Red Raven Publications

28/05/2026

This is pretty scary. Fake scientific papers using real scientists name. It’s reaching a point you can’t trust anything you read.

🔗: nbcnews.to/4vacAi2

A network of fake academic journals masquerading as legitimate publications has published more than a hundred AI-generated papers in recent months, in some cases using the names of real professors at top universities without their knowledge.

Vasant Dhar, a very real professor of data science and AI at New York University, was one of the academics caught in the slop onslaught.

After one of Dhar’s colleagues reached out to him about an odd new article listed under his name in the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (IJAIR), he looked it up and concluded that the article was generated by AI and had somehow attached his name to the text.

"It’s really clever, because it looks like this alleged paper of mine is taken from and based off of a chapter from my recent book,” he said.

Several professors say the fiasco is a warning about the future of scientific knowledge.

19/04/2026

OpenAI has announced it is pausing plans to build a multi-billion pound data centre for AI in the UK, claiming concerns about energy costs and regulation of AI as key to its decision.

This comes after the government scrapped the proposal that AI could be trained on UK creatives' work unless they opted out.

The announcement has all the hallmarks of OpenAI having a hissy fit because they won't be able to run roughshod over UK creatives as has happened in the US and other countries. The fact they are claiming that the regulation of AI is a factor in their decision is telling.

They don't want there to be restrictions or regulations on what they can do with their tech and how they make their money. If ever there was an eye-opener about the true intentions of the major AI companies, this is it.

18/04/2026

In a radical reversal, Sweden has announced that students in schools will be required to use pen and paper rather than laptops and tablets to combat falling literacy rates.

Since the early 2000s, Sweden has encouraged the use of laptops in schools with around 80% of students at state-run high schools having access to a digital device by 2015. Tablet use was made compulsory for pre-schoolers in 2019 with the aim to encourage children from a young age to be tech savvy.

But a recent change of policy has seen tablets banned for under-twos, spending to be increased for books, paper and pens, and for mobile phones to be banned in schools even for educational uses later this year.

Various concerns about the high-amount of screen time Swedish students were undertaking were raised as part of a consultation in 2023, this included evidence that it reduced concentration and might even have an effect on brain development.

Sweden used to be a high-scorer in the literacy department, but since the introduction of heavy use of digital devices in schools that score has tumbled. It is hoped the return to books, pen and paper will reverse the decline.

17/04/2026

Snapchat is the latest tech company to replace thousands of employees with AI. Nearly 1,000 jobs were cut (equating to 16% of the workforce) in an effort to reduce yearly costs by $500m.

In a memo to staff, remaining employees will be required to use AI to 'reduce repetitive work and increase velocity.' The justification of the job losses was that the company needed a 'new way of working that is faster and more efficient, while pivoting towards profitable growth.'

Snapchat follows a pattern already seen with other large online firms such as Amazon, Meta and Pinterest who have axed thousands of employees in favour of AI.

Whether this will change the fortunes of Snapchat, which has notably underperformed and failed to be profitable over the years remains to be seen.

16/04/2026

Draft2Digital has announced it will be introducing new fees for its services from 14 May 2026 in an effort to counter the rise of AI slop that has flooded the market.

Low-quality content farmers who publish numerous AI generated books daily to generate income using the tactic of quantity over quality have become a real threat to indie writers. Examples such as Coral Hart who self-professed to publishing 200+ AI novels in a year and encouraged others to follow her online course to learn how to do the same are causing readers to question the quality of indie books.

D2D is endeavouring to root out these scammers and preserve the market and believes its new fees will help. This will include a $20 activation fee for new accounts (this will not affect existing accounts) and an annual maintenance fee of $12 for accounts that make less than $100 in book sales a year.

Responses are mixed at the announcement. Some writers agree that this, along with the other steps D2D takes to authentic genuine accounts are necessary in the age of AI, while others believe this is placing a paywall on indie publishing and fear further price hikes.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the fees if they do stop the AI slop.

Now we just have to wait and see what methods other indie publishers, including Amazon, decide to take to defeat the scammers and the AI writers.

16/04/2026

A Rose by Any Other Name is on a flash sale for the next couple of days (ebook only). Scan the code or use the link in the comments to get your copy today!

15/04/2026

Attendees of the Bologna Children's Book Fair, which opened its doors on Monday, have warned there is a dearth of suitable YA fiction for post-middle-grade audiences, particular young teenage boys.

The expansion of romantasy, with some adult titles crossing over into YA, is being blamed as well as authors simply not writing for young boys.

Faber's children's publisher Leah Thaxton commented, “Most short-changed are the boys, and there’s a fear in talking about it or suggesting not enough men are writing for kids. We need more humour, higher-octane stakes, more adrenaline-fuelled fiction and genuinely entertaining reads matching the thrills these boys are watching on-screen – that aren’t trying to teach anything at all.”

UK publishers are calling out for books that target the 12+ audience, and that do not revolve around romantasy themes.

If the gap is not plugged, publishers are concerning that readers could be lost as they struggle to find YA novels that appeal to them.

12/04/2026

Houston Fairchild was a good man who died doing a good thing, or so everyone thought…

His death in a bungled bank robbery should have been the end, but Houston had a plan to ensure that a little thing like death would not prevent his final case from being solved.

Now, armed with his dead partner’s notes and a mystery to crack, Colonel Bainbridge is tracking down a missing man who may just hold the answer to why Houston had to die.

Yet nothing is as it seems in the unravelling of Houston’s last case, and as the secrets and lies begin to mount up, so a killer becomes desperate to hide their tracks.

Death is lurking a little too close to Bainbridge and his niece Victoria – just how many times can they cheat the Reaper before their luck finally, and fatally, runs out?

Buy Who Killed Houston Fairchild? and begin your new crime solving adventure with the irrepressible Bainbridge and Victoria today!

Scan the QR code or link in the comments!

07/04/2026

Two years have passed since the murder of Houston Fairchild, two years when Colonel Bainbridge has mourned and wondered what really happened on that fateful day - now the time has come to reveal the killer!

On 12 April 2026, the newest Colonel Bainbridge novel will be released and finally we will learn who killed Houston Fairchild!

Watch this space for more details!