Why are thousands of authors publishing 'empty' books
What's the story
In a unique protest against artificial intelligence (AI) companies using their work without permission, around 10,000 authors have published an "empty" book titled Don't Steal This Book. The only content in the book is a list of their names. The book was distributed to attendees at the London Book Fair on Tuesday, just days before the UK government is expected to release an economic impact assessment of proposed changes in copyright law.
Accusations made
Generative AI competes with creators: Campaigner
The protest was organized by Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and copyright protection campaigner. He accused the AI industry of being "built on stolen work ... taken without permission or payment." He said, "This is not a victimless crime - generative AI competes with the people whose work it is trained on, robbing them of their livelihoods. The book's back cover reads, "The UK government must not legalize book theft to benefit AI companies."
Proposal criticism
UK government's proposed changes have faced backlash
The UK government has proposed allowing AI companies to use copyright-protected work without permission unless owners opt out. This proposal has been met with outrage from British artists, including Elton John. The government is also considering other options, such as leaving the situation unchanged or requiring licenses for using copyrighted work. A government spokesperson said they want a copyright regime that values and protects human creativity while unlocking innovation.
AI
Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5bn to settle class-action lawsuit
Writers who have contributed to Don't Steal This Book include Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory, Richard Osman, Mick Herron, and Malorie Blackman. Last year, Anthropic, a major AI company, agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit by authors who alleged their works were illegally used for training its Claude chatbot.