As publishers and the literary world continue to face complexities due to the clash between AI and traditional storytelling, Dr Alan Finkel told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, “AI has no economic benefits for the arts or the creative sector. That is why it is vital that we put the guardrails in place to protect artists from the impact of AI-generated content”.
Speaking on a panel at the biggest book festival in the world, alongside Steve Crossan, a founding member of the pioneering DeepMind project, Alan discussed the future of AI, the impact it will have on people, culture and science and how we should regulate it.
At a time when AI-generated content is ubiquitous, a key topic at this year’s book festival was how to maintain transparency and trust in books. Controversies around AI slop in books such as Shy Girl and Serpent in the Grove, winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, expose the difficulties of auditing AI’s use in literature as well as the importance that consumers place in knowing the origins of what they read.
In this context, Alan argued that while AI technology has numerous positive impacts, for example in scientific research and in computer programming, we need to ensure that we use it ethically. He asserted that government regulation cannot keep up with the speed of AI innovation, thus we need clearer markers of origin, verifying that content is human-made at the point of creation. This is the only way we can truly protect the sanctity of the human word and maintain readers’ trust in what they consume.
The ProudlyHuman™ certification mark is designed to uphold this trust. It puts the power of choice back into the hands of readers, allowing them to knowingly choose to read or not to read AI content.
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About Proudly Human
Proudly Human is the international certification organization that verifies and labels human-created content, services and products. It ensures that all people can exercise their right to choose human-created work. Similar in spirit to organic or fair trade certification in other industries, it enables people to make informed choices and gives creative people the recognition they deserve.
Provenance is important. Creators are proud of what they produce, human beings care about the origin of what they consume, and human creativity should be celebrated.