As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly improved and popular, people are finding themselves replaced. This phenomenon is affecting all sorts of creative careers, including those in the publishing industry. AI tools capable of editing, copywriting, translating, and generating writing are improving in quality. If someone is lucky enough to keep their job, they might face reduced hours or be forced to train AI in entry-level roles (AI Killed My Job).
These are daunting developments for younger generations who might worry about their future careers in a world where AI is steadily being prioritised. I spoke with three independent publishers to discover how they have been affected by AI, what measures they have put in place to protect their careers, and whether they can offer any optimistic views.
First thoughts
David Kerekes is one of the three original founders of Headpress Books. On AI literature, he says, “It’s so abhorrent to me.” As someone who has been writing for a long time and has published work which people have “devoted themselves to for years and years,” he does not believe that a machine is able to “compete with that on an artistic and moral level.”
Kevin Duffy of Bluemoose Books believes that AI is completely uncreative and inaccurate, “Especially in translation… [and] colloquial language.” He is of the opinion that “Readers always want the human experience and ChatGPT and AI will never ever ever ever ever replicate that.”
George Forster is the marketing and publicity officer at Comma Press, a not-for-profit publisher and development agency and the founder of the Northern Fiction Alliance. He is similarly certain that “There will always be […] a much larger market for human-created products.” He adds that AI literature has no value because “all it can do is regurgitate and I don’t think it can say anything new.” For him, “It’s the difference between content and art;” in order to read something that connects with the human condition, “A human needs to be the one who puts that down.”
AI and careers
It almost goes without saying that these independent publishers have no interest in replacing their teams with AI. David says that overall, he is seeing “a lot of antagonism towards AI in the publishing business.” He “personally would not choose to use” AI at Headpress Books, and Kevin clarifies that while Bluemoose Books utilises AI for discoverability, sales and marketing, his company “will never publish AI.”
George highlights that Comma Press, funded by the Arts Council, has some freedom to avoid using AI because it is not profit-driven. The company also supports literary translators, and while he stresses the importance of keeping translation accessible, it is likewise not something that the company will employ AI for. However, he expresses concerns about the effect of AI industry-wide, especially on early career options: “I do worry that a lot of those very entry-level or CV-builder type jobs in publishing will get outsourced [to AI].”
Furthermore, George informs me about the significant impact of AI on Clarkesworld, a science fiction magazine: people have found ways to bypass their AI filters and exploit the magazine for easy money. George explains how this is “bad for everybody” because publishers want to be able to make public callouts, but receiving thousands of AI submissions both overwhelms publishers and becomes “a barrier for […] people [writers] just trying to get their first break.”
Precautions and deterrents
David tells me that Headpress Books has had, for about a year, a “contractual clause in our agreements with authors that they are not to submit any AI-generated work.” He elaborates: “It says quite explicitly that if it’s found that the work does contain AI material, and we haven’t been notified in advance, then we will remove the book from publication.”
Kevin tells me Bluemoose Books would not deal with anyone who has used AI to write their manuscript, calling it a “cheat.” He reveals that he has recently deleted a number of pitch emails that appear to be AI-generated. He adds, “My idea is that if you believe in your work and your writing, then it has to be honest and has to have integrity.”
At Comma Press, part of the submission process is talking to authors about their stories, which George believes authors wouldn’t be able to do convincingly if it was AI-generated. However, he admits that there will probably need to be “a more strict, more rigorous vetting process as […] AI evolves.”
David draws my attention to a class action lawsuit against Meta and other AI companies that thousands of authors and publishers are a part of (including Headpress Books and Bluemoose Books): “They mined an illegal pirate site […] and they used the pirated books to train their AI,” without “any kind of consultation or acknowledgement.”
In an effort to prevent this in the future, Headpress Books has edited the metadata of its website to dissuade bots from trawling it for AI training. The company will also be printing a ‘No AI training’ disclaimer in its publications. While not foolproof, David asserts, “It will let them know that it is a form of copyright… [and] we don’t want it to be used for that purpose.” According to George, this is something the Northern Fiction Alliance is also keen to introduce.
AI is an active issue for the publishing industry. The Society of Authors has released a statement on “Protecting copyright and creative careers” and launched their Human Authored scheme, which will involve a logo printed on the backs of their books as a signal to readers. This recalls Sarah Hall’s ‘human-written’ stamp on latest book Helm. I discovered that Bluemoose Books also intends to label its publications “Books by humans,” and that the Northern Fiction Alliance has been discussing the inclusion of a similar mark.
Sadly, though, the damage that has already been done is irreversible. The Society of Authors details how “These AI systems cannot ‘un-learn’ the information they have been given […] Those works will remain part of the system for as long as it is online.”
Optimistic insights
The independent publishers I spoke to were reassuringly certain that AI will not last. David is quite optimistic that “AI will collapse as a creative force,” and George states that “AI is fundamentally just a bubble,” which is inflating right now but will eventually burst. “It will probably be catastrophic for the economy when it does,” he nervously chuckles, but the thought remains somewhat encouraging.
“We’ve had years and years of authors writing absolutely brilliant work, and they did it on their own… and I can’t see that changing any time soon,” remarks David.
“Stick to your guns and stick to your own kind of flawed human imagination,” insists Kevin.
People “don’t want [art] to be AI slop; they still want it to be created by humans. I don’t think that market will shrink, I really don’t,” believes George.
Kevin signs off with a piece of advice: “Buy books from independent publishers… The big corporations, they’re embracing AI: beware.”
No Artificial Intelligence was used in the creation of this article.
