Amazon to mandate that certain authors disclose their use of AI-generated content.
In response to sustained criticism from the Authors Guild and other organizations, Amazon.com has initiated a requirement for authors seeking to distribute their books through its e-book program. Authors must now notify the company in advance if their work incorporates artificial intelligence-generated material.
The Authors Guild has lauded these newly implemented regulations, which were unveiled on Wednesday, as an “encouraging initial step” aimed at curbing the proliferation of computer-generated books on Amazon’s online platform. Concerns had arisen among many writers that AI-generated books could potentially saturate the market and create an unfair situation for consumers who may unwittingly purchase AI-generated content.
In a statement posted on its official website, the Authors Guild expressed appreciation for “the Amazon team’s responsiveness to our concerns and their commitment to establishing transparency and accountability in the realm of AI-generated content.”
The updated passage on Amazon’s content guideline page, introduced this week, clarifies their distinction between AI-generated content, which necessitates disclosure, and AI-assisted content, for which disclosure is not mandatory.
However, the immediate effect of this decision may be constrained since Amazon currently has no plans to publicly flag books featuring AI content, a policy that a company spokesperson indicated they might reconsider.
Mary Rasenberger, the CEO of the Authors Guild, noted that her organization has been engaged in conversations with Amazon regarding AI-generated material since the beginning of this year.
“Amazon never opposed requiring disclosure but just said they had to think it through, and we kept nudging them. We think and hope they will eventually require public disclosure when a work is AI-generated,” she told The Associated Press on Friday.
The Authors Guild, which advocates for the interests of numerous published authors, played a pivotal role in coordinating an open letter in July. This letter called upon AI companies to refrain from using copyrighted material without proper authorization and received endorsements from renowned writers such as James Patterson, Margaret Atwood, and Suzanne Collins.
