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Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt wants to set the record straight on his views on AI-generated books.<\/p>\n
In an interview with NBC News earlier this week, Daunt said he would not outright ban the sales of books written by AI. Daunt took the helm of the bookseller in 2019, helping to lead it through a turnaround of sliding sales by embracing the ethos of a small business, encouraging individual locations to layout their stores based on the interests and demand of their customer bases.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have actually no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn\u2019t masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn\u2019t, and that it has an essential quality to it, and that the customer, the reader, wants it,\u201d Daunt told Today\u2019s Jenna Bush Hager. \u201cSo as long as an AI-written book says it\u2019s an AI-written book and doesn\u2019t pretend to be something else and isn\u2019t ripping off somebody else\u2014as long as that\u2019s clearly stated and the customer wants to buy it\u2014then we will stock them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daunt\u2019s own admission about not condemning AI-generated books outright drew swift ire from social media, including intentions to boycott the company until it changed its AI policy. The backlash is part of a larger trend of people\u2014including college graduates booing commencement speakers invoking AI\u2014expressing public opposition to the technology.<\/p>\n
In Daunt\u2019s eyes, his comments were far from an endorsement of using AI to pen manuscripts. Instead, he clarified in an email to Fortune, Barnes & Noble has taken steps to avoid selling content written by large language models, even though it will not outright prohibit sales of AI-generated content.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rather, Daunt said banning a certain subset of books could be a slippery slope in debates around what entities are responsible for restricting AI content and why. No reputable publisher would choose to release an AI-generated book, he said, meaning it would be unlikely for Barnes & Noble to stock those books.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur position is that we do not sell AI books, as far as we are aware; we take active measures to exclude all AI-generated books from our online catalogue and never knowingly order any for stocking in our stores; and we demand that publishers label any books that are AI-generated,\u201d Daunt told Fortune. \u201cThis is a straightforward rejection of AI books.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bookselling industry has faced escalating challenges from the proliferation of AI-generated products. In March, publisher Hachette Book Group announced it would no longer publish the UK edition of its horror novel Shy Girl over suspected AI use. This week, the short story \u201cThe Serpent in the Grove,\u201d drew similar scrutiny when readers suspected the piece, one of the winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, was written by AI, an allegation that Granta, the story\u2019s publisher, is investigating.<\/p>\n
Who should put restrictions on AI-generated books?<\/p>\n
Daunt\u2019s own refusal to prohibit the sale of AI-generated books is less about the technology than it is about wanting to avoid engaging in the knotty conversation about banning books. A potential prohibition of AI-generated books would require a set of standards that would be difficult to identify, let alone enforce, Daunt claimed. For example, would Barnes & Noble refuse to sell only books 100% written by AI, or those more than 50% AI-generated? According to the CEO, the responsibility to just what is AI-generated should come from a publisher, not a bookseller. Moreover, he said, there may be a time when consumers demand AI-generated books, such in the case of computer coding manuals. Rather than have a prescriptive policy, Daunt suggested drawing a line in the sand on AI books is not Barnes & Noble\u2019s role.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would take a days-long conference to explore, and suggests further to us that our position is one of common sense,\u201d Daunt said.<\/p>\n
Though Daunt said he did not want Barnes & Noble to wade into discourse around censorship and book banning in the conversation about AI, arguments surrounding who should define the parameters of AI-generated content extends beyond shelves and the walls of a bookstore. David Inserra, a fellow at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, argued in a 2024 briefing paper regulating AI was an attack on free speech because it could limit potential to leverage the technology as a tool to further human development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some implementations of AI justify extreme caution\u2014such as autonomous military technology with the power to wage war\u2014a risk-based approach acknowledges that most AI applications,\u201d Inserra wrote, \u201cespecially those involving speech and expression, should be considered innocent until proven guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 2023 report from the nonprofit Freedom House argues the contrary, claiming AI has been used both as a way to control online information systems, and by those distributing misinformation online. Among the nonprofits recommendations for protecting free speech in the age of AI is to develop reliable detection software for AI-generated content.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI can be used to supercharge censorship, surveillance, and the creation and spread of disinformation,\u201d Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, said in a statement on the report. \u201cAdvances in AI are amplifying a crisis for human rights online.\u201d<\/p>\n
#Barnes #Noble #CEO #James #Daunt #clarifies #decision #ban #sales #AIgenerated #books<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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