ChatGPT launches boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon

Consumer interest so far has been sleepy, with authors having sold just a dozen AI-generated books through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. (AFP/File)
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Updated 22 February 2023

ChatGPT launches boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon

  • Bot-made e-books have sparked an intense debate about authenticity, future of writers

SAN FRANCISCO: Until recently, Brett Schickler never imagined he could be a published author, though he had dreamed about it. But after learning about the ChatGPT artificial intelligence program, Schickler figured an opportunity had landed in his lap.
“The idea of writing a book finally seemed possible,” said Schickler, a salesman in Rochester, New York. “I thought ‘I can do this.’“
Using the AI software, which can generate blocks of text from simple prompts, Schickler created a 30-page illustrated children’s e-book in a matter of hours, offering it for sale in January through Amazon.com Inc’s self-publishing unit.
In the edition, Sammy the Squirrel, crudely rendered also using AI, learns from his forest friends about saving money after happening upon a gold coin. He crafts an acorn-shaped piggy bank, invests in an acorn trading business and hopes to one day buy an acorn grinding stone.
Sammy becomes the wealthiest squirrel in the forest, the envy of his friends and “the forest started prospering,” according to the book.
“The Wise Little Squirrel: A Tale of Saving and Investing,” available in the Amazon Kindle store for $2.99 — or $9.99 for a printed version — has netted Schickler less than $100, he said. While that may not sound like much, it is enough to inspire him to compose other books using the software.
“I could see people making a whole career out of this,” said Schickler, who used prompts on ChatGPT like “write a story about a dad teaching his son about financial literacy.”
Schickler is on the leading edge of a movement testing the promise and limitations of ChatGPT, which debuted in November and has sent shock waves through Silicon Valley and beyond for its uncanny ability to create cogent blocks of text instantly.
There were over 200 e-books in Amazon’s Kindle store as of mid-February listing ChatGPT as an author or co-author, including “How to Write and Create Content Using ChatGPT,” “The Power of Homework” and poetry collection “Echoes of the Universe.” And the number is rising daily. There is even a new sub-genre on Amazon: Books about using ChatGPT, written entirely by ChatGPT.
But due to the nature of ChatGPT and many authors’ failure to disclose they have used it, it is nearly impossible to get a full accounting of how many e-books may be written by AI.
The software’s emergence has already ruffled some of the biggest technology firms, prompting Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to hastily debut new functions in Google and Bing, respectively, that incorporate AI.
The rapid consumer adoption of ChatGPT has spurred frenzied activity in tech circles as investors pour money into AI-focused startups and given technology firms new purpose amid the gloom of massive layoffs. Microsoft, for one, received fawning coverage this month over its otherwise moribund Bing search engine after demonstrating an integration with ChatGPT.
But already there are concerns over authenticity, because ChatGPT learns how to write by scanning millions of pages of existing text. An experiment with AI by CNET resulted in multiple corrections and apparent plagiarism before the tech news site suspended its use.
THREAT TO ‘REAL’ AUTHORS?
Now ChatGPT appears ready to upend the staid book industry as would-be novelists and self-help gurus looking to make a quick buck are turning to the software to help create bot-made e-books and publish them through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing arm. Illustrated children’s books are a favorite for such first-time authors. On YouTube, TikTok and Reddit hundreds of tutorials have spring up, demonstrating how to make a book in just a few hours. Subjects include get-rich-quick schemes, dieting advice, software coding tips and recipes.
“This is something we really need to be worried about, these books will flood the market and a lot of authors are going to be out of work,” said Mary Rasenberger, executive director of writers’ group the Authors Guild. Ghostwriting — by humans — has a long tradition, she said, but the ability to automate through AI could turn book writing from a craft into a commodity.
“There needs to be transparency from the authors and the platforms about how these books are created or you’re going to end up with a lot of low-quality books,” she said.
One author, who goes by Frank White, showed in a YouTube video how in less than a day he created a 119-page novella called “Galactic Pimp: Vol. 1” about alien factions in a far-off galaxy warring over a human-staffed brothel. The book can be had for just $1 on Amazon’s Kindle e-book store. In the video, White says anyone with the wherewithal and time could create 300 such books a year, all using AI.
Many authors, like White, feel no duty to disclose in the Kindle store that their great American novel was written wholesale by a computer, in part because Amazon’s policies do not require it.
When asked for comment by Reuters, Amazon did not address whether it had plans to change or review its Kindle store policies around authors’ use of AI or other automated writing tools. “All books in the store must adhere to our content guidelines, including by complying with intellectual property rights and all other applicable laws,” Amazon spokeswoman Lindsay Hamilton said via email.
A spokeswoman for ChatGPT developer OpenAI declined to comment.
FROM CONCEPTION TO PUBLICATION IN JUST HOURS
Amazon is by far the largest seller of both physical and e-books, commanding well over half of sales in the United States and, by some estimates, over 80 percent of the e-book market. Its Kindle Direct Publishing service has spawned a cottage industry of self-published novelists, carving out particular niches for enthusiasts of erotic content and self-help books.
Amazon created Kindle Direct Publishing in 2007 to allow anyone to sell and market a book from their couch without the hassle or expense of seeking out literary agents or publishing houses. Generally, Amazon allows authors to publish instantly through the unit without any oversight, splitting whatever proceeds they generate.
That has attracted new AI-assisted authors like Kamil Banc, whose primary job is selling fragrances online, who bet his wife he could make a book from conception to publication in less than one day. Using ChatGPT, an AI image creator and prompts like “write a bedtime story about a pink dolphin that teaches children how to be honest,” Banc published an illustrated 27-page book in December. Available on Amazon, “Bedtime Stories: Short and Sweet, For a Good Night’s Sleep” took Banc about four hours to create, he said.
Consumer interest so far has been admittedly sleepy: Banc said sales have totaled about a dozen copies. But readers rated it worthy of five stars, including one who praised its “wonderful and memorable characters.”
Banc has since published two more AI-generated books, including an adult coloring book, with more in the works. “It actually is really simple,” he said. “I was surprised at how fast it went from concept to publishing.”
Not everyone is blown away by the software. Mark Dawson, who has reportedly sold millions of copies of books he wrote himself through Kindle Direct Publishing, was quick to call ChatGPT-assisted novels “dull” in an email to Reuters.
“Merit plays a part in how books are recommended to other readers. If a book gets bad reviews because the writing is dull then it’s quickly going to sink to the bottom.”


