AI

A survey of 787 members of the Society of Authors (SoA) has found that a third of translators and a quarter of illustrators have lost work to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. Translators are also more likely to use AI to support their work, with 37% of respondents saying they have done so, followed by 25% of non-fiction writers.

OpenAI claimed it's "impossible" to build good AI models without using copyrighted data. An "ethically created" large language model and a giant AI dataset of public domain text suggest otherwise.

"We don't understand the consequences of AI with regards to copyright," Brazil's Karine Gonçalves Pansa, president of the International Publishers Association (IPA), said, when asked to name the most important issues facing publishing right now. "We can say, very easily, that our content is being used, without permission, and without license, by AI."

It has only been a little over a year since ChatGPT rampaged into our modern lives. Yet already certain companies are claiming that they can write an entire book for you in a matter of days - harnessing generative AI, of course. Please note: The books won't contain one bit of original content or any actual stories and wisdom from your life.

Over millennia publishing has cycled through scepticism, experimentation, iteration, improvement, and ultimate acceptance of new technologies. From clay tablets to papyrus, printing presses to desktop publishing, and bound books to ebooks, publishing has always experimented and innovated.  Read more