Amazon Pulls AI-Generated Books Following Backlash

Friedman reported the infringement to Amazon, but the company initially denied her claim because she did not hold the copyright to the AI works.

on Aug 09, 2023

Amazon Pulls AI-Generated Books Following Backlash

Amazon has withdrawn many AI-generated novels that were published without the author's permission under the name of seasoned publishing industry writer Jane Friedman. Following a social media uproar, the false books were withdrawn. Although the content has been removed, Friedman raises concern about Amazon's and other corporations' lack of clear regulations, leaving the door open for similar disagreements in the future.

Friedman first learnt about the AI-written novels when a reader contacted her after discovering them on Amazon. The reader initially assumed the unusual language was Friedman's new writing style, but soon discovered it was written by someone else entirely.

Friedman reported the infringement to Amazon, but the company initially denied her claim because she did not hold the copyright to the AI works. However, following public criticism and pressure from other authors and Twitter users, Amazon reversed its decision and withdrew the titles off the platform.

According to Amazon representative Ashley Vanicek, the corporation has clear content guidelines and swiftly reviews any complaints concerning books sold on its marketplace. Amazon claims to engage with authors directly to handle any difficulties and correct any inaccuracies. However, no specifics about the rule or policy infraction that resulted in the removal of the AI-generated content were provided.

While Friedman is pleased with the conclusion, she highlights the need of organizations taking these issues seriously and implementing policies and safeguards to prevent AI technology abuse. The Authors Guild, an organization that represents writers and publishers' interests, has also been involved in the effort to get the information removed. They emphasize the necessity of making it easy for authors to resolve disputes.