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An Amazon Bestseller or an Artificial Intelligence Hoax?
The credibility of a top-selling cookbook author on Amazon, seemingly crafted by artificial intelligence, is being questioned by readers and critics. Is ‘The Complete Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners’ by Luisa Florence authentic or just another faux site?
Meet Luisa Florence
Claiming to be a 60-year-old author from Philadelphia, Luisa Florence’s rather thin biography states she gained her culinary skills in Tuscany and has since worked in a range of restaurants. She has additionally written about air fryer recipes, canning and preserving, diet foods, and charcuteries, all rated as “excellent” on ThriftBooks reviews.
With a questionable profile picture accompanying Florence’s crockpot book, she dreams of devoting all her time to cooking.
Florence’s profile picture raises suspicions as it lacks a shoulder and the earrings she is wearing are mismatched. This is similar to doctored photos found accompanying AI-written Sports Illustrated stories last year, leading to a scandal. The legitimacy of the author is still under question, with attempts by The Post to verify her identity proved unfruitful.
The Initial Alarm Bells
Matthew Kupfer, a journalist at Voice of America, first spotted glaring mistakes in Florence’s work in March. Items like a chickpea and quinoa recipe that doesn’t mention chickpeas and quinoa in the ingredients list drew attention.
Additionally, efforts by Philadelphia Magazine to locate the so-called hometown chef were unsuccessful.
Interestingly, Luisa is also the name of a popular high-end retail store in the Italian city of Florence.
Unraveling the Mystery
The magazine reported that despite claims of featuring 1,001 recipes, Florence’s crockpot book had only 424. Also, a page clumsily titled ‘What is Crock-pot?’ pushed fraud allegations further. Following these revelations, her books, some of which had topped various Amazon book categories, disappeared from the site.
The magazine discovered that a mysterious publisher named Zoe Publishing Ltd., linked to one of the books, was established on July 21, 2020, but dissolved over three years later, on Dec. 19, 2023.
When queried about Florence’s authenticity, Amazon outlined its strategies for defeating AI-generated scams without admitting Florence’s potential illegitimacy.
Fake Authors in E-commerce
The mystery around Luisa Florence raises a question about the authenticity of e-literature. In a growing problem in the e-commerce sector, a hoax author named Justin J. Robson appeared to be authoring several Amazon cookbooks.
On the other hand, Kathleen J. Taylor’s biographical picture for her cookbook showed similarities to Florence’s generic headshot, according to Mashable. Several other dubious names and images were flagged over the recent months.
Artificial Intelligence Gone Awry?
Cases like Luisa Florence’s bring to light a significant issue for unsuspecting consumers, as evidenced by Kupfer’s parents who innocently presented him with the questionable cookbook.
Seeking the Truth
Despite their investigations, Kupfer and Sheehan could not concretely establish Florence’s authenticity. However, Kupfer provided room for possible benefit of doubt, addressing the possibility of Florence’s real existence and apologizing for suggesting she could be an AI.
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