For some months now, fake books have been appearing on download sites; some use the names of existing authors, others seek to protect themselves by using a fake name, but usually very close to that of a real artist. Advanced algorithms are now capable of analyzing and recreating an author’s style, whether in terms of story construction or pure narrative qualities. The ease with which books can now be generated by AIs has led to a proliferation of fake books on online sales platforms. These fake books can be sold at low prices, disrupting the book economy and creating unfair competition for real authors. The quality of these AI-generated works varies widely, posing problems in both cases.

Some are surprisingly well-written; but in that case, why continue to pay authors, if an AI can do almost as well, and much faster, at lower cost? This creates unfair competition for authors. Others, on the contrary, lack depth, originality and authenticity, damaging the reading experience and the reputation of literature in general.

Similarly, audio versions of some perfectly legitimate books are appearing. These books are supposedly read by the author himself or herself, or by an actor or actress known for their audiobook work… The problem? There have never been any audio versions of these books recorded by the people in question… In fact, celebrity voice generators have recently become increasingly realistic, enabling this whole new type of piracy.