Writing-group member says online session host began recording members with AI transcription software without asking; two members objected (first-person)
In a Reddit post on 19 October 2026, a member of an online creative writing group writes that the day before, the group's host started recording the session using AI transcription software without asking. According to the post, a participant noticed the notification and asked him about it, and the poster and that participant told him they were not comfortable with it. The poster says the host seemed embarrassed and said he should have asked first, but also said members had requested it. The poster had earlier told the host and regulars that they had left another group because it used AI transcription software, and describes the group as one where people read out their original work. The post does not name the software or say whether the recording stopped or what happened to it. The account is uncorroborated.
- AI system
- Unidentified AI transcription tool
- Occurred
- 18 Oct 2026
- Reported
- 19 October 2026
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Received personal information about the person
- Reported harm
- Loss of Autonomy
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Privacy · Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 4 claims: 4 reported. 5 open questions
- People reported harmed
- At least 2 people
AI system as recorded: AI transcription software, not named in the post, that the group's host used to record an online session, as the poster describes it
What Happened
The group. The poster writes that after moving to a rural area they joined online writing groups, leaving a first one that used AI transcription software, and joined another where members write silently on weekdays and do prompts and feedback on Sundays. The poster describes it as "a group where people read out their original work."
Earlier objection. The poster says they had told the host and some regulars that they left the other group because it used AI transcription software.
The recording. The poster writes: "yesterday, the host started recording us using AI transcription software. A participant noticed the notification and asked him about it." The poster says the host did not seem to realise members would be notified, and that the poster and the participant told him they were not comfortable with it.
The host's response. According to the poster, he seemed embarrassed and said he should have asked first, then said twice that members had requested it.
Limits. The software, what was transcribed or kept, whether the audio left the host's device, how many members were recorded and whether the recording stopped are not stated. The host's account is not recorded.
Reported harm
The poster says the host recorded the writing-group session with AI transcription software without asking, and that the poster and another member told him they were not comfortable with it (first-person account, uncorroborated).
How Harm Occurred
By the poster's account, the host recorded an online writing-group session with AI transcription software without asking the members, capturing what was said in the session; the poster had already told the host they objected to AI transcription.
Outcome
UnknownThe poster says the host apologised for not asking first but said members had requested the recording. The post does not say whether the recording was stopped, kept or deleted.
What remains unknown
- Which AI transcription software was used and whether audio or transcripts were sent to its servers.
- Whether the recording was stopped, and whether any transcript was kept, shared or deleted.
- How many members were recorded and which of them had requested or agreed to the recording.
- The host's own account.
- What was said or read while the recording ran.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The poster says the host started recording the session using AI transcription software and that a participant noticed the software's notification. That describes what members, including the poster, said in the session being captured by AI transcription software without their being asked, which the poster connects to their discomfort and objection. The post does not name the software or say whether audio or transcripts were sent to a server, kept or deleted.
4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The poster says that on the day before the post the host of an online writing group started recording the session using AI transcription software, and that a participant noticed the notification and asked him about it.
Causal attribution. Poster's account; the software is not named.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
yesterday, the host started recording us using AI transcription software. A participant noticed the notification and asked him about it.
Reported The poster says the poster and that participant told the host they were not comfortable with the recording, and that he said he should have asked first but also said members had requested it.
Causal attribution. Poster's account of the objection and the host's response.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
She and I said we weren't comfortable with it at all. He seemed embarrassed and said, "Sorry, I should have asked first," but followed up by whining twice that members had requested it.
Reported The poster says they had earlier told the host and some regulars that they left another group because it used AI transcription software.
Causal attribution. Poster's account of a prior objection known to the host.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
I mentioned to them that I left another group because they were using AI transcription software
Reported The poster describes the group as one where members read out their original work.
Causal attribution. Poster's description of the group's activity; the post does not say what was said or read while the recording ran.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
It's literally a group where people read out their original work.
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Reddit post in r/antiai by a writing-group member, 19 Oct 2026: host recorded the session with AI transcription software(opens in new tab)
s1 · reddit.com · Social media post · English · Inspected · 19 October 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift Reddit archive API (posts/ids, HTTP 200); no translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. The post had no comments when read. Post created 20:15 UTC 19 Oct 2026; the poster writes 'yesterday', so the session was on 18 Oct 2026, a Sunday, the group's feedback day. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Ireland. Court countries: Unknown.
The session was held online and the post does not say where the host or other members were, so no event country is recorded. The poster writes that they recently moved to a rural area in Ireland, which places the poster only.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-20: Published under the 2026-10-06 privacy ruling and the public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of a writing-group session being recorded with AI transcription software without the members being asked, after the poster had told the host of their objection. Described with attribution and without corroboration; the host's apology and his statement that members had requested the recording are recorded.
People described
The poster and another participant in an online creative writing group, recorded without being asked (ages and genders not stated)
People reported harmed in this case
At least 2 people
0 AI participants · 2 other people harmed
Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.
Two people: the poster and the participant who noticed the notification, both of whom the poster says told the host they were not comfortable. Other members recorded are not counted; the host said some members had requested the recording.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Writing-group member says online session host began recording members with AI transcription software without asking; two members objected (first-person). AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-online-writing-group-host-recorded-session-with-ai-transcription-software-without-asking-member-says-first-person
BibTeX
@misc{2026_online_writing_group_host_recorded_session_with_ai_transcription_software_without_asking_member_says_first_person,
title = {Writing-group member says online session host began recording members with AI transcription software without asking; two members objected (first-person)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-online-writing-group-host-recorded-session-with-ai-transcription-software-without-asking-member-says-first-person}
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