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Max Spero

ON THE RECORD · 12 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified

That is a part of it, but if you talk to anyone involved, it is only a small, small part of the bigger picture.

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero says the Pangram score is only a small part of why book deals are canceled.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
The average person is at Pangram because they care about the mission.

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero explains why people join Pangram during an interview about his hiring ethos.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
If the value of your work is dependent on deceiving the end user into thinking it wasn’t written by AI, then

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero, quoting his own X post, says work whose value depends on deceiving readers about AI use will be a problem.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
but I think they’ve lost a lot of trust, especially in the world of creatives.

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero adds that AI companies have lost trust, especially in the world of creatives.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
I think people overstate the importance of Pangram in the Shy Girl story.

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero downplays Pangram's role in the Shy Girl AI scandal.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
I don’t want to completely throw the AI companies under the bus,

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero discusses AI companies and their loss of trust among creatives.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
that’s going to be a problem.

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero concludes his thought about work that depends on deceiving users about AI authorship.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
I put it in [Pangram], I posted it, and then later The New York Times asked me for comment,

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero recounts how he ran Ballard's Shy Girl manuscript through Pangram and posted the result.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
All of our datasets are properly licensed, which I think is kind of rare in the AI world today,

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero claims Pangram's datasets are properly licensed, which he considers rare in the AI industry.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
Basically, with every book deal, to my knowledge, it hasn’t really been about the Pangram score,

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero downplays Pangram's impact on canceled book deals.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
Yeah. And, like, yeah … it is what it is. I hadn’t looked too closely. I didn’t go read the whole PDF. I just put it straight into Pangram.

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero responds to criticism that his copy of Ballard's manuscript came from a pirating website.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
People shouldn’t be afraid about disclosing this because your work should stand on its own as quality and something that people want to read, regardless of …

Max Spero · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-02

Spero discusses Pangram's Substack integration and argues writers should not fear disclosure.

verbatim, matched to source Wired
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