Barnes & Noble is expanding physical stores and regaining popularity. Its CEO stated that the company would be willing to sell AI-generated books if they do not masquerade as something else, have an essential quality readers want, and clearly disclose that they are AI-written. The CEO also said the books must not rip off other creators. The stance is likely to upset authors who believe AI is built on stolen writing and who fear for their profession. Ongoing lawsuits may determine whether AI training involved plagiarism. Readers also tend to react negatively when authors or journalists use AI without clear disclosure, and vague answers may not satisfy them.
"“I have actually no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn't masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn't, and that it has an essential quality to it, and that the customer, the reader, wants it,” he pontificated. “So as long as an AI-written book says it's an AI-written book and doesn't pretend to be something else and isn't ripping off somebody else, as long as that's clearly stated and the customer wants to buy it, then we will stock them.”"
"Barnes & Noble has been making a comeback over the past few years - which is impressive, since it once looked like the dominance of Amazon, the shift to digital books, and the decline of reading at large all pointed to the chain going the same way Borders did. Now it's turning back into a popular spot to hang out in and even buy physical tomes, opening 60 new stores in 2025 with plans to do the same this year."
"It's a comment that will nettle authors, many of whom view AI technology as being built on their stolen writing, on top of threatening their profession. There're still a number of lawsuits brewing that could determine if AI companies plagiarized authors' work by using it as training data for their models."
"Readers aren't a fan of AI either. Any time that an author or journalist gets caught using AI is an occasion for backlash and newsworthy scandal. Waffling answers on where a major bookseller stands on the tech aren't going to satisfy anyone."
Read at Futurism
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