Hi All.
I am a public librarian. A huge part of my job involves buying library materials with tax-funded dollars. Choices are made according to our collection development policy, which among other things takes into consideration the reputation of an author and publisher. AI-gen content is intrinsically of no reputable value.
AI-gen content is rapidly changing how myself and other librarians in my network purchase eBooks and eAudiobooks. If you look in my comment history, you'll see some information about Hoopla and reasons why some libraries are cancelling their subscriptions. A huge factor is the amount of AI-gen content, or suspected AI-gen content, that is added to hoopla without any consideration for its quality.
However, this doesn't just affect digital content. AI content is popping up in all material formats.
Where this affects authors and readers: hoopla, Overdrive, and libraries rely on publishers Disclosing what AI is used in the creation of a product. Publishers, especially small publishers, don't always want to disclose this information. Librarians handle an incredible volume of ordering and do not have time to scrutinize every page of every book to look for AI-gen content. To simplify, an increasing number of us are building lists of disreputable publishers and simply not buying from them at all. This means that authors like Katee Roberts who publish through Draft2Digital might be caught up in this block.
What you can do about it:
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Don't buy AI. Pay someone real money for real creative labor.
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Don't use AI. Smarter people than I have outlined how unethical it is. As a wise person once told me: "Everyone has skills. [This] isn't one of yours." Develop your own strengths.
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Pressure publishers and authors to label AI-gen content and tools used in an item's creation.
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Use your library's "Suggest a Purchase" feature if they don't have something you want. It really makes a big difference
by Your_Fave_Librarian
2 Comments
First of all – massive respect for library science. Thanks for curating the sum of human knowledge.
Second – I hadn’t realized that any publishers were so blatantly (and, apparently, furtively) including AI content. That’s pretty gross.
I don’t have an issue woith authors using AI to edit a book. But I do have issues if they use the generative capabilities to help them write it. And double issue if they don’t disclose it.
So thanks for doing your part.