Barnes & Noble CEO Slammed For Stance On Selling AI-Generated Books
The CEO of Barnes & Noble just clarified where he stands on AI-written books, and commenters are accusing him of choosing profit over integrity.
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Bookstore exec James Daunt told Jenna Bush Hager during a recent “Today” show appearance that as long as the “author” discloses that the book is AI-generated, he has no problem stocking it.
“I have actually no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn’t masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn’t, and that it has an essential quality to it, and that the customer, the reader, wants it,” Daunt said during the interview.
“So as long as an AI-written book says it’s an AI-written book and doesn’t pretend to be something else and isn’t ripping off somebody else, as long as that’s clearly stated and the customer wants to buy it, then we will stock them,” he added.
The CEO also argued that some books currently being sold probably use AI anyway.
“We have 300,000 titles across all of our stores. Do we think that some of those may be AI? The chances are that they are, but we’re not really conscious of them,” Daunt added.
Daunt also downplayed the issue, saying it’s not a big deal for now. “At the moment, it seems unlikely to us that these AI-generated books are going to get much commercial traction. So I think it’s something that one should treat with common sense and acceptance, but not allow anything to masquerade,” he told Bush Hager.
Commenters on social media did not agree.
“I will stop shopping at Barnes and Noble and I hope everyone else does too. AI is NOT the future,” one X commenter argued.
“Sorry, but ethics has a place in business, and selling works generated off the THEFT of other people’s work is UNETHICAL. For shame!” another person agreed.
“The point of a bookstore is discovering human thought. Real stories. Real suffering. Real imagination. Replacing authors with machines because it’s cheaper is how civilizations become hollow,” a third commenter said.
“The slop knows no bounds,” echoed another.
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