Today I received a newsletter from Dave at Kindlepreneur. If you don't already subscribe it's worth doing so to help keep abreast of what's happening in the industry. ETA: 'Authors Guild Today, Amazon announced its new policy requiring those who post content to its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform to disclose to Amazon if the content contains AI-generated content, including text, images, or translations. The new policy comes after months of discussions between the Authors Guild and KDP leadership on the need for safeguards against AI-generated books flooding the platform and displacing human authors and to protect consumers from unwittingly purchasing AI-generated texts. We are grateful to the Amazon team for taking our concerns into account and enacting this important step toward ensuring transparency and accountability for AI-generated content. https://authorsguild.org/news/amazons-new-disclosure-policy-for-ai-generated-book-content-is-a-welcome-first-step/ -------------------------------------------- Kindlepreneur Amazon is asking authors to disclose the use of AI in works that use it to generate substantial sections of the text, artwork, or translation. They define AI generated in this way:" AI-generated: We define AI-generated content as text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool. If you used an AI-based tool to create the actual content (whether text, images, or translations), it is considered "AI-generated," even if you applied substantial edits afterwards. AI-assisted: If you created the content yourself, and used AI-based tools to edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve that content (whether text or images), then it is considered "AI-assisted" and not “AI-generated.” Similarly, if you used an AI-based tool to brainstorm and generate ideas, but ultimately created the text or images yourself, this is also considered "AI-assisted" and not “AI-generated.” It is not necessary to inform us of the use of such tools or processes. This is very interesting, but it raises a few questions. Firstly, why do they want to know? It is unlikely that Amazon will reject AI generated books, as Amazon is primarily interested in profit, and rejecting all AI books would likely cost them over time. Additionally, if they were to reject books that identified as AI generated, people would just stop being honest in that field, which leads me to my next unanswered question… How do they plan to enforce this policy? This new change is asking the author to be honest. And while I encourage all authors to do so, I’m well aware that there are many scammers and less-than-honest people out there who will completely ignore this policy. There are AI detectors out there, but they are notoriously inaccurate (often generating false positives, which essentially renders them useless). And it’s also expensive to use these detectors to scan an entire book, so it’s unclear how Amazon plans to enforce this policy, if they do so at all. If I had to guess, this policy is an attempt by Amazon to conduct market research, as they are also working on their own AI behind the scenes, and they’re going to want as much data as possible. I’d be surprised if it was more than that. So far, there is no indication that AI generated books will be treated any differently in the store. I’m sure we will see these and a lot of other questions come up as Amazon continues to refine and clarify this policy, and as we see AI become more and more widespread. If you’d like to learn more about it, Dale Roberts did a live YouTube session discussing it in detail, and answering questions ... THOUGHTS? Do you think Amazon will bother to enforce this policy as long as they are making money?
I find it odd that KDP asks you to list the extent of any AI usage in your book, but doesn't seem to info the readers. I just did a quick test and told KDP that one of my unlisted books used extensive ChatGPT help, but there was nothing on the store page mentioning this when it went live.
It simply might knock it down the search priority. Or perhaps an informative feature will come later. Either way, gathering as much info as possible is a tactical first step.
Somewhat ironic, considering that Amazon is using AI to generate product reviews: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/12/amazon-is-using-generative-ai-to-summarize-product-reviews.html#:~:text=Amazon%20is%20using%20generative%20A.I.%20to%20summarize%20product,like%20and%20dislike%20about%20a%20product%20they%20purchased.
