Two fascinating stories from the Southern Hemisphere today. The first is a really huge story that, sadly, I expect to be a taste of things to come. It concerns Melbourne Book Publisher. Not to be confused with Melbourne Books, whose founder is none too pleased that confusion has indeed arisen (and has posted a warning about possible confusion).
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Melbourne Book Publisher is part of a seemingly related group of sites that includes (borrowing the list from the Guardian’s lengthy and very worth-reading piece so as to warn anyone who has heard from any of those involved) First Page Press (based in the UK), Aussie Book Publisher, Oz Book Publishers, and BookPublishers.co.nz.
The story is a familiar one: an old scam using new technology. This group of companies is selling the same dream we have seen exploited for as long as I can remember: the offer of publication to anyone with a story to tell if they just buy a wildly overpriced and overpromising package deal.
AI-Generated Staff and a Growing Scam
The who-could-possibly-have-predicted-that-this-would-happen twist is that Melbourne Book Publisher and the rest are using AI-generated profiles of alleged staff members to lend an air of legitimacy to what they do. These nonexistent personas then interact, presumably using AI video and voice and possibly text generation, so that potential customers feel they have been interacting with a real person with real experience of the industry, genuinely excited about their book.
This is being investigated by Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre.
AI Covers and Unintentional Disqualification
Our second story also involves forbidden AI, but without any suggestion of a scam. Rather, the story of New Zealand’s Ockham Book Awards, the country’s top literary prize, is a timely reminder of thinking about consequences and reading terms and conditions. Elizabeth Smither and Stephanie Johnson have found themselves ruled out of the award in the most unfortunate of circumstances.
Their books have AI-generated covers, which violates the terms of the competition, introduced too late for the publisher of the two titles in question to pull the work from the design company they used.
It’s a story from which so many morals can be drawn. But the main thing I take from it is just how swiftly a once-stable landscape is changing, and how easy it will be to get caught on the wrong side of a divide.
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