Palestinian journalist seriously wounded by rubber bullet

Updated 09 June 2023

Palestinian journalist seriously wounded by rubber bullet

RAMALLAH: Moamen Sumreen, 22, a Palestinian journalist who was convering the Israeli raid, was seriously wounded after being hit in the head by a rubber bullet, his family told AFP.

Israeli troops on Thursday demolished the West Bank home of a Palestinian accused of carrying out twin bombings in Jerusalem last November that killed two Israelis, including a teenager.
His uncle Mohammed Sumreen, also a journalist, said they had been among a group of reporters watching events unfold from the roof of a nearby building.
“Throughout the coverage, the soldiers were shining laser lights on us, targeting us with gas bombs and firing live bullets in our direction,” he said.
“Moamen wanted to change his position, he stood up and was directly hit by a bullet in the area under the ear,” he said, noting that Sumreen was wearing a jacket marked “press” when he came under fire.
The Israeli army said that the incident was “under review.”

The army used explosives to make the first floor apartment in Ramallah where Aslam Faroukh lived uninhabitable, an AFP journalist reported.
Faroukh was arrested in December and accused of carrying out the November 23 bombings at Jerusalem bus stops that killed a 15-year-old Israeli-Canadian and an Israeli in his 50s. They were the first bombings to have targeted Israeli civilians since 2016.

“The home was demolished after an appeal to the Supreme Court against the demolition was rejected,” the army said in a statement.

Originally from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where he held an Israeli residency permit, Faroukh had lived in Ramallah for some years.
According to the army, he is alleged to have acted alone, “identifying with the Daesh (Daesh group) organization.”
Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, routinely demolishes the homes of individuals it blames for deadly attacks on Israelis.
Human rights activists say the policy amounts to collective punishment, as it can render non-combatants, including children, homeless.
But Israel says the practice is effective in deterring some Palestinians from carrying out attacks.
Faroukh’s mother, Um Aslam, told AFP that the demolition would only “increase their hatred and (desire for) revenge.”


