#unravel.me.now

[creativitycache]

Can we all just appreciate the thematic foreshadowing that lore.fm’s TikTok account was “unravel.me.now” only to completely unravel in less than 24 hours from launch

[millermenapologist]

IMPORTANT NOTICE: the app has been pulled, and the creator issued an "apology." All videos advertising it are now gone too.

Fandom friends, we once again got hit by the tech bros.

In the past few days, TikTok "creator" unravel.me.now has been advertising their new app to "transform all fics into audiobooks." Fics will be fed into the app, and an AI will churn out a text-to-speech version of it.

As per the app's creator's word, this is an opt-out situation: if you're an author and don't want your work to be used this way, you have to email them (team@lore.fm), provide proof of your ownership of the Ao3 account you are asking them not to use, and sternly demand to not be included in this shitshow. If you don't do this, you are giving blanket permission to the app's creator and to its users to do of your work whatever they please.

Of note, this won't stop the wrongful usage of your works either: if a reader of yours were to upload the file of one of your stories to the app, the app will churn out an audiobook version of it anyway.

If you email them, they will get back to you saying that what they're doing is perfectly within legality and that you have no recourse against them. Do not listen to them: they are purposefully trying to intimidate you. If you were to discover that your work has been used by this app, you can easily DMCA it, on the basis that they are using content you created in a non-transformative way and are doing so without your permission.

As a last point, it should be noted that this app was created by the same business who is making money off of AI stories. The reason why they're so interested in this project is because they are scraping material and feeding it into other AI apps, and do so under the guise of accessibility, as they know it'll give them considerably much less backlash. So far, the woman who is the face of this mess has pinky-promised no material will be scraped, but considering how hollow the rest of her promises are, there is simply no way this isn't one too.

[xilianx]

Hey, I don't know if you know this, but @/unravel.me.now on tiktok made an audible app for ao3 called lore.fm. She said that fics on ao3 will be put in the app and be read out loud with an AI voice. Authors can opt-out of it by emailing her, but otherwise she'll just assume that you allow your works to be put there. I'm not sure if this is a problem for you, but unravel.me.now also has a separate AI storytelling app, and she might end up scraping the works in the ao3 audible app to feed the AI storytelling app

I JUST SAW THESE TIKTOKS A FEW DAYS AGO! At the time, they hadn't disclosed how the app properly worked, but when I saw an example, I knew immediately it was Ai.

Though they had stated in that last Tiktok that it is not a generative ai/public hosting platform, I still have hesitation in participating in the app. I have already gone ahead an emailed them to not have my work included in when it is released.

With the state of Generative Ai for writing/Art and in general, it is extremely difficult or impossible to use such tools in an ethical way. I cannot in good conscious participate or willingly use any tool such as that, even if intentions behind it are good or approaching it an ethical way.

I will use this post to also let any follower know that I do not consent for my works to be submitted into any generative ai website or to any tool such as this one.

Thank you anon for bringing this to my attention, and I also hope this post reaches other authors/writers also wanting to be opted out.

[florencetheflowerfairy]

That lore dot fm app shut down btw

https://www.tiktok.com/@unravel.me.now/video/7370089601660177710?_r=1&_t=8mR6QsYPINv

[creativitycache]

EDIT: 5/18/24 Lore.fm has deleted its app, its website, and all prior TikToks. They uploaded a TikTok apologizing for the stress they caused EDIT: Update Lore.fm’s current version has been shut down! 5/17/24

Hey I don’t know if this is being talked about on Tumblr but thankfully the AO3 subreddit has a conversation going about this app that just went live.

TikTok user unravel.me.now has just launch an app (lore.fm) she is calling “Audible for AO3”. It’s an app that uses AI voices to read out fics.

🚨She is requiring any authors who do not want their fics to be on this app to OPT OUT by emailing team@lore.fm 🚨 🚨She has not given an actual template or how you’re supposed to prove you’re the author or said how her team will process this or how she will keep these requests secure🚨

I do not have this app. I haven’t seen anyone use it yet. According to Reddit users, unravel.me.now’s earlier TikToks stated she envisions the app being able to create libraries stored on that app and to have version of “Spotify wrapped”. That implies that eventually data collection must happen, if it’s not happening currently.

I don’t know the actual capabilities of this app. I don’t know the legalities. I do know that it personally feels like this app is trying to turn AO3 into a content generation source and I haven’t heard of the app allowing you to leave a comment or kudos or interact with the original work.

I’m just sad about this.

[creativitycache]

My other post was getting very unwieldy, so I'm making a simplified version of what we know about lore.fm's legal setup. This information does NOT come from any TikTok posted by unravel.me.now (the apps creator). I am ONLY using the information posted on lore.fm's official website and their page on the app store.

My previous posts included information Reddit had compiled from unravel.me.now's TikTok account. I found conflicting information on their official sources, and so I am making this post only using what she has posted officially and not just on her TikTok.

It advertises itself explicitly for AO3

2. There is no way that any of the in-app-store screenshots have shown that allows its users to leave comments, kudos, or any feedback on the original work.

3. It does NOT have a way for fanfic writers to opt out. It DOES say in their TOS that if you are a copywrite holder and you know your information is on the app you can file a DMCA request by emailing team@lore.fm with your full name, phone number, and email address.

4. They will turn over all your data including your IP address to authorities upon subpoena, and are governed by United States Law, specifically the State of New York.

5. If you use the app at all you have bound yourself to an arbitration agreement and cannot sue them. You must go through arbitration in New York County (Manhattan), New York. You can still use pre-litigation or small claims court.

6. The screenshots provided in the app store do not show any mechanism for sharing, but the TOS does make explicit mention of what you can and cannot share via the app so that leads me to believe sharing will be a function.

7. The data taken from the link the users provide the app to generate an audio file is converted to an audio file that is stored both locally on your device and on their servers. It is unclear how much other data from the source they hold onto.