The best-selling cookbook author might not even be human

Reports and readers suggest that a “bestselling” cookbook author on Amazon may actually be a creation of artificial intelligence.

At a glance, the authenticity of “The Ultimate Crock Pot Cookbook for Beginners” seems to be real. Its author is Louisa Florence, and her sparse bio claims to be a 60-year-old writer from Philadelphia who learned culinary arts in Tuscany and has since worked in restaurants.

“Her dream is to devote herself completely to the kitchen,” reads Florence’s biography alongside a suspicious snapshot for his book crockpot.

Florence’s biographical photograph exhibits characteristics that may suggest an artificial intelligence construct. The close-up lacks a shoulder and fails to display any matching earrings of Florence.

The New York Post could not independently verify the author’s identity and has contacted Amazon for a statement. Voice of America journalist Matthew Kupfer initially identified significant errors and ostentatious writing in Florence’s work in March.

“People point out typos, a chickpea and quinoa recipe that doesn’t mention chickpeas and quinoa in the ingredients,” he wrote to X after revealing that the book was a “practical, thoughtful” wedding anniversary gift from his parents.

Recently, Philadelphia magazine attempted to locate the city’s alleged chef without success. The fact that Luisa is also the name of a famous specialty shop in Florence, Italy, may contribute to the confusion. Furthermore, Philadelphia magazine noted that the crockpot cookbook contained only 424 recipes, despite advertising 1,001.

A page titled “What is a Crock-pot?” has further fueled the allegations of fraud. The book, along with the rest of its series — some titles of which have topped Amazon’s book category rankings, as reported by the magazine — has been removed from the retail site.

Sheehan pointed out that one book was associated with an enigmatic publisher called Zoe Publishing Ltd., established on July 21, 2020, and dissolved just over three years afterward, on December 19, 2023.

In response to the magazine’s inquiry, Amazon detailed its existing policies designed to fight AI counterfeiting but stopped short of conceding the possibility of the book being counterfeit.

“We have a robust set of methods that help us proactively detect content that violates our guidelines, whether it’s created by AI or not,” the company wrote.

“We’re also removing books that don’t comply with these guidelines, including content that creates a poor customer experience. When abuse patterns warrant it, we suspend publisher accounts to prevent repeated abuse.”

As the public ponders the whereabouts of Luisa Florence, they might also scrutinize their bookshelves for genuine literature. This chaos represents just one facet of an escalating issue in e-commerce.

Similarly, another apparent fictitious writer, Justin J. Robson, has authored numerous cookbook titles available on Amazon. These instances are merely a glimpse into a broader issue impacting unwary consumers.

While both he and Sheehan did not come to a firm conclusion about Florence’s authenticity, Kupfer left room for some doubt.

“Signora Florence, if you’re out there and not the hallucination of an LLM, I’m really sorry for suggesting you’re an AI, but you aren’t doing a great job of sounding human,” he wrote to X.