AI-generated ripoffs of original books flooding Amazon, authors cry

Numerous writers have expressed astonishment upon discovering that their books were being illicitly replicated by artificial intelligence (AI) and sold on the Amazon e-commerce platform. Writer and journalist Rory Cellan-Jones recently stumbled upon a memoir on Amazon that he had co-authored, featuring a cover design created by an unfamiliar individual. He shared his bewilderment, stating, "I thought: 'This is strange – who's writing a biography of me?'" 

It was subsequently disclosed that the text within his memoir had seemingly been generated by AI, facilitated by tools such as ChatGPT, which empower individuals to produce extensive written content without manual composition. Amazon removed the biography and other works attributed to the pseudonymous author, but the report noted that numerous similar AI-generated publications were slipping through the platform's filters designed to identify substandard books.

On one particular day, fifteen AI-generated books authored by someone using the pseudonym 'Steven Walryn' were published, only to be taken down by Amazon several months later. In another instance, author Jane Friedman, known for her writings on publishing, successfully compelled Amazon to remove five fraudulent titles falsely attributed to her and created through AI.

Commenting on the issue, Nicola Solomon, the CEO of the Society of Authors (SoA), remarked, "Amazon is evidently grappling with substantial challenges posed by the influx of AI-generated products in its marketplace, and it appears to be lagging in its response."

Concerns have also been raised by renowned authors such as Margaret Atwood, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Philip Pullman, who fear that their literary works are being employed to train AI models without their consent, recognition, or compensation.

An Amazon spokesperson asserted that the company dedicates substantial efforts to enforcing content guidelines and eliminating books that violate them. The spokesperson clarified that while AI-generated content is permitted, it must conform to Amazon's content guidelines and not result in a subpar customer experience.

In the previous month, The Authors' Guild, in collaboration with seventeen prominent authors including Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, and Jodi Picoult, initiated a new legal action against OpenAI in the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that OpenAI engaged in wholesale copying of the plaintiffs' works without permission or compensation, subsequently using these copyrighted materials in the development of large language models.

During the same period, authors Michael Chabon, David Henry Hwang, Rachel Louise Snyder, and Ayelet Waldman also brought forth a lawsuit, accusing OpenAI of deriving benefits and profits from the "unauthorised and unlawful utilisation" of their copyrighted content.

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