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We protect your TV shows, movies, live events, software, video games or ebooks
We help you to protect your profitability and to stop unauthorized broadcasts in real time
Monitoring the internet to protect your brand and reputation, giving you the tools to safeguard your image
Highly specialized service for cable distributors tracking illegal IP TV resellers in a geographically delimited zone
AIs have long been used in the world of piracy, but also in the fight against it. In recent months, however, a new type of content has emerged, on the borderline between piracy and something we don’t yet know exactly what to call: fake content from well-known authors, generated by AIs. As we shall see in this August series, two industries are particularly hard hit: literature and music.
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.
However, this type of “copy”, which is not really piracy, is not currently covered by any legislation.
Apart from the problem of remuneration for authors, there is a huge risk that the perceived value of literature will diminish if readers can no longer distinguish between works created by humans and those generated by machines. The loss of confidence in the authenticity of literary works could have disastrous consequences for the book industry.
For the moment, opinions are divided: should all such content be systematically removed? Or should we instead seek to create a kind of parallel market, made up of these AI-generated products, but which would contain a share of remuneration for the authors from whom they draw inspiration? Questions relating to copyright are crucial, as they highlight a problem that has recurred since the early days of piracy: the law evolves at a much slower pace than technology, creating chaotic grey areas.
Faced with this situation, some online book sales platforms have begun to take steps to combat the proliferation of fake books. Amazon, for example, has set up mechanisms to detect and remove suspect content. However, these efforts are often reactive and can be circumvented relatively easily.
Regulators and authors’ associations are also calling for stricter measures to protect writers and guarantee the authenticity of literary works. Such measures could include clearer regulations on the use of artificial intelligence in content creation, as well as more robust verification systems for book-selling platforms.
AI text generation is a powerful technology that offers many opportunities, but it also poses significant challenges for the world of literature. The proliferation of fake books written by AIs threatens genuine authors, creates unfair competition, complicates copyright protection and erodes confidence in the authenticity of literary works.
It is essential that sales platforms, regulators and consumers work together to find balanced solutions that harness the benefits of AI while protecting writers and preserving the value of literature. Without appropriate measures, the future of human authors could be seriously compromised by this new wave of automated creation.
Stay tuned for the second part of our article in mid-August. In the meantime, search and removal remain the most effective methods for getting content off the web as much as possible. If you have a film, series, software or e-book to protect, don’t hesitate to call on our services by contacting one of our account managers; PDN has been a pioneer in cybersecurity and anti-piracy for over ten years, and we’re bound to have a solution to help you. Enjoy your reading, and see you soon!
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