Kindle App Now Includes AI Assistant for Character and Plot Questions

[MacRumors]

Amazon has added a new feature to its Kindle app on iOS that uses artificial intelligence to answer questions about the book you're reading, the company has announced.

Available in the U.S. only, "Ask This Book" is described as an "expert reading assistant" that allows users to highlight any passage in what they are reading and ask questions about plot details, character relationships, and thematic elements. The feature's answers are spoiler-free, revealing information only up to the current reading position. The in-book chatbot is available in books by default, and authors cannot opt out.

"The feature uses technology, including AI, to provide instant, spoiler-free answers to customers' questions about what they're reading," Amazon told PubLunch. "Ask this Book provides short answers based on factual information about the book which are accessible only to readers who have purchased or borrowed the book and are non-shareable and non-copyable."

With the latest Kindle app update installed, readers in the U.S. can find the feature in the in-book menu, or simply highlight any passage and tap "Ask" in the contextual pop-up menu.

Ask This Book is currently limited to English-language books. Amazon plans to add the feature to Kindle devices and Android OS next year.

Article Link: Kindle App Now Includes AI Assistant for Character and Plot Questions

 

[justanotherdave]

So what's the point of even reading the book anymore when you can Cole's Notes the whole thing?

What a useless idea.

 

[Line_Noise]

"What are you reading for?"

 

[Porco]

“non-shareable and non-copyable."

Thank you for sharing a copy of the example of the non-shareable and non-copyable feature in the photo appearing in the article about the feature that is non-shareable and non-copyable.

 

[Brenster]

So what's the point of even reading the book anymore when you can Cole's Notes the whole thing?

What a useless idea.

Quite. People who might want or make use of this kind of feature generally aren’t the one who would be reading a book via Kindle in the first place.

Ask This Book is currently limited to English-language books. Amazon plans to add the feature to Kindle devices and Android OS next year.

Please don’t. My Paperwhite works just fine without ‘tools for the inattentive’ being shoehorned in.

 

[It’s always something]

Authors and publishers can’t opt out, and you can’t turn it off, but you *can* delete the Kindle app 👍

 

[DavidLeblond]

I'm not a frequent reader, I will read in bursts when I go on vacation and then here and there when I'm at home. So yeah, there are times where I sometimes think "wait, am I supposed to know this character?" because they were introduced early in the book that I actually read 2 months ago. There IS a feature on the current Kindle where it will show you the page where the character was first introduced, but ... yeah, I don't hate this idea.

 

[TTTedP]

So what's the point of even reading the book anymore when you can Cole's Notes the whole thing?

Cole? What happened to Cliff?

 

[tkermit]

Amazon is making it easier for you to stay immersed in your books

…by forcing their AI assistant on you. 🤖

Reminds me of Apple's claim that Liquid Glass will bring more focus to your content.

 

[Nikhil72]

absolutely not. People can’t use their brain anymore, it’s wild.

 

[whirlpoolbread]

So what's the point of even reading the book anymore when you can Cole's Notes the whole thing?

What a useless idea.

Even worse, they allow you to highlight a word and get a definition. People don’t have to buy a dictionary anymore. /s

Seriously, the point is to get context on something in a book. For example Dune is a difficult read, having to flip to the glossary to figure out what things meant. Ulysses was notorious for being stream of conscious writing and many require reading aides or guides. Some may think that’s part of the reading experience or that since they enjoyed the toil, others should as well. For me it’s about helping the reader understand the book better.

 

[dasmb]

So what's the point of even reading the book anymore when you can Cole's Notes the whole thing?

What a useless idea.

As a Eng Lit BA graduate, I can't agree less?

For one: if you want to avoid reading, there are much cheaper options than buying it on Kindle.

For another: discourse and context elevate a text. It's fun to discuss your favorite characters, understand references and pick up on details you might have missed. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but even if you read carefully you almost never fully understand a text the first time you read it. The brain just isn't designed to resolve detail that way, and asking "hey I missed it, when did these two characters hook up" solves this resolution problem in a much more targeted way.

More to the Kindle point: if you're a slow or periodic reader, it can be helpful to get a reminder about who a character is and what their motivations are. I'm not proud of it but due to priorities, moods and basically just wanting to take my time it took me nearly a decade to finish "Gravity's Rainbow." Part of the problem was that every time I'd come back to it, I'd have to backtrack a chapter or two to remember what was going on, where the characters were, etc. I would have enjoyed being able to get a quick recap, especially one that avoided reading ahead.

And of course there are works written in archaic language (Faerie Queene, anything Shakespeare) where an active, on-demand plain English summary could be preferable to foot and end notes. Oh and I should include infamously dense works (Umberto Eco, DFW's "Infinite Jest"), multi-volume works, or the just plain bizarre (Doris Lessing, Haruki Murakami).

This feels like an appropriate and appropriately optional use of technology. Would I use it? No but only because I don't read on Kindle, I'm into paperbacks.

