Yesterday I got an email from someone claiming to be an editor at a well-known publisher. The email looked legit, and the writer described one of my books in detail, talking about its contents and structure, and asking me if I’d be willing to consider a follow-up volume.

At a time when it seems like readers (and buyers of my books) are becoming more scarce, such emails excite moments of unwarranted hope. Of course I reached out to my co-author to ask him whether he had also heard from the “publisher.”

He had not, but pointed out to me that he gets these emails regularly now.

Which is to say that someone has been feeding our books through A.I., and having A.I. write emails to authors like us, and trying to scam us beginning with using our own text, for which they likely did not pay a cent.

I work hard at avoiding scam emails, and at trying to keep good internet “hygeine.” But it feels like a war of attrition, like the attacks will just keep coming, probing us for weaknesses. It feels relentless, the constant poking at firewalls and at our own vigilance. I’d like to think I’ll keep my wits about me, but one can only keep up the vigilance for so long.

A.I. offers so many possibilities for good uses. If only it didn’t also offer so many possibilities for bad actors to act more badly and at scale.