More than a thousand authors, including prominent literary figures such as Lauren Groff, Lev Grossman, R.F. Kuang, Dennis Lehane, and Geoffrey Maguire, have called on book publishers to curb the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the publishing industry.
In an open letter published earlier this week, the authors urged publishers to pledge that they will not release books generated by AI and will not replace human workers, including audiobook narrators and editorial staff, with machines or assign them to merely supervise AI systems.
“Rather than paying writers a small percentage of the money our work makes for them, someone else will be paid for a technology built on our unpaid labor,” the letter reads, accusing AI companies of "stealing" creative work by training large language models on copyrighted books without permission or compensation.
The statement, first signed by dozens of well-known authors, rapidly gained traction. According to National Public Radio (NPR), over 1,100 additional writers endorsed the letter within 24 hours of its release.
The growing concern among writers comes amid ongoing lawsuits against tech companies accused of using copyrighted books to train AI models. However, those legal efforts faced setbacks this week, after US federal judges dismissed key portions of the authors' claims, citing fair use and procedural grounds.
Despite the legal hurdles, authors continue to press for action from publishers, demanding transparency and ethical standards in the integration of AI technologies.
The letter also emphasised the cultural and professional value of human storytelling, warning that relying on machines risks diluting literary quality and displacing skilled professionals.
