AI-Generated Books: A Humorous Gag or a Threat to Creativity?
A Best-Seller with a Twist
This Christmas, I received a rather unusual gift—my very own “best-selling” book. Titled Tech-Splaining for Dummies, it features my name and photo on the cover, along with a collection of glowing reviews. The catch? The entire book was written by artificial intelligence, thanks to a few prompts from my friend Janet.
The book is an amusing read, occasionally hilarious, but it lacks focus. It oscillates between self-help advice and anecdotal storytelling, often becoming verbose and repetitive. While it does a decent job of mimicking my writing style, it also fabricates odd details, such as repeatedly mentioning a pet cat that I don’t actually own. There’s even an excessive use of metaphors—some more bizarre than others.
The Rise of AI-Powered Book Writing
The book was generated by BookByAnyone, one of many companies offering AI-driven book creation services. According to its CEO, Adir Mashiach, the company, based in Israel, has sold around 150,000 personalized books since pivoting from AI-generated travel guides in mid-2024. Most sales come from the U.S.
A paperback copy of a custom-made, 240-page book costs approximately £26. The company uses proprietary AI tools built on an open-source large language model to generate content. However, customers cannot purchase these books freely—only the individual who ordered the original copy can buy additional prints.
While there are safeguards against offensive content, there is currently no legal restriction preventing anyone from creating a book in another person’s name, including celebrities. Each book does include a disclaimer stating that it is a fictional, AI-generated product “designed solely to bring humor and joy.” Legally, the copyright belongs to the company, though Mashiach emphasizes that these books are intended as novelty gifts, not commercial literary works.
Mashiach envisions expanding his service to different genres, such as science fiction and autobiographies, aiming to provide a lighthearted approach to consumer AI.
A Growing Concern for Human Creators
For professional writers, the rapid development of AI-generated content is unsettling. The book Janet gifted me likely took mere minutes to generate, yet in certain sections, it bears a striking resemblance to my own writing style. The implications of this technology extend beyond novelty books—artists, musicians, and authors worldwide are increasingly concerned about AI mimicking their work without consent.
“We should be clear: when we talk about data, we mean human creators’ life works,” says Ed Newton Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, an advocacy group for ethical AI development. “This is books, articles, photos, works of art, records… The whole point of AI training is to learn how to do something and then replicate it.”
The debate over AI-generated creative content gained traction in 2023 when an AI-generated song mimicking Canadian artists Drake and The Weeknd went viral. Despite being pulled from streaming platforms due to copyright concerns, the song remained immensely popular. Its creator even attempted to submit it for a Grammy nomination.
Newton Rex argues that AI should not be banned outright but insists that AI models trained on copyrighted content without permission should be prohibited. “AI can be very powerful, but let’s build it ethically and fairly,” he says.
The Legal Landscape: Copyright vs. AI
The battle over AI-generated content is heating up. Some major organizations, such as the BBC, have restricted AI developers from scraping their content. Others, like The Financial Times, have opted to collaborate with AI companies, forming a partnership with OpenAI.
The UK government is currently considering changes to copyright law that would allow AI firms to use online content for training purposes unless rights holders explicitly opt out. Newton Rex calls this approach “insanity,” arguing that AI progress does not necessitate overriding copyright protections.
Baroness Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer and AI ethics advocate, warns that undermining copyright protections could harm the UK’s thriving creative industries, which provide 2.4 million jobs. “The government is undermining one of its best-performing industries on the vague promise of growth,” she cautions.
A government spokesperson stated: “No move will be made until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers each of our objectives: increased control for rights holders, access to high-quality material for AI training, and greater transparency from AI developers.”
AI Regulation: The US and China’s Diverging Paths
Across the Atlantic, AI policy is in flux. Under the Biden administration, an executive order required AI firms to disclose their models’ workings before release. However, with President Trump’s return to office, that order has been repealed, leaving the future of AI regulation uncertain.
Meanwhile, lawsuits against AI firms—including OpenAI—are piling up. Plaintiffs, ranging from The New York Times to authors and music labels, argue that AI companies unlawfully used copyrighted content to train their models. AI firms, on the other hand, claim their actions fall under “fair use,” a complex legal doctrine that remains open to interpretation.
Adding to the uncertainty, Chinese AI company DeepSeek has emerged as a major player, becoming the most downloaded free app on Apple’s U.S. App Store. DeepSeek’s success has sparked security concerns in the U.S. while challenging America’s dominance in AI technology.
The Future of AI-Generated Content
As for my personal experience, Tech-Splaining for Dummies highlights the current limitations of AI-generated books. Despite mimicking my style, it is riddled with inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and clunky prose. Yet, given how rapidly AI technology is advancing, I can’t help but wonder how long my human writing skills will remain superior.
For now, if I want a true best-seller, I’ll have to write it myself. But the growing sophistication of AI-generated content poses an existential question for creative professionals: Will the future of writing belong to humans, or will machines take the lead?
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