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Our Wisdom Keeper Teachers
Midsouth Women's Herbal Conference & Collective
AI & HERBALISM
-OR-
Who the $%#! is Rosemary Gladwell
Written by Michelle Rigling, Founder of Midsouth Women's Herbal (11/25/25)
This article is not a quick read, but I think it is an important one. So much so, that I am going far beyond a social media post and hoping to highlight this important issue.
One common thread that runs through every project, offering and conference that I am involved in is the vision of preserving the wild wisdom of both humans and the earth. From healing with wild plants and rewilding the mind to reconnecting with nature and remembering ourselves as stewards of the land and folk traditions. In addition, it has always been very important to me to support and credit our human wisdom keepers, elders and herbalists. I don't even want to imagine where we'd be without them!
What I am writing about today feels like a threat to this vision and at the very least I want everyone to have enough information to make conscious choices. I do not deny that AI holds exciting promises and is already performing impressive feats. At the same time, we need to be aware of how experimental and unchecked AI may be tricking us and even harming us. This topic is complicated and controversial. I send today's newsletter with the purest intention of providing you with information you may not have and perhaps offering a starting point for your own reflection and research.​
THE STATISTIC THAT IS SHOCKING THE HERBAL COMMUNITY
A recent analysis reported that an estimated 82% of herbal books on Amazon have been written by AI (artificial intelligence). 82%!!! Unfortunately, many of these books contain inaccurate, misleading or oversimplified information and some omit very important precautions and contraindications. The books are often beautiful and highly rated, making it unlikely that a shopper would think twice before buying. These books dilute the market, compete with human-authored works of art, and are problematic in a number of ways.
I did my own Amazon search with the keyword "herbal medicine" and I had to sift through dozens of AI books to find just a few written by human authors! Plus, almost all the "sponsored" or "other customers bought" recommendations were AI books.
As though that is not bad enough, here's what's really ruffling my feathers...a long list of lies is required to make this work. AI is not just writing these books, AI is also making up author names and biographies, creating false testimonials and reviews, and even generating photographs of these fictitious authors.
<< CASE IN POINT >>
Take The Natural Healing Handbook written by Luna Filby, listed as a #1 bestseller in Herbal Remedies on Amazon. This book and almost everything about it seems to be a lie. And, this is simply one example among many...
Lie #1: Nonexistent Author & Name
Based on an Originality.ai analysis and hours of my own research, Luna Filby is not a real person. This name has been generated by AI. "She" has no website, no online presence and a google search offers no results regardless of how many "facts" from her bio you pair with her name, her apothecary name or her hometown. However, note the clever name: Luna Filby. Gotta love a moon reference, right? Makes ya feel all magical and cozy.
Lie #2: Computer Generated Pic & Bio
The photo and bio accompanying "Luna" has been made up. None of it is real or factual. The photo is an AI-generated recreation of woman in a stock pexels video. I personally went down the research rabbit hole to figure this out. I discovered that several AI-author photos were based on a real person's photo with slight modifications, such as the one of "Luna". The author bio follows suit.
Lie #3: Fabricated Editorial Reviews
Four editorial reviews are listed by Dr. Rachel Bennett (noted as an herbalist), Michael Travers (a supposed Plant Medicine Educator), Dr. Leila Morgan (an Integrative Medicine Practitioner), and Sarah Wynn (Herbal Illustrator). Guess what? These people are NOT REAL! A few Dr. Rachel Bennetts do exist, but no one identifying as an herbalist. The same can be said for Dr. Leila Morgan. Michael seems to be made up completely and Sarah Wynn has been appropriated from a real illustrator who had nothing to do with this book!
Lie #4: Fictitious Reader Reviews
The book has over 750 reviews, many which are theorized to be AI generated, creating a 4.5 star rating. However, there are a few reviews that actually call out the book as "AI-generated junk" that is "misleading" and "full of inconsistencies."
Lie #5: Misleading Marketing
AI has even created YouTube promo videos for the book, placing them on AI-generated YouTube channels.
