ALLi News Editor, Dan Holloway
OK, bear with me. This no-AI guarantee story is the second AI story for the week. I hope I will round off with something completely different. But because of the unpredictable nature of the news, I cannot promise. Which is, of course, a ham-handed segue into the story.
As AI use becomes more prevalent, there is an increasingly strong voice from those who want to distance themselves from its use. This may be for reasons of authenticity, creativity, commerciality, or the avoidance of potential legal or reputational risks.
We’ve seen actions ranging from Wired’s “no AI, just journalism” stance to Fairly Trained setting up to certify AI models that have only been trained on data that’s ethically sourced (and being used by legal firms mindful of avoiding any legal worries of their own).
Authors are very sensitive about the use of AI. Interestingly, the Society of Authors survey on AI showed that around two-fifths of authors use generative AI in some way, whether to help with their writing or to brainstorm. And not all of that will have been ethically trained. Of course, those of us who use KDP have to be transparent about the way we use it.
But now, indie author R.R. Haywood has taken a stance on AI that those more cynical might call a gimmick. Haywood’s latest book in the Undead series proudly bears a multicolored badge proclaiming “No-AI.” It stands for “Naturally Original – Authentically Invented.”
In addition to that proclamation, there is a warranty stating, “This book was authored by Richard Haywood and not generated by any machine or artificial intelligence. This statement serves as a legally binding guarantee of authenticity and can be used to establish the true creator of this work should any doubt arise.”
I am not 100 percent sure what that means. There is a perfectly good copyright mechanism for establishing the true creator of a work. And if I were pumping out AI-generated text, I might say something similar. And it would prove absolutely nothing. Still, it is an interesting step on the journey we as creators are taking.
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