Science & Tech · AI · 6 hrs ago
Writing-tracking tools aim to help authors answer AI allegations
Authors are facing accusations that their books were written with AI, as generative AI becomes more common in publishing.
The controversy grew after Hachette canceled the US release of Mia Ballard’s novel *Shy Girl* and stopped selling it in the UK following online claims that much of it was AI-generated.
Ballard denies writing the novel with AI and says an editor made AI-assisted changes to an earlier version.
There is no agreed standard for proving human authorship, and authors say accusations can harm them before they have a chance to respond.
New services including Workings, Blindproof and Human Ink aim to record how a writer creates a text, sometimes capturing typing patterns or keeping encrypted records.
The records could also help show where writing came from if it is used in AI training without attribution.
The Authors Guild says the tools may offer a safety net, but it has not recommended one and says authors should not have to keep proof of their own work.
New software tools aim to help authors document how they write and respond to allegations that they used artificial intelligence.
The tools include Workings, Blindproof, Wintertext, Human Ink and ObraVera, and can record writing processes or create digital fingerprints.
The debate intensified after Hachette Book Group canceled the US publication of Shy Girl and discontinued its UK release amid claims the novel was largely AI-generated.
Author Mia Ballard denied using AI to write the novel and said an editor was responsible for AI-assisted changes to an earlier version.
The Authors Guild says the tools may offer writers a security net but says authors should not have to preserve proof of their work.
- Who
- Developers of writing-tracking tools and authors facing AI-use allegations. The Authors Guild is also discussing the tools.
- What
- New tools document writing processes to help establish authorship and the origins of text.
- When
- The tools are being developed amid recent AI-use allegations in publishing. The Shy Girl controversy broke in March.
- Where
- The story concerns the publishing industry, including the United States and the United Kingdom.
- Why
- Authors may use the tools to respond to claims that they relied on AI and to document the provenance of their writing.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Andrea Bartz published five thrillers beginning in 2019.
Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a copyright case brought by authors, including Bartz.
After social media speculation and a Times article about claims that Shy Girl was largely AI-generated, Hachette canceled its planned US publication and discontinued the book in the UK.
Several other fiction authors faced AI-use suspicions and denied the allegations.
- Writing-tracking tools
- Workings, Blindproof, Wintertext, Human Ink and ObraVera
- Shy Girl AI estimate
- Pangram estimated that about 78 percent of the text was AI-generated
- Shy Girl publisher
- Hachette Book Group canceled the US publication and discontinued the UK release
- Mia Ballard
- Denied using AI to write Shy Girl and said an editor made AI-assisted changes to an earlier version
- Anthropic settlement
- $1.5 billion
What people are saying
I kind of immediately felt like this was going to lead to a potential witch hunt.
There’s no agreed upon standard
insulting
we don't feel it should be required