AI-Generated Books: The Future or a Fad?

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly advanced and powerful. Its potential applications in the field of writing are both exciting and potentially concerning. AI has the potential to revolutionize the way authors and even those with no background in writing create material, by automating the creative writing process and potentially eliminating the need for human-written authors.

AI is capable of creating high quality written material that rivals that of human-written authors. This is made possible through a combination of deep learning algorithms and natural language processing. These allow AI to become “fluent” in natural language, and to understand the nuances associated with written language. AI can then imitate the style of a human writer, allowing it to produce content that is indistinguishable in quality from human-written authors.

AI is already being employed in the publishing industry to generate predictive analytics from large data sets in order to assess reader demand and market trends, optimize visual elements of book covers, assist with circulation and production tasks, and automate workflows.

Hundreds of books written by ChatGPT have appeared on Amazon as people look to exploit generative artificial intelligence to make a quick buck/ book!

To date, more than 300 books written or co-written by OpenAI’s AI software were listed on the online retailer ranging from fantasy fiction to self-help and non-fiction with Titles such as ‘ChatGPT smarter than humans?’, ‘Make more money with ChatGPT.

For authors, AI promises the possibility of faster and more efficient ways of getting their books to market. AI-powered solutions such as AutoCrit offer automated editing solutions that can analyze writing for potential areas of improvement and offer editorial suggestions. This means that authors can work to improve the quality of their work much faster than previously possible.

Book editors are likewise finding new opportunities for employing AI in their daily work utilizing AI’s ability to improve the accuracy of editorial decisions and enable editors to take on more complex editing tasks. This can lead to more efficient editing processes and take some of the workload off of editors’ shoulders.

While it’s still unclear to what extent artificial intelligence will encourage people who have no background in writing in being able to write entire books, it is clear that AI-generated books are starting to be accepted as legitimate works of literature. One such AI-generated book, “The Robot Writes” by Ross Goodwin was released in 2017 and quickly gained media attention.

Whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated books are the way of the future or just a fad is a highly contentious one with critics of AI-generated books contending that these books lack the craftsmanship, creativity and emotion of traditionally published works. While supporters of the technology insist AI has an immense potential to create exciting new stories, disrupt the publishing industry and bolster literacy rates. It is too early to say if AI-generated books are here to stay.

Further Reading:

Will ChatGPT Ever Replace Book Editors?

Can ChatGPT Help You Write Better Books?

The Impact of AI on Book Editing & Publishing

Is AI the future of Book Editing & Publishing

Authoring a New Era With AI

Fictional Worlds of AI & Transhumanism

Interview with a Sci-Fi Writer & ChatGPT