Microsoft to offer OpenAI’s GPT models to government cloud customers

Updated 08 June 2023

Microsoft to offer OpenAI’s GPT models to government cloud customers

  • Company said GPT technology will be integrated into Azure Government, which offers cloud solutions to government agencies

LONDON: Microsoft Corp. is bringing the powerful language-producing models from OpenAI to US federal agencies using its Azure cloud service, it said in a blog post on Wednesday.
The Redmond, Washington-based company has added support for large language models (LLMs) powering GPT-4 the latest and the most sophisticated of the LLMs from OpenAI, and GPT-3, to Azure Government.
Use of LLMs have boomed since the launch of ChatGPT from OpenAI, in which Microsoft holds a stake, and businesses of all shapes and sizes are racing to build features on top of them.
It is the first time Microsoft is bringing the GPT technology to Azure Government, which offers cloud solutions to US government agencies, and marks the first such effort by a major company to make the chatbot technology available to governments.
Microsoft generally offers it to Azure commercial cloud users through Azure OpenAI Services, which had 4,500 customers as of May.
Microsoft said government customers can adapt the language models for specific tasks including content generation, language-to-code translation and summarization. 


Meta introduces broadcast tool Channels on WhatsApp

Updated 08 June 2023

Meta introduces broadcast tool Channels on WhatsApp

  • New feature users will allow users to follow content on their hobbies, sports teams, updates from local officials

LONDON: Meta Platforms on Thursday introduced WhatsApp Channels, a feature that the social media giant said would help make the app a “private broadcast messaging product.”
Users in Colombia and Singapore will be the first to receive access to Channels. Over the coming months, Meta will expand the availability of the tool for users in more countries, it said.
The company said users will be able to follow content on their hobbies, sports teams, updates from local officials and others.
Profile photos and contact information of the channel admin would not be visible to followers. Similarly, followers will not have their phone numbers revealed.
Global launch partners for the feature will include the World Health Organization, FC Barcelona and Manchester City.


Fox News says Tucker Carlson breached his contract - Axios

Updated 08 June 2023

Fox News says Tucker Carlson breached his contract - Axios

  • Fox News accused Carlson of the violation in a letter to his legal team after he posted a clip of his new show on Twitter on Tuesday
  • Carlson was taken off the air by Fox last April following a damaging defamation lawsuit over false claims of election fraud

WASHINGTON: Fox News on Wednesday notified Tucker Carlson’s legal team that the former prime-time host violated his contract with the network when he launched his own Twitter show on Tuesday, Axios reported, citing a copy of a letter obtained by the news website.

Carlson released the first episode of his new show on Twitter on Tuesday, weeks after being taken off the air by Fox following a damaging defamation lawsuit over false claims of election fraud.
Fox News general counsel Bernard Gugar sent a letter to Carlson’s legal team saying Carlson “is in breach” of his contract agreement after he posted a clip of his new show on Twitter on Tuesday evening, according to Axios.
Carlson’s legal team could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters. His lawyer told Axios that any legal action by Fox would violate his First Amendment rights to free speech guaranteed by the US Constitution.
“Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds. Now they want to take Tucker Carlson’s right to speak freely away from him because he took to social media to share his thoughts on current events,” Carlson’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement cited by Axios.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The letter quoted by Axios refers to Carlson’s contract, and said its former prime time star was “prohibited from rendering services of any type whatsoever, whether ‘over the Internet via streaming or similar distribution, or other digital distribution whether now known or hereafter devised.’“


Chris Licht steps down as CNN chief following series of grave missteps

Updated 07 June 2023

Chris Licht steps down as CNN chief following series of grave missteps

  • The chief executive officer of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, informed CNN staff of Licht’s departure during the network’s daily editorial call
  • The departure of 51-year-old Licht came after The Atlantic recently published an extensive article headlined “Inside the Tremendous Meltdown at CNN”

LONDON: CNN chief Chris Licht on Wednesday announced that he would be leaving the network after a one-year tenure marked by serious programming missteps.
The chief executive officer of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, informed CNN staff of Licht’s departure during the network’s daily editorial call, according to CNN Business.
The departure of 51-year-old Licht, CNN’s chairman and CEO, came after The Atlantic recently published an extensive article headlined “Inside the Tremendous Meltdown at CNN,” highlighting the muddles and low ratings the company had experienced in the last year.
The most recent of his missteps, which attracted backlash, was the network’s town hall meeting with former US President Donald Trump, which the Financial Times described as “controversial.”
During the meeting, Trump’s supporters cheered as he insulted the event’s moderator Kaitlan Collins, who attempted to fact-check the ex-American leader. Although CNN journalists were angered, Licht said: “America was served very well by what we did.”
On Monday, Licht apologized to CNN employees, describing his experience as “tremendously humbling.”
But on Wednesday, Zaslav said: “For a number of reasons things didn’t work out and that’s unfortunate. It’s really unfortunate. And ultimately that’s on me. And I take full responsibility for that.”
Licht will leave his role within 48 hours, Puck News reported on Wednesday.