Category: Books

AI-Generated Books

Is there anything that AI can’t do (badly)? I am a bit fascinated and alarmed to notice that AI-generated books are readily found online, available for purchase. If you’re not sure what a book written by AI looks like, here’s what I’ve learned so far:

Amazon, Of Course

Where will you find AI-generated books? Your first hunch would be correct: Amazon. They can be bought as dead-tree editions or as downloads for your e-reader, just like regular books. But they don’t disclose that they were made by AI. Here are some example listings for your consideration:

I’ve checked a few other online bookstores and not found signs of these types of books (yet). I suspect Amazon is the current marketplace for AI-generated books, because they make it so easy for anyone to self-publish and sell written works. And while it appears that authors must disclose AI-generated content to Amazon, I cannot find any mention that consumers must be informed. That means: It’s on you to distinguish books written by humans vs. those written by bots!

Why is This Attention-worthy?

At this time, I don’t want to levy any harsh criticisms on AI. Artifical intelligence can be used for good: to synopsize lengthy works, debug complicated code and even detect cancer earlier. But regarding these books being sold through Amazon, I have misgivings.

AI has a history of making odd mistakes. From recommending glue in a pizza recipe to misspelling “strawberry“, it’s clear that AI has some unexpected limits and flaws. Those who are using AI as a tool should do so mindfully, and be prepared for the occasional oddity.

I don’t presume the “authors” of AI-generated books are being careful or mindful. Rather, this looks like the low-effort work of lazy people looking to make a quick and easy buck. Lazy people typically don’t check their work. They don’t care about the harm that they could cause. Some examples of the damage they can cause are:

A Spotter’s Guide to AI-Generated Books

I imagine I’ll be revisiting and revising this, as these books evolve, but for now, here’s what tips me off to a book that may have been written by an AI:

AI-Generated Books
AI-generated headshot, created at Canva.com for free in under 30 seconds
  • title of book uses the word “Bible” to suggest it contains everything you’ll every need to know
  • volume claims to be “5 books in 1”
  • author’s name cannot be Googled or found elsewhere on the internet
  • author has no photo or uses an AI-generated headshot
  • author bio is extremely vague, vapid and full of soulless buzzwords
  • book previews show lots of AI-generated images, large-print text and wodges of text that seem flavorless and generic
  • no publisher name, or “independently published”

You may use the AI-generated book listings I’ve linked to above as training material. Once you’ve perused those Amazon pages and gotten familiar with the nuances of AI-written works, you’ll probably be able to recognize others in the future.

Also, compare any of those uncanny offerings to a human-written book, from a real-life, talented author. You can verify that an author is legitimate by:

  • Reading the author bio and searching the web to confirm some details
  • Performing a reverse-image search on their bio picture — real authors often reuse their best headshots throughout their digital footprint
  • Finding the author on social media or library websites
  • Shopping for the book on other sites, new or used
  • Finding the publisher of their book, under “See All Details” of the book listing

Final Comments

Remember, you cannot always trust in reviews on Amazon. Certainly, check them out and you may glean some useful information. But many AI-generated book “authors” have gamed the system, and their titles show a lot of manufactured 5-star reviews.

If you think you’ve purchased a book from Amazon that may have been written by AI, you can certainly contact their support agents about it. I don’t see anything in their return policies that addresses this sort of product. But if you chose to seek a refund, using phrases like “failed to disclose AI-generated content” and “deceptive business practices” will go a long way. I doubt they will stop selling an AI-written title, though. Unless you can convince them that it has caused tangible harm.

Many people often urge others to “Shop Local” versus shopping online. In a similar spirit, I hope this post may help some of you to “Shop Human” as opposed to giving money to these shysters and opportunists.

Finding Secondhand Books

“Used books,” as if someone else has had the best of them and you get the sere husk, or the lees, as if a book isn’t the one thing, the one product, that is forever new. There’s no such thing as a used book. Or there’s no such thing as a book if it’s not being used.”

Deborah Meyler, The Bookstore
finding secondhand books

Hobby, habit, compulsion – call it what you like, I don’t judge anyone pursuing secondhand books. If you’re seeking a hard-to-find or out-of-print book, you may already know the websites eager to help you:

(Got another favorite book-selling website? Leave a comment and I may add it to the list!)

And there’s many other resources for finding that dead tree edition you need, like Amazon, eBay and Barnes & Noble. But when you’re searching for that one elusive tome that no one on the internet seems to have in stock, try this site and make it a little easier on yourself:

Bookfinder.com

Bookfinder will comb almost all of the book-selling websites out there for you. Search Bookfinder.com for your title and it’ll return all of your buying options and prices! This is now my go-to site for finding secondhand books.

I apologize in advance if this contributes to anyone’s tsundoku.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Dolly Parton has contributed to many charitable causes in her lifetime, but she may be the most proudest of her Imagination Library. She started this program to get books to children for free. It started in Tennessee but is now available in many parts of the USA and other countries.

If you can sign up for this program, your child will receive a book, absolutely free, through the mail each month. You can start as soon as your child is born, and the books will continue to arrive until they turn 5 years old. You just have to check the availability, based on your address, at their site.

If the IL Program is not available where you live, think outside the box. Can you sign your child up for free books, using a grandparents’ address? Availability is based on the zip code and county, and you can check as many addresses as you want. Also: check your address eligibility every few months, as this program is spreading to more counties and regions all the time!

If you want info on how to bring this program to your region, check out the bottom of their USA page for the 3 Steps to make it happen.

The National Emergency Library

Archive.org is a library dedicated to digitizing and storing books, movies, websites and more, online for all to access. And during the pandemic, they’ve made a big change to their lending library. It’s now the National Emergency Library.

Essentially, they’ve removed any waitlists to check out books and invite everyone to borrow from their immense catalog. Their reasoning is that while physical libraries are closed across the country due to COVID, students and teachers and everyone else still need books. Their Library Director explains more here:

https://blog.archive.org/2020/03/24/announcing-a-national-emergency-library-to-provide-digitized-books-to-students-and-the-public/?iax=ntlemrlib%7ctxtlnk

Recently released books may not appear here, but everything else stands a good chance of being in there. Off the top of my head, I searched for The Stand by Stephen King, The Plague by Albert Camus and The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. I found every one, in English and ready to borrow.

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