[ti:More People Using ChatGPT to Create, Publish Books]
[al:As It Is]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2023-03-07]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]A growing number of people are using ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program, to create books for sale. 
[00:10.73]Although sales have so far been slow, human writers are worried that ChatGPT-created books might hurt the writing and publishing industry.
[00:21.91]Until recently, Brett Schickler never imagined he could be a published author.
[00:28.83]But after learning about the ChatGPT artificial intelligence program, Schickler decided that he had a good chance.
[00:38.46]"The idea of writing a book finally seemed possible," said Schickler, a salesman in Rochester, New York. "I thought 'I can do this.'"
[00:50.35]Using the AI software, Schickler created a 30-page illustrated children's e-book in a few hours. 
[00:59.28]He offered it for sale in January through Amazon's self-publishing section.
[01:05.68]The e-book, which is named The Wise Little Squirrel: A Tale of Saving and Investing, has made Schickler less than $100, he said. 
[01:17.06]While that may not sound like much, it is enough to make him want to create other books using the software.
[01:24.46]"I could see people making a whole career out of this," said Schickler.
[01:29.94]There were over 200 e-books in Amazon's Kindle store as of mid-February that say ChatGPT is a writer or co-writer. And the number is rising daily.
[01:44.09]But due to the nature of ChatGPT and many writers' failure to admit that they have used it, it is nearly impossible to get a full count of how many e-books may be written by AI.
[01:59.50]Some professional writers are becoming worried about the effects that ChatGPT could have on the book publishing industry.
[02:08.36]Mary Rasenberger is the executive director of the Authors Guild, a writer's group.
[02:15.34]She said, "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."
[02:26.40]Rasenberger noted that the industry has a long tradition of ghostwriting - an accepted practice of paying someone to write books or speeches under another author's name.
[02:38.20]But she is worried that the ability to create with AI could turn book writing from an art into a commodity - a kind of simple raw material that is bought and sold.
[02:51.26]"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.
[03:03.71]When asked for comment by Reuters, Amazon did not say whether it has plans to change or look at policies around authors' use of AI or other automated writing tools. 
[03:17.80]Amazon spokeswoman Lindsay Hamilton said via email that books in the store must meet its guidelines regarding "intellectual property rights" and other laws.
[03:30.44]Amazon is by far the largest seller of both physical and e-books. 
[03:36.33]It has well over half of the sales in the United States and, by some estimates, over 80 percent of the e-book market.
[03:46.51]In 2007, Amazon created Kindle Direct Publishing to enable anyone to sell and market a book without the expense of seeking out book agents or publishing houses.
[04:01.43]Generally, Amazon lets authors publish without any oversight. 
[04:06.68]The company then splits whatever money is made with the writer.
[04:12.08]This service has drawn new AI-assisted writers like Kamil Banc to Amazon.
[04:18.78]He told his wife that he could make a book in less than one day. 
[04:23.98]Using ChatGPT, an AI image creator and instructions 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.
[04:41.46]Banc has since published two more AI-generated books, including an adult coloring book, with more in the works. 
[04:51.01]"It actually is really simple," he said. "I was surprised at how fast it went from concept to publishing."
[04:59.70]Not everyone is impressed by the software. 
[05:02.43]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. Dull means not interesting.
[05:20.39]Dawson said that merit - a good quality that deserves to be praised - is important in the book business.
[05:28.86]"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."
[05:41.66]I'm John Russell.