Apple Pages is gaslighting me. (And maybe you.)
Recently, Apple released their new AI tools including options to proofread, rewrite, and even connect with ChatGPT (no way) in their writing app Pages. Curious, I decided to play with the rewrite tool to see how it worked. I will admit, as much as I am against AI, I can see its use as an editing tool. I certainly don’t take its rewriting suggestions verbatim, but it has made me rethink some of my writing choices—switching sentences, replacing words, etc. However, I have been finding some strange things as I slowly review the entirety of my Lost Avatar story. Words have been replaced and phrases have been added that I know I didn’t have in the original. And this is before utilizing the rewrite tool.
Now, one might argue that it’s over two-hundred thousand words. There’s no way I could possibly remember all of them exactly, and that’s true. However, I’ve read my story enough times to know when something is out-of-place or inaccurate. The proof? The final version is posted on AO3. Several times I’ve had to reference my own work to see if I had really written what is now in the final draft on my Pages.
The first time I noticed it, I dismissed it. A fluke, right? The second time, I got annoyed, which prompted this entire post.
“That’s not Mako.” Korra had seen the cold stare on his face once before. It was the same as when she had fought him while he was possessed by darkness. Except this time there was no dark energy around him. Just anger.
What I recently found in Pages:
“That’s not Mako.” Korra had seen the cold stare on his face once before. It was the same as when she had fought him while he was possessed by darkness. Except this time there was no dark energy around him. Just anger which meant she might still be able to reason with him.
See the difference? The addition of that last phrase? I have no idea where that came from and, again, this is prior to utilizing the rewrite tool.
So, a word of caution to anyone that is using Pages as a word processor or using its AI tools. You might want to review your works or make sure you’re saving a copy in another location. Otherwise, they might not be the same as you remember them.
