ElevenLabs has launched ElevenReader Publishing, a service for authors to create AI-narrated audiobooks for free, which will be listenable in the ElevenReader app, which they assert has “hundreds of thousands of listeners globally.” Authors with a paid ElevenLabs subscription can export those audio files to use on different platforms, but the company cautions, “please note that many other audiobook platforms like Audible, Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble may not accept AI-narrated audiobooks, so check each platform’s terms and conditions before attempting distribution.” (Spotify recently announced that it was accepting titles from ElevenLabs.) Authors can upload text and choose […]
AI
Hoopla Removes Summary Titles, AI-Generated Content
Hoopla is working to remove AI-generated books from its platform, which provides ebooks to libraries, 404 Media reports. According to an email the company sent to libraries, they have removed some publishers and authors that provide “poor-quality and/or poor-quality AI-generated content.” They also told librarians that they are removing all summary titles “with some exceptions” (like CliffNotes), updating their “collection development policy to ensure we adhere to and evolve with industry best practices,” and giving librarians the option of contacting Hoopla directly.
Meta Reached Out To Publishers To License Books But Gave Up
Newly released documents in the Kadrey v. Meta copyright infringement suit state that the tech giant reached out to publishers to license books for AI training, but ultimately “paused” that effort. In a deposition, director of business development, AI partnerships Sy Choudhury said that in early 2023 Meta looked into licensing “fiction book data, scientific textbook data, normal textbook data, images, videos” but the work to license “fiction books, nonfiction books, and coding” was stopped in April 2023. In another deposition, Alexander Boesenberg, who works in business development and AI partnerships, said, “We got to a point where we decided […]
Judge Rules Against “Fair Use” Defense in First AI Copyright Case
Thompson Reuters won its case against tech company Ross Intelligence, which copied TR’s Westlaw legal content to create its own AI, Reuters reports. This is the first judgement in an AI copyright infringement case in the US. Specifically, the judge ruled that Ross’s use of Westlaw’s content did not constitute “fair use”–a defense being used by several AI companies in suits about their use of pirated books. “We are pleased that the court granted summary judgment in our favor and concluded that Westlaw’s editorial content, created and maintained by our attorney editors, is protected by copyright and cannot be used […]
AAP Calls for AI Companies to Respect Copyright At Paris Summit
Several members of the International Publishers Association, including the Association of American Publishers, have issued a statement in connection with the Summit for Action on Artificial Intelligence being held in Paris this week. According to the IPA, the summit “intends to promote reliable, sustainable and responsible AI.” The IPA notes, “The summit…has a special responsibility as there will be no trusted AI without respect for intellectual property rights. There will be no ethical AI without the authorization of rightsholders. There will be no sovereign AI without a fair business model.” The statement, which is signed by 38 cultural and arts […]
Meta Documents Suggest Licensing Books Would Preclude Them From Pirating Them
According to newly unsealed filing in the case of several authors against Meta for copyright infringement, plaintiffs note that Meta’s documents show that the tech company knowingly used pirated material to train their AI tool Llama, even after employees raised flags that it was unethical and looked into paying for licenses. According to the filing, in one document, a Meta employee stated that she’d “been helping with buying content” from a redacted textbook publisher. Other internal messages “openly discuss licensing efforts and weigh the tradeoffs of using pirated textbooks and other copyrighted works from LibGen instead, including a statement that […]