Go Off, Katherine The newest addition to the growing garbage heap of AI-generated nothingstuff continuing to clog the web? Generic, shoddily-written, allegedly AI-generated travel guides, flooding Amazon en masse in recent months. Per The New York Times, the sham guides often claim to be written by acclaimed travel authors, with scammers also sometimes taking the time to mislead potential customers by whipping up phony 5-star reviews. Sellers also tend to keep prices pretty low, and Amazon users seem to be biting. And they’re predictably less than pleased with what they wind up getting in the mail. “This was a rip-off. It has the most generic info [about] Paris that anyone planning a trip has already gathered in planning the trip. It is NOT the ultimate super cheap guide, as it offers NO such info,” reads a one-star review on a seemingly AI-generated guide called “Paris Travel Guide 2023: The ultimate super cheap guide to the city of love,” written by a user named Katherine. “This is fraudulent advertising and what we call bait and switch,” they added. “How pathetic. DO NOT BUY THIS.” Poetic Justice If you’re sharp enough, and paying attention, you’ll be able to see the warning signs of AI generation in many of the listings. Per the NYT, author profiles — if they exist — are comically vague, sometimes featuring blatantly AI-spun profile photos. The listings’ descriptions also tend to be written in a bland, formulaic style becoming increasingly synonymous with AI-drafted text. But most people aren’t trained…The New Scam Flooding Amazon: AI-Generated Travel Guides