Amazon's Kindle has been a boon for self-published authors, but its virtual library is at risk of being invaded by a particularly prolific new scribe: ChatGPT.
As Reuters reported, there are already XNUMX eBooks on Amazon's Kindle store listing ChatGPT as author or co-author. But since Amazon does not require authors to disclose whether or not they used AI, this is likely a gross underestimate of the number of titles AI tools have written or co-authored.
Books created by ChatGPT are published through Amazon's Kindle Direct publishing division, which publishes more than one and four million self-published books every year (opens in a new tab) and sells them as well as those written by authors renowned.
Without any mention of AI tools like ChatGPT in Amazon's Kindle publishing guidelines (opens in a new tab), or the need for self-publishers to spread their use, that number could well skyrocket given the popularity of " big language models" that are particularly adept at producing text from prompts.
This is big news for "authors" looking to dramatically increase their production by funneling ideas through the increasingly popular ChatGPT, which is now also available on Bing. In one case noted by Reuters, a New York salesperson with no prior writing experience created a XNUMX-page illustrated children's book in hours and sold it through Amazon's self-publishing arm.
But it's also a potential bombshell for authors and readers, as Amazon's virtual shelves could soon be flooded with AI-created books. We've asked Amazon to comment on how it plans to fix this issue, and we'll update this story as soon as we contact .
For now, Amazon simply told Reuters that "any and all books in the store must comply with our content guidelines, including respect for intellectual property rights and all other applicable laws." But it is evident that it is going to be necessary to go further there. if your Kindle store should sustain a sense of order and help readers distinguish between books written by robots and real authors.
Analysis: Amazon will have to stop bot authors
The rapid rise of AI tools like ChatGPT is both a blessing and a curse for self-publishers, depending on how you view the technology. Their copywriting abilities are great for quickly writing first drafts, but authors are also in danger of drowning in a sea of perfect similarities.
Since "big language models" like ChatGPT and Google's Inbound Bard are trained on human-created content, there are also major copyright issues for work that is primarily produced at home using AI tools.
At first glance, the number of AI-generated jobs on Amazon's Kindle store remains a drop in the ocean of its range. But that picture could change pretty quickly, given the plethora of tutorials on YouTube and Reddit showing how easy it is to create and sell a new book in just a few hours.
Amazon's goal for Kindle Direct has always been to remove any barriers to entry for first-time authors and speed the creation of new titles. Their Kindle Direct advice page (opens in a new tab) proudly states that "there are no gatekeepers who decide what books get published."
While this policy is unlikely to change overnight, some AI detection tools may be required to at least tag ChatGPT-generated books for readers. Without moderation, the best Kindle e-readers could soon see their virtual shelves crumble under the weight of impressively fecund new AI authors.