They’re kind of vague on what they mean when they say “AI.” Are they asking a chatbot for a synonym, or feeding it a prompt and sitting back while it creates a manuscript from whole cloth?

Either way, it’s none of my business. There’s no prize to be won, the gains are all personal. For the first in my life, my teacher’s words ring true: “You’re only cheating yourself.”

They are both well written, and when I’m in the middle of either book I’m completely absorbed in its world. In that moment, I’m not thinking about realism at all.

It’s only when I put the book down that questions like that come up.