1. Can AI created text and art be copyrighted?
Short answer, no. Since AI pulls from many copyrighted materials to make its word and art salad, your spin on the AI site is not considered an original work. Therefore, you cannot upload it to any site and claim copyright: not on KDP, Deviant Art, nor any stock photo sales site.
2. What is the difference between AI created versus AI assisted?
AI assistance can come in the form of answering questions, doing research for you, and helping you outline your novel. There is nothing wrong with assistance. There are software and books and blogs to help you outline a novel, do research, etc. I have a whole series on Story Building Blocks to help you outline your novel, build your characters, and your world. That kind of assist is okay. The line is drawn when AI creates the content for you, in part or in whole. If you are copying and pasting content AI has created, it is not considered an assist. It is considered plagiarism because of the sources AI was trained on.
In regard to covers, if you go to one of the many delightful AI art sites and say "I need an image of a fantasy village with dragons," you cannot use the resulting image for your cover. The work around to use AI only to assist is to make a collage of what you want a village or dragon to look like, upload it to AI to make it fleshed out, then put it back in your photo manipulation program and make changes. That makes it "original" to you. Just a brief detour to say, you have to pay for commercial licensing for most stock art and fonts. Just because it appears on a "free" site does not mean you have a commercial license for it. Those "free" sites are tricky that way. Free for personal use, yes. Free for a product you sell, not necessarily. If you have a commercial license for stock art, you can manipulate it for your cover. Same with a special font.
KDP requires you to inform them of AI generated content (text, images, or translations) when you upload you title or republish a title. You are not required to disclose AI-assisted content. So, what's the difference?
Per KDP's website:
"AI-generated: We define AI-generated content as text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool. If you used an AI-based tool to create the actual content (whether text, images, or translations), it is considered "AI-generated," even if you applied substantial edits afterwards.
AI-assisted: If you created the content yourself, and used AI-based tools to edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve that content (whether text or images), then it is considered "AI-assisted" and not “AI-generated.” Similarly, if you used an AI-based tool to brainstorm and generate ideas, but ultimately created the text or images yourself, this is also considered "AI-assisted" and not “AI-generated.” It is not necessary to inform us of the use of such tools or processes. You are responsible for verifying that all AI-generated and/or AI-assisted content adheres to all content guidelines, including by complying with all applicable intellectual property rights." KDP "
3. Can I use AI to translate my novel?
Not if you upload your content and tell AI to create a foreign language edition. It's important to note that AI sites, even Google translate, cannot be relied upon for accuracy. You really should have a native speaker or trained translator assist you. If you rely on ChatGPT, that's on you.
4. How can they tell?
This is probably the most critical part for anyone wishing to slip under the radar. The answer is filters and algorithms that can identify AI-generated content and plagiarism. Do they make mistakes? Yes. Can you appeal? Yes. There are filters for art and filters for writing. It is similar to the plagiarism filters. So, don't be like the cut and paste thief. You could get sued by Romance Writers of America. Some filters can recognize paraphrased plagiarism too, in case you wondered. If you are caught plagiarizing, your account is deactivated. They are not, to my knowledge, doing that with AI-created content.
There are programs and filters for plagiarism and AI content. Most require an account and payment. There are many plagiarism sites not listed here. These serve as examples.
Turnitin states it can detect paraphrased AI content and ChatGPT generated content and Quillbot paraphrasing with 99% accuracy.
TraceGPT, also referred to as AI Plagiarism Checker & ChatGPT Content AI Detector, is part of PlagiarismCheck.org. You must make an account to use it.
Winston AI integrates with Blackboard, and Google Classroom, and can be used by businesses to detect plagiarism. Can also give you a readability score. It can scan documents, pictures, and handwriting. Can be used with Google, Edge, and Firefox.
Hive is a free AI content detector for text, image, and voice.
GPTZero detects ChatGPT, GPT4, Google-Gemini, LLaMa, and new AI models.
Originality.ai is a plagiarism and fact checker.
Does KDP run every file through a filter? I couldn't find a clear answer. I know they run a grammar and spelling filter for the virtual proof.
5. Why are AI-generated novels sold on Amazon?
A recent speaker bragged that he wrote and published 7 books with AI in the past year. I looked him up. The books are there. I have seen obvious AI created covers on traditionally published books too.
How is that possible given KDP "doesn't allow" AI work? Well, it kinda does.
“While we allow AI-generated content, we don't allow AI-generated content that violates our Kindle Direct Publishing content guidelines, including content that creates a disappointing customer experience,” Amazon spokesperson Ashley Vanicek says.
That's a non-answer if I ever saw one. Which is it? You do or you don't? The answer is, you probably aren't safe from plagiarism or copyright infringement claims, but they won't stop you from trying.
Under the current guidelines, authors are required to disclose whether their book contains AI-generated content by checking the box on upload. You can mention AI-created in the book description or author's notes.
So, you can, in fact, sell it through Amazon.
Why allow it at all? I suspect they are gauging whether AI-generated books will make them money.
I use AI spins for character creation. I start with a paper doll created in Photoshop and spin it on NightCafe then refine it in Photoshop. There are always identifiable artifacts. AI is horrible with hands, ears, and facial features. It adds extra limbs. It is bad with images that look real instead of drawings. The resolution can be quite poor, so you have to paint over it anyway. I have played with keywords for days before I get anything remotely usable. If I knew animation, I would prefer to make images that way. Sadly, I don't have those skills. Yet. I have grown leaps and bounds with Photoshop over the past five years. I get that people don't want to take the time to learn. I prefer stock images I manipulate which I pay for when I create a cover. If AI can spit it out, I can recreate it on Photoshop. I prefer to pay the original artist or photographer and font designer for a commercial license when possible.
It may be tempting to create a bunch of books with ChatGPT if you need cash. However, writing is only half of the job. Marketing and publicity are the other half. If you upload a book to KDP or any other platform, it sits there unnoticed for 90 days until it falls off the algorithm entirely. You need a platform and your reputation is on the line. You will have to work just as hard to sell an AI created book as you would one you wrote. There is no fast easy cash in the publishing business. Is that the reputation you want? Are you willing to risk the ramifications if you unknowingly plagiarize someone else's work?
In summary, just because you can doesn't mean you should. Someone presented a monkey-created painting as fine art. "Experts" oohed and aahed about the lines and colors and said it was worth millions. They were humiliated when it was revealed the painting was by an ape. I imagine the reaction would be the same if it was revealed that ChatGPT wrote your book. So, proceed with caution.
As always if you find this information helpful, share it, like it. If you want more free information, sign up to follow the blog on blogger or the Story Building Blocks Facebook Page. Free tips and tools are also available on my site https://dianahurwitz.com/.
Another great article!
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