5 ms·

I’m an occasional listener of the Talk Python podcast, and I’ve also taken Michael’s pytest course. It’s clear that he puts considerable effort into his content

I’m an occasional listener of the Talk Python podcast, and I’ve also taken Michael’s pytest course. It’s clear that he puts considerable effort into his content.

seanthemon 1y ago
but clearly he lapsed here and as a non-listener I immediately clicked out.
- mikeckennedy 1y ago
  Hey Sean. I spent 9 months writing this book by hand. Yes the image is AI but the book is certainly not. You're definitely not obligated to read it, but I do want to comment that I put a ton of effort into the project.
  - seanthemon 1y ago
    Hi Mike! If you spent 9 months writing this book by hand, couldn't you do the courtesy of commissioning an artist to make you a cover image by hand as you clearly see the value of doing things by hand and not stealing the hard work of all the artists who have worked tirelessly to make art by hand only for AI to steal that work and for you to prompt it in seconds. Put more effort into respecting other art forms and you might not get this reception next time.
maeln 1y ago
In which case it is very infuriating and sad. Honestly if he just did not put that AI art on every page, the whole thing would look way more serious. Presentation and first impression sadly do matter. Put a pile of trash in a museum and people will think it's art, put art next to a pile of garbage and people will think it's trash.
- esyir 1y ago
  I think you're going to realize that as time passes and this becomes more normalized, your opinion is going to become the minority. That might be a good thing, or maybe not.
- aquariusDue 1y ago
  These days I feel like a stick figure drawing in MS Paint even if crude denotes that an actual effort was made compared to "Generate an image of XYZ that includes blah blah blah..." sadly. In my mind both are first steps to something more "proper" but one is at least hand-crafted artisan-ish compared to the other. I have no qualms about using AI generated images as placeholder stuff or as a first step in an iterative process but when someone just slaps the image without the least bit of retouching it ends up looking kitsch.
_joel 1y ago
Just not enough to actually record a podcast, but generate a script and send it to an API to generate a (very recognisable) AI voiced podcast. It's literally called "Talk Python" with no humans talking.
- fastasucan 1y ago
  What? The interview podcast?
  - _joel 1y ago
    The sample that's on the site, it's definitely AI generated.
    - bakugo 1y ago
      Listened to it and yeah... not only is the voice obvious AI, it drops an "It's not just X — it's Y" within the first 20 seconds. Copy-pasted straight from GPT. Likely safe to assume that everything on this site is AI generated, including the book.
    - nogridbag 1y ago
      If anyone else was confused, they're referring to the Audio Readers' Briefs. I didn't immediately recognize it as AI. To be honest the voice sounds exactly like my coworker responsible for doing our product video demonstrations. I skipped through it and heard it pronounce nginx as en-gee-onix and only then did I realize it was fake.
      - mikeckennedy 1y ago
        Hi, see the reply to Joel just up this thread for more info on this. It is not presented as "real" it's clearly introduced as a fun AI extra.
        ptx 1y ago
        You might want to mention this on the website as well, where it's definitely not clear. I also don't see how to navigate from the website to the introduction where it's explained.
benrutter 1y ago
I agree with everyone! Michael's name is a big stamp of "this will be high quality" for me, but if I didn't previously know that and saw an AI generated cover, there's a good chance I'd assume the content inside was AI generated slop, and might tune out without looking any further.
- mikeckennedy 1y ago
  Thanks sort of Ben. :) The book is 100% human written over 9 months by me. The image is AI yes, but the book is not AI slop. It may be slop, but it's my slop if that's your assessment.
  - benrutter 1y ago
    Haha, you're welcome sort of! :) Love the podcast! I'm sure it isn't slop of any kind - I've really enjoyed reading your recent blog posts about Talk Python's web set up, so I'll definitely be giving it a read.
    - mikeckennedy 1y ago
      Thanks Ben, much appreciated.
DannyPage 1y ago
But there was no care in the images, which made me skeptical of the content. The free chapters are also poorly written. It reads like he dictated the content and didn't do a single review pass on it. The Docker Compose chapter especially is very light on details and doesn't explain how to use the various features and what tradeoffs or issues you may encounter. Like the AI images, the whole product feels rushed and haphazard and lacking in quality.
mikeckennedy 1y ago
Thanks Ayhanfuat. I appreciate the comment. Yes, the image is AI generated, but the book and the content is not. I spent 9 months writing it. Cheers.
- ptx 1y ago
  What about the content of the "conversations that bookend each chapter"? Are these real people giving their opinion that the second chapter is "fascinating" and that things "make sense" or is it AI-generated? If the latter, what's the point of presenting fake opinions?
  - mikeckennedy 1y ago
    Those "reader's briefs" are definitely AI. But they are discussed here a tad out of context. If you actually had the book and pull them down, the first track is me telling about them. It clearly says these are AI and just for fun, enjoy or skip. Here's the intro if you're interested: https://blobs.talkpython.fm/00-readers-brief-intro.mp3?cache_id=52f5d7 https://blobs.talkpython.fm/00-readers-brief-intro.mp3?cache...

