About 10,000 authors have published a book with no content to protest against AI companies using their work without permission. Dan Milmo reports for The Guardian that contributors include Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman. The only content in “Don’t Steal This Book” is a list of the contributors’ names.
Copies are being distributed at the London Book Fair. The timing is deliberate. By 18 March, the UK government must deliver an economic impact assessment and progress update on a proposed overhaul of copyright law.
The book’s organiser, composer and copyright campaigner Ed Newton-Rex, says the AI industry was “built on stolen work, taken without permission or payment.” He argues that generative AI directly competes with the creators whose work it trains on.
Author Malorie Blackman added: “It is not in any way unreasonable to expect AI companies to pay for the use of authors’ books.”
The UK government’s main proposal would allow AI firms to use copyright-protected work without the owner’s permission unless the owner actively opts out. Artists including Elton John have publicly criticised this approach.
The government is also considering three alternative options: leaving the law unchanged, requiring AI companies to obtain licences, or allowing unrestricted use with no opt-out at all.
A government spokesperson said it wants “a copyright regime that values and protects human creativity.”