 

[needsomecoffee]

Part way into "Murder in Paradise" by Ann Cleeves (one of her earlier books - I have read most of the later ones). Reading it on my Kindle. Sarah and Jim move to the small Scotish island of Kinness. Then a parade of characters comes at the reader so fast, it is hard to keep track of them all. Some islanders, some "outsiders". Sorta getting a handle on it (two main families I believe), but would welcome this feature to help get a better mental picture of who is who. So while I would likely not use this much, when in a situation such as Cleeves has written, it would be welcome. People always assume the worst re: AI. It has its place imho. HTH, NSC.

ps: I read a lot, and think I am pretty OK at it.

 

[machoooooooooo]

I'm not a frequent reader, I will read in bursts when I go on vacation and then here and there when I'm at home. So yeah, there are times where I sometimes think "wait, am I supposed to know this character?" because they were introduced early in the book that I actually read 2 months ago. There IS a feature on the current Kindle where it will show you the page where the character was first introduced, but ... yeah, I don't hate this idea.

I agree! Besides, if people don't want to use it, they don't have to.

The only thing I would worry about is if it will be smart enough not to tell you any spoilers. Hopefully it will know only to tell you about the book up the the point where you have already read.

 

[Techwatcher]

I agree! Besides, if people don't want to use it, they don't have to.

The only thing I would worry about is if it will be smart enough not to tell you any spoilers. Hopefully it will know only to tell you about the book up the the point where you have already read.

Yep, but they need to allow the feature to be turned off by folks. AI is being forced on people that couldn’t give 2 sh*ts about it.

 

[DavidLeblond]

Yep, but they need to allow the feature to be turned off by folks. AI is being forced on people that couldn’t give 2 sh*ts about it.

I'm not sure how that's any different than just not using the feature. I have a lot of things that have features I don't use. I have a Playstation and a Switch that have capture buttons (and the Switch 2 has a chat button) on them that I've literally never pressed. I didn't pry the button off the controllers.... just didn't press them. So if you don't want to get a reminder about where a character came from-- don't press the button.

 

[dasmb]

Part way into "Murder in Paradise" by Anne Cleeves (one of her earlier books - I have read most of the later ones). Reading it on my Kindle. Sarah and Jim move to the small Scotish island of Kinness. Then a parade of characters comes at the reader so fast, it is hard to keep track of them all. Some islanders, some "outsiders". Sorta getting a handle on it (two main families I believe), but would welcome this feature to help get a better mental picture of who is who. So while I would likely not use this much, when in a situation such as Cleeves has written, it would be welcome. People always assume the worst re: AI. It has its place imho. HTH, NSC.

ps: I read a lot, and think I am pretty OK at it.

You /are/ OK at it. The beauty of books is that they can be arbitrarily complex and part of the fun of reading is determining how to manage that complexity.

One of the things I love about "Acceptable" grade used books, and the reason I will always select them over new if there's an option, is that they tend to arrive with another reader's notes peppered throughout. I get such a kick out of this -- it's like having an extra puzzle to figure out, because such readers NEVER notice the actual important bits. They highlight superficial paragraphs that have nothing to do with the book's real themes, starting off real strong in chapter one but petering out by chapter three. Almost never any notes at the end of the book -- do these readers ever finish them?

A new tool has arrived that sucks at generating ideas but excels at summarizing them. It's dynamic and on demand. Using this tool might allow the serial underliner to drop their highlighter and just enjoy the flow of the prose, understanding how easy it will be to return to the earlier items later if needed.

 

[maxoakland]

I’m getting second hand embarrassment

 

[Plutonius]

It's great for students writing book reports without having to read the book .

 

[Mousse]

Ugh. If it start making up poetic reasons for the author's choice of curtain colors.😖

 

[Asthmatic Kitty]

Still drives me mad that they've not updated the “continuous scrolling” feature with ProMotion … four years after it was introduced on the iPhone.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

"Hey Alexa, sing this book for me" 🫣

 

[Will Co]

Yep, but they need to allow the feature to be turned off by folks. AI is being forced on people that couldn’t give 2 sh*ts about it.

Quite. Presumably because they're trying to figure out ways to monetise the thing and make some return on investment. "If we force it on folks, at least *some* of them are going to use it. We thus create a demand. And then we start charging for it....."

I keep the Wifi off on my Paperwhite to preserve battery. I only turn it on to fetch a new book. So that precludes me from using AI anyway. Not that I would want to go anywhere near it for use-cases such as this. I prefer to read a book myself and make my own conclusions about plot, characters etc.

 

[contacos]

So what's the point of even reading the book anymore when you can Cole's Notes the whole thing?

What a useless idea.

My coworker is using some AI subscription that summaries books for a 20 min run.

My BF is always asking ChatGPT to describe him a movie ending. Before we even finished watching! The "funny" thing is seeing how often it just hallucinates and writes up plot details that don't even happen out of its rear end

We are doomed

 

[klasma]

I wonder how it will do with the math books I’m reading.