AI FICTION IN THE WILD

This paper investigates how readers and writers are utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate fiction. While much of the existing discourse focuses on professional authors using AI to streamline their workflows, this study shifts the focus to the end-user. By analyzing over 500,000 anonymized, English-language conversations from the WildChat dataset, the authors explore the prevalence and nature of AI-generated fiction in everyday use.

The researchers discovered that fiction generation is a primary use case for LLMs, accounting for more than one-third of the analyzed conversations. This activity is largely driven by "power users" who engage in sophisticated, iterative processes. The authors identify specific user profiles, such as "infinite story demanders," who repeatedly prompt the model to generate variations of the same narrative over extended periods. The content produced frequently leans toward fanfiction and erotica, prioritizing generic forms, immediacy, and niche combinations of story elements over traditional literary complexity.

The authors propose that this trend signals a shift toward a "solipsistic reader-writer" model. Unlike traditional literature, which relies on a reciprocal exchange between a human author and a human reader, this new mode of consumption occurs within a closed loop where the user acts as both creator and consumer. The authors argue that this practice shares structural affinities with the consumption of pornography, as both are defined by on-demand gratification, repetition, and a lack of social mediation. This development raises significant questions about the future of storytelling, as AI-generated fiction increasingly replaces the "human other" with a stochastic, sycophantic machine.

As AI becomes integrated into entertainment ecosystems, understanding these user behaviors is critical for literary and media scholars. The findings suggest that AI is not merely a tool for professional writers but a platform for a new, isolated form of cultural consumption that challenges traditional notions of authorship, creativity, and the social function of fiction.