Lie # 6: Unreal Editor
"Luna Filby" also has released a second book, Tincture Recipes for Beginners, also generated by AI. This book contains all the concerns from above plus an editor, My Harmony Herb, who is likewise untraceable. However, if you refer back to Luna's biography, you'll see that My Harmony Herb is actually the name of her supposed apothecary. How in the world is it that an apothecary could edit a book?
Who the %$#! is Rosemary GladWELL?
AI has created other herbalist names for expert testimonials and authors such as James Peterson. My guess is that this is spinoff of the real man, James Duke, who co-authored the classic Peterson Field Guides. Another: Rosemary Gladwell, stealing over half of Rosemary Gladstar's name, an elder and grandmother of herbalism. She has dedicated her entire life to making herbal medicine accessible to all, saving native plants, and leading hundreds of herbal programs plus actually authoring some of the most recommended and revered books in herbal medicine. I imagine a beginner returning home from an herbal conference shopping for their first herbal book, remembering that folks were talking about this amazing woman, Rosemary Glad-something... then landing on an AI generated book by Gladwell and thinking they had found what they were looking for.
Michelle with the very real and very wonderful Rosemary Gladstar at the 2025 Wild Medicine Conference.
MY REFLECTIONS
It may seem harmless or even exciting that AI could sweep the internet, piece together its findings and generate an entire book that summarizes topics in herbalism. But AI is not always pulling from valid, dependable or educated resources. Artificial intelligence is nowhere near perfect and everything happening right now is part of a program to modify and improve AI technology. Meanwhile, we are the guinea pigs! I personally do not want herbal training, folk medicine recipes, psychedelic education or nature-based wisdom from AI. Seems a little counter-intuitive to me, even if the content was accurate.
WHAT WE CAN DO
It may feel like a lost cause, but I think it's worth a second thought. If all this is feeling a little icky to you, here are some simple things we can do to support human herbalists, and those whose lives depend on compensation from their hard work and dedication to folk medicine and healing traditions.
Support authors and herbalists you know or who you have met.
Research author names before buying a book.
Don't assume that a promo video or glowing endorsement validates a book as being written by a human.
Keyword search Amazon customer reviews using the words "AI" and "artificial intelligence".
Be wary of books that have covers that appear to be AI-generated.
Buy books, programs and products from herbalists in your community when you need herbal medicines or gifts.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS & AUTHORS
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Looking for an herbal medicine book for yourself or as a gift? Below are some authors and books we recommend. We hope you'll join us in supporting their work!
Herbal Authors We Love (and Know!)
Rosemary Gladstar
Phyllis D. Light
Lisa Bedner
CoreyPine Shane
Rebecca Beyer
Leah Larabell
David Winston
Matthew Wood
Kat Maier
Sajah Popham
Byron Ballard
Dana Driscoll
Danielle Galvin
Robin Rose Bennett
Elizabeth Guthrie
Christopher Hobbs
Juliet Blankenspoor
Ellen Evert Hopman
NOT JUST HERBALISM​
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Herbalism is not the only field that you may rely on that is being targeted by AI. AI-generated books, websites, videos and social media are being created around the topics of mental health, spirituality, therapy, menopause, nervous system resets, parenting and tourism. Beyond this, if you have friends who are creators (artists, designers, poets, photographers), you probably already know that AI is threatening their livelihood with over 34 million AI images being created every single day, quickly challenging the value of human-crafted artwork, not to mention diluting the market. These are things that many of us just don't think about when we are shopping, reposting or engaging with content.
OTHER AI TIDBITS
Several studies have found that over 50% of social media content, including posts, ads, and reels are AI generated. Some of this includes real humans using AI to generate content on their behalf, but a considerable amount of it is not.
That talking toddler that seems too young to be speaking in full sentences? That's AI. The cat and dog duo playing perfectly orchestrated pranks on each other, destroying the house? That's AI. Those thousands of comments saying how amazing or miraculous a razor, coffee, candle or online training is... so many of those are AI bots!
As we all seek meaning, connection and community, I try to remember that social media was designed to be both distracting and addictive, but in a way that tricks our brains and nervous systems. This is why I love our herbal community so much... we continue to gather in person and in nature to share, grow and just be together.
Thank you for being part of our community!
FROM OUR FRIENDS AT MOUNTAIN ROSE HERBS​​
