stop-agatha-christie-word-murder-on-the-sensitivity-express/

So what's the new title? "Suspected homicide on the Orient Express"?
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: K Frame on March 27, 2023, 08:20:09 AM
"So what's the new title? "Suspected homicide on the Orient Express"?"

Orient? ORIENT?

YOU DISGUSTING CISNORMAL WHITE SUPREMACY RACIST!

IT'S ASIAN!
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: HankB on March 27, 2023, 08:35:00 AM
"So what's the new title? "Suspected homicide on the Orient Express"?"

Orient? ORIENT?

YOU DISGUSTING CISNORMAL WHITE SUPREMACY RACIST!

IT'S ASIAN!
That's TRANS Asian, you bigot!

Enough with the books, they should all be destroyed since they all offend someone. I think kindling temperature is about 451 degrees Fahrenheit, isn't it?
Title: Re: Sensitivity Readers
Post by: 230RN on March 28, 2023, 07:02:47 AM
That's TRANS Asian, you bigot!

Enough with the books, they should all be destroyed since they all offend someone. I think kindling temperature is about 451 degrees Fahrenheit, isn't it?

America is committing suicide.