I’ll start this week with a roundup of AI news.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
First is the announcement of a new charter. Charters are one of those staple items that emerge whenever a sector or a technology takes a new turn, as the existing players and stakeholders decide they need to make clear where they stand in relation to the change. Very few (controversial take, possibly) charters are actually earth-shattering—except perhaps to the very limited group of professionals from which they emerge. But as a whole, they are important because as themes and concerns get either repeated or differently nuanced, we get a window into what kind of landscape, and what battles and opportunities on that landscape, are likely to unfold.
With that introduction, let’s take a look at the AI Charter of the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), whose eleven points you can read in full here.
Copyright and Responsibility in the AI Era
The first two principles are stark and leave no doubt where the organization stands: “Copyright is the bedrock of our industry” and “Copyright enables innovation.” The potential benefits of AI for the bookselling business, in simplification or automation, are tucked away in principle ten. Many of the other principles speak to issues of transparency, consent, governance, and sustainability. All of these reflect wider concerns within society.
And we see what has been a constant refrain for the past few years: the importance of distinguishing between assistive AI—whose role is essentially to polish the surface of a creative work whose substance is already in place—on the one hand; and generative AI—whose role is to create or play a major part in creating the substance—on the other.
Bloomsbury CEO Praises AI’s Creative Potential
This comes as a much more positive spin on AI has emerged from an unlikely source. Nigel Newton, founder and CEO of publishing giant Bloomsbury, has caused somewhat of a stir by stating what he sees as the creative benefits of AI. He said:
“I think AI will probably help creativity, because it will enable the eight billion people on the planet to get started on some creative area where they might have hesitated to take the first step.”
He also sees the value of AI in helping ease writer’s block.
If nothing else, the timing of the statement—just before the start of November—is apt. The last time I recall quite such a bold statement about the widespread value of AI from the book world, it came from NaNoWriMo. And whatever one’s opinion on the pronouncement, we all know how that turned out.
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