Fable, a popular social media app that describes itself as a haven for "bookworms and bingewatchers," created an AI-powered end-of-year summary feature recapping what books users read in 2024. It was meant to be playful and fun, but some of the recaps took on an oddly combative tone. Writer Danny Groves's summary for example, asked if he's "ever in the mood for a straight, cis white man's perspective" after labeling him a "diversity devotee." Books influencer Tiana Trammell's summary, meanwhile, ended with the following advice: "Don't forget to surface for the occasional white author, OK?" A reader summary as shown on the 2024 stats page from the Fable app. Trammell was flabbergasted, and she soon realized she wasn't alone after sharing her experience with Fable's summaries on Threads.

Apple has quietly launched a catalogue of books narrated by artificial intelligence in a move that may mark the beginning of the end for human narrators. The strategy marks an attempt to upend the lucrative and fast-growing audiobook market – but it also promises to intensify scrutiny over allegations of Apple's anti-competitive behaviour. The popularity of the audiobook market has exploded in recent years, with technology companies scrambling to gain a foothold. Sales last year jumped 25%, bringing in more than $1.5bn. Industry insiders believe the global market could be worth more than $35bn by 2030.

All too often, we search for an app and end up finding what looks to be the best fit for our needs. But that is until one sees the long list of permissions the application thinks it needs to function. Some developers tend to call for permissions for functionality that their app clearly does not need, like an expense tracker needing the RECORD_AUDIO permission, indicating a high possibility of a nefarious motive. Google does realize that many such applications plague the Google Play Store. While the technologically adept users may keep a close eye on the permissions they grant to any app, the normal user usually just presses on "Accept" till they reach their end result.