AI Meets the Book World

AI is creeping into the book world, and not everyone is happy about it. If there is anyone left who doesn't know what “AI” stands for, it's “artificial intelligence.” AI can not only answer your questions, it can speak to you in natural language. It can even write a story, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. It can learn and master everything it “reads,” and that includes the content of thousands of books, articles, and everything else it reads on the internet (and as we all know, you can't post something on the internet if it isn't true).

Now, AI has stuck its big toe in the waters of the book publishing business. It is not writing books...yet...but it is about to begin translating some books. Veen Bosch & Keuning, a 100-year-old group of Dutch book publishers acquired by Simon & Schuster in May of this year, said it is using AI to “assist” in the translation of fewer than ten books of commercial fiction. It is not using it on great literary works, although that might be somewhat dismissive of commercial fiction (though likely accurate). VBK insisted that they will not be using AI to create books and authors will need to give their permission for their works to be translated in this manner.

Automated translating has come a long way in the past few years. You may remember a time not long ago when Google translations were often hard to decipher. Literal word-for-word translations often make no sense as the words, when put together in a string, may form an expression with a different meaning. A word-for-word translator won't capture this meaning. “That idea won't fly” has a clear meaning in English, but a literal translation to another language that does not share that expression will make no sense to the reader. The question is whether AI, with its great amount of stored knowledge, will be able to translate that expression into something of comparable meaning in the other language.

Not surprisingly, the use of AI to translate is an idea that won't fly with translators. They understand the intricacies of creating a translation that is true to the words' meaning, but then again, they aren't exactly a neutral party. A survey by the Society of Authors found that 36% of translators have already lost work to AI, and 77% believe it will negatively impact their future earnings. It's hard to be totally objective when your livelihood is at stake. Nevertheless, 37% of translators admitted that they had used generative AI in their work. It can be a tool, but not necessarily a replacement.

In an “open letter” to VBK, the European Council of Literary Translators' Association wrote that they were “horrified” to learn of this “limited experiment.” They said, “AI usage standardises translations, impoverishing written cultures and languages...” They continued, “Machines do not translate, they merely generate textual material; books are written by human authors and should be translated by human translators. Imagination, understanding and creativity are intrinsically human and should not be left out of any literary text.” The Authors Guild stated that publishers should include the following in contracts with authors - “...a human translator may use artificial intelligence technologies as a tool to assist in the translation, provided that the translation substantially comprises human creation and the human translator has control over, and reviews and approves, each word in the translation.”

Of course, translations are just the tip of the iceberg. Next up, coming to a book near you soon, is AI written books. AI can write stories now and undoubtedly full-length books if assigned the task. My guess is it may be able to write passable pulp fiction, standardized works that are pumped out as cheap paperbacks for readers not in the mood for taking on Ulysses. But, could it write Ulysses? Can it equal Shakespeare? Can it be creative instead of formulaic? Does creativity require the ability to think? AI can't. That's something to think about.

Rare Book Monthly

AI Meets the Book World

Rare Book Monthly

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AI Meets the Book World

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