Thousands of authors publish empty' book in protest over AI using their work

"The AI industry was built on stolen work taken without permission or payment. This is not a victimless crime—generative AI competes with the people whose work it is trained on, robbing them of their livelihoods. The government must protect the UK's creatives, and refuse to legalise the theft of creative work by AI companies."

"It is not in any way unreasonable to expect AI companies to pay for the use of authors' books. The UK government must not legalise book theft to benefit AI companies."

Approximately 10,000 authors, including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory, and Richard Osman, created Don't Steal This Book as a protest against AI companies training generative AI systems on their work without consent or compensation. The book contains only the authors' names and will be distributed at the London book fair. Organizer Ed Newton-Rex argues the AI industry is built on stolen work that competes with and robs creators of their livelihoods. The protest coincides with the UK government's deadline to assess the economic impact of proposed copyright law changes. Publishers are simultaneously launching an AI licensing initiative to establish collective licensing schemes, emphasizing that compensating authors for AI training data use is reasonable and necessary.

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