Authors push back on the growing number of AI 'scam' books on Amazon
When the super-influential tech journalist Kara Swisher came out with her new memoir, Burn Book, there were reports of seemingly artificial intelligence-generated biographies of her suddenly coming up on Amazon. Swisher promptly responded, telling The New York Times' Hard Fork podcast, "I sent [Amazon CEO] Andy Jassy a note and said, 'What the f***?' You're costing me money," Swisher said.
But while Swisher was able to get the offending books removed from Amazon, the issue of AI-generated scam books has been of widespread concern for authors, most of whom aren't on email terms with the CEO of Amazon.
"Scam books on Amazon have been a problem for years," says Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, a group that advocates for writers. But she says the problem has multiplied in recent months. "Every new book seems to have some kind of companion book, some book that's trying to steal sales."
Marie Arana is a writer who spent years researching and writing her book LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority. The book came out in February. The day after its release, she went on Amazon to see how it was doing. "Right below the cover of my book was another cover," Arana says. "The cover said 'America's Largest and Least Understood Minority. A Summary of Latinoland.'"
Arana sent NPR a photo of the search result on Amazon. The book says it was written by Clara Bailey. A review of Bailey's work showed that Bailey had published a number of these so-called summaries and put them up for sale on Amazon. NPR asked an Amazon spokesperson about Bailey but did not receive a related response. And the company did not offer anyone up for an interview when asked, generally, about AI-generated books. Since NPR's inquiry, Bailey's books have been removed from Amazon. Bailey's publishing history still appears on Goodreads, which is owned by Amazon.
AI-generated biographies, summaries and even copycat books tend to offer low-quality writing that makes it easy to flag as AI generated, says Jane Friedman, a writer and publishing industry analyst. She says there's a generic quality to the writing. "It just feels like a human didn't write these," she says. "Humans would — funnily enough — do a better job being bad."
Amazon spokesperson Lindsay Hamilton sent a statement that outlined the recent steps the company has taken on the AI front. Last year, the company implemented a policy where all publishers using Kindle Direct Publishing must provide information about whether their content is AI generated. There is also a cap to the number of titles that can be published in a day.
"We both proactively prevent books from being listed as well as remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines, including content that creates a poor customer experience," the statement says. "We have more recently begun limiting the publication of summaries and workbooks based on existing titles in our store." It adds: "When patterns of abuse warrant it, we also suspend publisher accounts to prevent repeated abuse."
Rasenberger says the publishers posting these books benefit from increasingly more sophisticated AI tools that can generate low-quality "scam" books quickly. "By the time Amazon finds out about them, they've already made some money and they move on to something else," she says.
But the issue of AI-generated books can harm more than just an author's sales numbers.
"It's reputational harm," Friedman says.
Last year, she wrote a blog post outlining her experience with books about publishing that purported to be by her but that she didn't write. "Even the most beginning reader would read it and say, 'This person is not going to give me any helpful information,'" she says. Friedman says that she makes most of her money through paid newsletters and classes she offers and that the books could be seen by potential customers. "And then off they go to find some other better resource."
And while it's possible to flag writing that's AI generated right now, Rasenberger and other writers are thinking ahead to a future where it won't be so easy.
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Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
When Kara Swisher's latest book titled "Burn Book" came out, biographies of the tech journalists started popping up on Amazon. They were apparently generated by artificial intelligence. Swisher told The New York Times' "Hard Fork" podcast how she got them removed.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "HARD FORK")
KARA SWISHER: So I, of course, put them all together. And I sent Andy Jassy a note and said, what the [expletive]? You're costing me money.
KEVIN ROOSE: The CEO of Amazon.
SWISHER: Yes. So I literally I was like, what the [expletive]? Get these down. Like, what do you doing? These are...
MARTÍNEZ: As NPR's Andrew Limbong reports, this has become a problem for many authors.
ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Marie Arana is a writer, and she put in a lot of work getting together her new book.
MARIE ARANA: I invested probably about four or five years of research. I did almost 250 interviews - 237, to be exact.
LIMBONG: It's a more than 500-page nonfiction book titled "Latinoland: A Portrait Of America's Largest And Least Understood Minority." It published February 20. The day after, she checked out Amazon to see how it was doing, check out any reviews
ARANA: Right below the cover of my book was another cover, and the cover said "America's Largest And Least Understood Minority." And then it said "A Summary Of Latinoland."
LIMBONG: It was written by an author named Clara Bailey, who, Clara, if you happen to be listening, please get in touch. I have been trying to reach out to you because in February alone, Bailey has written a number of these so-called summaries and got them onto Amazon. And either Clara Bailey is an incredibly prolific reader and summarizer, or these are the products of generative AI.
MARY RASENBERGER: Scam books on Amazon have been a problem for years.
LIMBONG: That's Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, which is a group that advocates for writers. But she says the number of these scam books have exploded as generative AI got more popular.
RASENBERGER: In the last month, every new book seems to have some kind of companion book, some book that's trying to steal sales. And to be clear, that's what this is all about - because these books are so easy to generate. I mean, they take minutes.
LIMBONG: Amazon didn't offer anyone up for an interview. Also, after I asked about Clara Bailey in particular, those summaries have since been pulled from Amazon. But you can still find some of the titles on Goodreads. Amazon spokesperson Lindsay Hamilton sent a statement outlining the efforts they've taken on the AI front. On their Kindle Direct publishing service, there's a limit to how many titles you can publish in a day. Also, publishers are required to say if their content is AI-generated. The company also says it has methods to help proactively prevent books that violate company guidelines from getting posted. But the scammy books that do make it onto Amazon can hurt more than just an author's bottom line.
JANE FRIEDMAN: It's reputational harm.
LIMBONG: Jane Friedman has written a number of books guiding writers through the publishing industry, but she makes money through her paid newsletter and classes she offers. Last year, she wrote a blog post about finding books about publishing purporting to be by her that she did not write.
FRIEDMAN: Even the most beginning writer would read it and say, this person is not going to give me any helpful information. They have no business telling me how to get ahead in the writing business, and then off they go to find some other, better resource.
LIMBONG: That said, as of right now, it's kind of easy to flag when writing is AI-generated, says Friedman. There's a vagueness and a flatness to the writing.
FRIEDMAN: It just feels like a human didn't write these. Like, humans would actually, funny enough, do a better job being bad.
LIMBONG: But what Mary Rasenberger over at the Authors Guild is thinking and lobbying Congress about is a future where it won't be so easy.
Andrew Limbong, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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