TLDR:
- The Twitter account @Horse_ebooks, created over a decade ago, functioned like today’s AI-powered chatbots by reusing and repurposing existing writing in viral fragments.
- The account amassed over 200,000 followers by tweeting automated excerpts from ebooks, which, when decontextualized, took on poetic meanings.
- In 2013, it was revealed that the account was managed by a human, Jacob Bakkila, who purchased it from a spammer and simulated its “speech” by tweeting excerpts from books.
- The interview with Bakkila explores topics such as human-robot authorship, the evolution of AI and chatbots, the integration of AI into the art world, and the changes in Twitter’s character limit.