I’m an occasional listener of the Talk Python podcast, and I’ve also taken Michael’s pytest course. It’s clear that he puts considerable effort into his content.

seanthemon 1y ago

but clearly he lapsed here and as a non-listener I immediately clicked out.

mikeckennedy 1y ago
Hey Sean. I spent 9 months writing this book by hand. Yes the image is AI but the book is certainly not. You're definitely not obligated to read it, but I do want to comment that I put a ton of effort into the project.
- seanthemon 1y ago
  Hi Mike! If you spent 9 months writing this book by hand, couldn't you do the courtesy of commissioning an artist to make you a cover image by hand as you clearly see the value of doing things by hand and not stealing the hard work of all the artists who have worked tirelessly to make art by hand only for AI to steal that work and for you to prompt it in seconds. Put more effort into respecting other art forms and you might not get this reception next time.

maeln 1y ago

In which case it is very infuriating and sad. Honestly if he just did not put that AI art on every page, the whole thing would look way more serious. Presentation and first impression sadly do matter. Put a pile of trash in a museum and people will think it's art, put art next to a pile of garbage and people will think it's trash.

esyir 1y ago
I think you're going to realize that as time passes and this becomes more normalized, your opinion is going to become the minority. That might be a good thing, or maybe not.
aquariusDue 1y ago
These days I feel like a stick figure drawing in MS Paint even if crude denotes that an actual effort was made compared to "Generate an image of XYZ that includes blah blah blah..." sadly. In my mind both are first steps to something more "proper" but one is at least hand-crafted artisan-ish compared to the other. I have no qualms about using AI generated images as placeholder stuff or as a first step in an iterative process but when someone just slaps the image without the least bit of retouching it ends up looking kitsch.

_joel 1y ago

Just not enough to actually record a podcast, but generate a script and send it to an API to generate a (very recognisable) AI voiced podcast. It's literally called "Talk Python" with no humans talking.

fastasucan 1y ago
What? The interview podcast?
- _joel 1y ago
  The sample that's on the site, it's definitely AI generated.
  - bakugo 1y ago
    Listened to it and yeah... not only is the voice obvious AI, it drops an "It's not just X — it's Y" within the first 20 seconds. Copy-pasted straight from GPT. Likely safe to assume that everything on this site is AI generated, including the book.
  - nogridbag 1y ago
    If anyone else was confused, they're referring to the Audio Readers' Briefs. I didn't immediately recognize it as AI. To be honest the voice sounds exactly like my coworker responsible for doing our product video demonstrations. I skipped through it and heard it pronounce nginx as en-gee-onix and only then did I realize it was fake.
    - mikeckennedy 1y ago
      Hi, see the reply to Joel just up this thread for more info on this. It is not presented as "real" it's clearly introduced as a fun AI extra.
      - ptx 1y ago
        You might want to mention this on the website as well, where it's definitely not clear. I also don't see how to navigate from the website to the introduction where it's explained.

benrutter 1y ago

I agree with everyone! Michael's name is a big stamp of "this will be high quality" for me, but if I didn't previously know that and saw an AI generated cover, there's a good chance I'd assume the content inside was AI generated slop, and might tune out without looking any further.

mikeckennedy 1y ago
Thanks sort of Ben. :) The book is 100% human written over 9 months by me. The image is AI yes, but the book is not AI slop. It may be slop, but it's my slop if that's your assessment.
- benrutter 1y ago
  Haha, you're welcome sort of! :) Love the podcast! I'm sure it isn't slop of any kind - I've really enjoyed reading your recent blog posts about Talk Python's web set up, so I'll definitely be giving it a read.
  - mikeckennedy 1y ago
    Thanks Ben, much appreciated.

DannyPage 1y ago

But there was no care in the images, which made me skeptical of the content. The free chapters are also poorly written. It reads like he dictated the content and didn't do a single review pass on it. The Docker Compose chapter especially is very light on details and doesn't explain how to use the various features and what tradeoffs or issues you may encounter. Like the AI images, the whole product feels rushed and haphazard and lacking in quality.

mikeckennedy 1y ago

Thanks Ayhanfuat. I appreciate the comment. Yes, the image is AI generated, but the book and the content is not. I spent 9 months writing it. Cheers.

ptx 1y ago
What about the content of the "conversations that bookend each chapter"? Are these real people giving their opinion that the second chapter is "fascinating" and that things "make sense" or is it AI-generated? If the latter, what's the point of presenting fake opinions?
- mikeckennedy 1y ago
  Those "reader's briefs" are definitely AI. But they are discussed here a tad out of context. If you actually had the book and pull them down, the first track is me telling about them. It clearly says these are AI and just for fun, enjoy or skip. Here's the intro if you're interested: https://blobs.talkpython.fm/00-readers-brief-intro.mp3?cache_id=52f5d7 https://blobs.talkpython.fm/00-readers-brief-intro.mp3?cache...