On the Rich Roll podcast¹ Nick Bilton raised a thought-provoking question. Suppose you were handed a copy of Cormac McCarthy's unpublished book. Written like it was written by him. A great story told in his own unique style. So you had no doubt about its authorship after having read the book. But then you were told that it had actually been written by an LLM. Would it matter? Would you have enjoyed the book less?

It would certainly matter to me. Even if it were written by another human being who tried to mimic McCarthy's style. I would still be disappointed in the end even if I enjoyed reading the book. I guess I would feel cheated. By the way, it is known as a literature hoax².

Besides, authenticity is important in another way. Every book is autobiographical to a degree. The author's personality and experience are behind what's written in a book. For instance, reading Remarque's novels about war is moving, especially since we know that he lived through those events himself. His writing feels authentic and true.

Genuine human experience is what LLMs lack.