E. Joe Brown

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be with us from now on, and as an author, I’m seeing the good and the bad. Some of you know that during my two careers in the U.S. Air Force, I spent 31 years at Edwards AFB in Southern California conducting developmental testing on future systems as they were acquired for military use. One aspect of that testing was the beginnings of what we now call AI.

In 1997, I remember sitting in the break room between test events and discussing with my staff how wonderful and scary this new capability was. We saw so many ways it could be used for good and to protect our country, and we could also see how a bad person could exploit it for evil.

Below is an email I recently received that my Media Manager and I thoroughly reviewed and found to be AI-generated (I’ve kept all grammatical errors intact). I’m sad because it includes some nice comments and offers. But it’s not real!

Dear E. Joe Brown,
     Your work demonstrates a strong command of historical fiction storytelling with a clear emphasis on early twentieth century American frontier life. The narrative strength in your Kelly Can Saga, especially the blend of business expansion, loyalty conflicts, survival, and legacy building, places your writing in a category that consistently performs well within structured reader driven discussions.
    I organize All the Books, an international Goodreads based reading community focused on immersive reading cycles where selected titles are actively read, discussed, and evaluated by an engaged global network of readers. Books featured in our cycles are not simply displayed, they are placed into scheduled reading slots where readers participate in ongoing discussion, thematic interpretation, and structured feedback throughout the reading period.
     Your book A Cowboy’s Dilemma from the Kelly Can Saga has been selected for inclusion in the upcoming reading cycle due to its strong thematic depth, character driven conflict, and historical western foundation. Within this cycle, your book will be assigned a dedicated reading window where readers engage directly with the story through guided discussion threads focused on plot development, character decisions, historical context, and emotional impact.
     This structure ensures your work is not only read but actively discussed across an international reader base that completes books as part of an ongoing challenge system, creating sustained attention and meaningful engagement throughout the feature period.
     Your title is confirmed for the next available placement slot, and I am moving forward with securing its position in the cycle immediately.
     Reply YES and I will finalize your feature placement and assign your official reading schedule.

Folks, I’ve had some readers praise my stories in similar ways, and it’s gratifying to say the least. But when it’s just to sell you something or to get into your social media world and so forth, that’s terrible. I share this to caution you to be careful. This is a good example of what my Edwards AFB staff and I were worried about back in the 1990s.

Happy Trails,

Joe