Mia Ballard's novel Shy Girl was cancelled for using AI. You only know half the story

Mia Ballard's novel Shy Girl was cancelled for using AI. You only know half the story

Author: iHeartPodcasts April 8, 2026 Duration: 1:02:34

You've probably heard about author Mia Ballard. Her debut novel "Shy Girl" has been at the center of a controversy about whether she used AI to help write it. After a New York Times article, her publisher dropped her book. She's since deleted most of her social accounts and gone dark. 

This story is much bigger than whether one writer did or didn't use AI. It's about the question of who gets to set the standard in AI and creative work? And more importantly who gets protected, and who gets sacrificed to it?

Subscribe to Drey's excellent substack for sharp reporting and open source investigative journalism into tech and power: https://thedreydossier.substack.com 

Read / Watch Drey’s reporting on Shy Girl: https://thedreydossier.substack.com/p/the-shy-girl-ai-scandal-is-way-worse

Follow Drey on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok: @thedreydossier

Read more about the limitations of AI-detection software, and why many of the country's most respected universities have banned it. https://timrequarth.substack.com/p/why-you-shouldnt-trust-ai-detector 

Read Thad’s blog post called Shy Girl: The Background to the New York Times Story: https://thefutureofpublishing.com/2026/03/shy-girl-the-background-to-the-new-york-times-story/

Bridget’s SMNTY ep about ShyGirl: What the Shy Girl Conversation Says About AI and Art: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-stuff-mom-never-told-you-21123631/episode/what-the-shy-girl-conversation-says-about-ai-and-art-328745937

 

Let us know what you think by emailing hello@tangoti.com or leaving a comment on Spotify. 

Follow Bridget and TANGOTI on social media!  ||  instagram.com/bridgetmarieindc/ || tiktok.com/@bridgetmarieindc ||  youtube.com/@ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet || bsky.app/profile/tangoti.bsky.social

 

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You might have heard the old, tired joke that gives There Are No Girls on the Internet its name, but host Bridget Todd isn't laughing. Instead, she's building a vital archive, one conversation at a time. This iHeartPodcasts production digs into the real, human stories of how marginalized voices-far from being newcomers-have actually been the essential architects of our digital world from day one. Each episode moves beyond the headlines to chronicle the personal experiences, subcultures, and quiet revolutions that happen online, giving texture to the platforms and trends we often take for granted. You'll hear from the people whose creativity, labor, and community have fundamentally shaped technology, culture, and society, even when their contributions were overlooked or outright stolen. This isn't just a history lesson; it's an active reclamation. The podcast serves as an ongoing monument to the countless identities that make the internet a dynamic, messy, and profoundly human space. Tune in for narratives that are insightful, often surprising, and absolutely necessary for understanding where we've been and where we're headed next in our connected lives.
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There Are No Girls on the Internet
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