The UK Society of Authors (SoA) is the latest body to issue advice on Artificial Intelligence, making its members aware of the possible dangers presented by AI.
It advises: Ask your publisher to confirm that it will not make substantial use of AI for any purpose in connection with your work such as proof-reading, editing (including authenticity reads and fact-checking), indexing, legal vetting, design and layout, or anything else without your consent. You may wish to forbid audiobook narration, translation, and cover design rendered by AI.
It says all the above is important because there are questions over the current level of expertise afforded by AI. It notes that many AI programmes have been trained by learning on pirated content and adds: For the AI company to undertake any such services it needs access to your work and it could gain far more from accessing the work than you or your publisher gain from using the automated service. The better AI becomes at simulating these services, the harder it will be for humans to continue to work, or bring any influence to bear on, what is created.
Speaking about AI overall, the SoA advises: Before entering into agreements, be aware of what you are agreeing to whether you are about to sign a contract for publication or you are signing up to an online service.
But we live in a tick box world, in which we rarely think twice before clicking uncritically to agree a websites terms during a sign-up process.
Now more than ever, as companies implement new ways to monetise and manipulate our information, behaviour and creativity, we need to pause at these moments of consent to ensure we clearly understand what we are signing away.
