This cookbook author was an Amazon best-seller — but she might not even be human

Sounds more like a recipe for catfish.

A “best-selling” cookbook author on Amazon appears to be just a spawn of artificial intelligence, news reports and readers say.

At a glance, the authenticity of The Complete Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners appears to be the real deal.

Its author is Luisa Florence, and her flimsy bio claims she’s a 60-year-old writer from Philadelphia who learned culinary arts in Tuscany and has worked in restaurants ever since.

She has also published books on air fryer recipes, canning and canning, diet foods, and shrimp, with ThriftBooks reviews rating them “excellent.”

“Her dream is to devote herself completely to the kitchen,” reads Florence’s bio next to a suspicious-looking picture for the boilerplate.

The close-up is missing a shoulder and shows none of Florence’s matching earrings — similar to the fake bio photos that accompanied AI-written Sports Illustrated stories on that scandal that surfaced last year.

The Post was also unable to independently verify the author’s identity and has reached out to Amazon for comment.

VOA reporter Matthew Kupfer first noticed the gross errors and “styled” the story from Florence in March.

“People are pointing out typos, a chickpea and quinoa recipe that doesn’t list chickpeas and quinoa in the ingredients,” he wrote in X after discovering the book was a “practical and thoughtful” wedding anniversary gift from his parents. his.

Philadelphia Magazine recently tried to track down the supposed hometown chef — to no avail.

This week, my wife and I are celebrating our anniversary. My parents ordered us a very practical and thoughtful gift on Amazon: a crock pot and a crock pot cookbook.

We are excited. There’s just one small problem: I’m sure the cookbook was written by an AI… 🧵

— Matthew Kupfer (@Matthew_Kupfer) March 19, 2024

It may not help that Luisa is also the name of a popular fine goods store in the Italian city of Florence.

It goes, it goes… it’s gone

Philadelphia Magazine also reported that the can book included 424 rare recipes, while 1,001 were advertised.

A page titled “What is a Crock-pot?” only turned up the heat on the cheating allegations.

That book and the rest of her collection — some of which are listed at the top of various Amazon book categories, according to the magazine — are no longer available on the shopping site.

Sheehan also noted that one book was linked to a mysterious publisher called Zoe Publishing Ltd., which it said was established on July 21, 2020, and dissolved just over three years later, in December. 19, 2023.

When the magazine reached out to Amazon, the company responded by outlining its guidelines in place to combat AI counterfeiting — without admitting that it could be fake.

“We have a robust set of methods that help us proactively detect content that violates our guidelines, whether it’s AI-generated or not,” the company wrote.

“We also remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines, including content that creates a poor customer experience. When patterns of abuse warrant it, we suspend publisher accounts to prevent repeat abuse.”

Cooked books

As people wonder where in the world Luisa Florence is, they may also want to check their bookshelves for authentic literature. Her stupidity is just one example of a growing problem in e-commerce.

Another apparently bogus author, Justin J. Robson, wrote several cookbook titles sold by Amazon.

“Enjoy simplicity with a collection of over [insert number] recipes that redefine easy cooking,” reads its description “Delicious slow cooker recipes for busy individuals and families on the go. Including Desserts, Snacks and Appetizers,” Mashable reported.

Meanwhile, the bio photo used for cookbook writer Kathleen J. Taylor also shows similar discrepancies with Florence’s generic photo, Mashable noted, adding that several other questionable names and images have also been flagged in recent months.

“You’re not doing a good job of sounding human”

These are just a few examples of a problem that overwhelms the unsuspecting consumer—like Kupfer’s parents, who unwittingly gifted him Florence’s book.

While he and Sheehan did not reach a firm conclusion about Florence’s authenticity, Kupfer left room for the benefit of some doubt.

“Signora Florence, if you’re out there and not hallucinating an LLM, I’m really sorry to suggest you’re an AI, but you’re not doing a great job of sounding human,” he wrote on X.