I found an AI slop book written about me
Cam Wilson is the ABC's AI reporter and recently discovered an AI-generated book about him and a book he wrote.
A friend sent me a WhatsApp message with a link to Amazon, leading me to discover a book titled "Conspiracy Nation Exercises: Redefine Living Through Cam Wilson Teachings." Despite my experience in reporting on AI, I initially assumed it was a genuine work written about me, given the similarity in title to a book I co-authored last year.
However, upon closer inspection, I realized the book appeared to have been generated by AI, featuring telltale signs such as excessive em dashes, an odd tempo, and the phrase "it's not X — it's Y." I was shocked to discover that the book contained only 89 pages, printed in a large Comic Sans font, with a lack of depth and care compared to the effort we put into our book.
The situation has become so prevalent that another author, Natalie Kyriacou, also experienced a similar incident with her debut book. Amazon took down the listing for my book after I reported it, citing violation of their guidelines, but the company did not disclose the specific rule broken or provide information about the entity behind the AI-generated books.
The Australian Society of Authors' CEO, Lucy Hayward, believes this issue is unremarkable and has become commonplace, negatively impacting authors' sales, reviews, and overall reading rates. Hayward suggests that platforms like Amazon should be held responsible for policing derivative works and labeling AI-generated content. The government is considering copyright law changes to facilitate AI training while requiring opt-out for authors, but AI companies argue this is necessary for legal AI training.
Despite these efforts, the issue persists, leaving authors vulnerable to AI-enabled rip-offs and urging for more protection in the future.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
