Nearly 10,000 writers, including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory, and Richard Osman, have published a ‘blank’ book called Don’t Steal This Book to protest the unauthorized use of their works by artificial intelligence companies.
The book has no text – its content consists solely of a list of the authors who have supported the initiative. Copies of the publication are being given away to visitors to the London Book Fair. The action comes a week before the UK government is due to publish an assessment of the economic impact of proposed changes to copyright law.
British ministers are due to present an assessment of the economic impact of these changes to parliament by 18 March, as well as report on the progress of consultations on reforming the law. The discussion continues against the backdrop of dissatisfaction among creative professionals with the way their work is being used by companies developing artificial intelligence systems.
The book’s initiator was composer and activist Ed Newton, who advocates protecting artists’ copyrights. According to him, the artificial intelligence industry is largely based on the unauthorized use of others’ works.
Newton also emphasized that the consequences of using such materials are felt by the authors themselves.
The back cover of the book contains an appeal to the authorities: “The UK government must not legalize book theft for the benefit of artificial intelligence companies.”
In parallel, at the London Book Fair, publishers announced the launch of a new initiative for licensing content for artificial intelligence. The Publishers’ Licensing Services organization is creating a collective licensing system and invites publishers to join it. It is expected that such a scheme will allow companies to legally access published works.