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Authors Protest AI at London Book Fair with ‘Empty’ Book
The protest book lists thousands of authors opposing UK plans to legalise AI copying without payment, urging government to protect creators and reject large-scale copyright theft.
- At this year's London Book Fair, thousands of authors published and distributed 'Don't Steal This Book', urging the UK government not to legalise book theft benefiting AI companies.
- The UK government is considering legalising large-scale copying of copyrighted books under an opt-out proposal, while campaigners insist AI companies should pay and urge ministers to reject this plan.
- Organiser Ed Newton-Rex said the AI industry was 'built on stolen work & taken without permission or payment', and dontstealthisbook.com states AI firms copy millions of books; high-profile authors like Kazuo Ishiguro joined the protest.
- With ministers due to deliver an economic impact assessment by 18 March, organisers warned of 'empty pages, writers without pay, and readers deprived of the next book they'll love'.
- The consultation's opt-out model would legalise large-scale copying, organisers say it would deprive writers of pay and threaten future books, and they urge AI companies to pay like everyone else.
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17 Articles
Thousands of authors publish 'empty' book in protest of concerning trend: 'This is not a victimless crime'
Ahead of a long-anticipated assessment from the British government on artificial intelligence and copyright law, thousands of authors joined a collaborative protest book, the Guardian reported. Its title — Don't Steal This Book — was an apparent reference to activist Abbie Hoffman's 1971 anti-establishment classic, Steal This Book. While the new edition arguably shares some of the anti-capitalist themes of Hoffman's work, it is markedly differen…
In the UK, more than 10,000 writers released a "empty" book to protest against the use of their work by artificial intelligence companies without permission.
·Riga, Latvia
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources17
Leaning Left5Leaning Right1Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution72% Left
Bias Distribution
- 72% of the sources lean Left
72% Left
L 72%
14%
14%
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