BodhipaksaSep 26, 2023

I've just discovered that Meta illegally used one of my books ("I Can't Believe It's Not Buddha") to train its AI.

They are paraphrasing (uncredited) the contents of my book to make money.

I am not okay with this.

Sarah Silverman and others have started lawsuits. I hope some of the less rich among us can team up and do likewise.

h/t @petergleick

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/books3-database-generative-ai-training-copyright-infringement/675363/?gift=QdM39RGtR94-pmclr4oVwi9lpuV63yswBnoweowTTIM&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share&s=03

These 183,000 Books Are Fueling the Biggest Fight in Publishing and Tech

Use our new search tool to see which authors have been used to train the machines.

The Atlantic
Show threadMatt ZandstraSep 27, 2023

@bodhipaksa

I'm in there too. I'm already concerned by the fact that contracts typically offer a flat fee rather than a share of subscription revenue. This isn't going to help matters.

CLARIFICATION - I poorly phrased this -- I was referring to subscription services which give electronic access to a publisher's catalogue -- not the standard royalty on hard copy / e-book sales. Also I don't know if the flat fee is typical. It is the case for me.

Show threadBodhipaksaSep 27, 2023
@inflatableink I'm sorry that your book has also been pirated. I'm not sure what you mean by this, though: book contracts usually involve royalties for every copy sold, with a flat-fee advance on those royalties.
Show threadMatt Zandstra
@bodhipaksa Yes, I get an advance and royalties as you describe. However, the publisher also has a netflix-style subscription service. For this service, readers pay a monthly fee and have access to a wide catalogue of books. I only get a flat fee for this. I don't know what proportion of sales go through this model -- but, unless it is renegotiated, as it grows it will eat into royalties.
Sep 27, 2023 at 5:11pmWeb
Show threadBodhipaksaSep 27, 2023

@inflatableink Interesting. I've never heard of an arrangement like that.

I have wondered how Amazon's "all you can read" program works. Presumably authors get royalties, but I'm not confident in Amazon's ethics.

Show threadMatt ZandstraSep 27, 2023
@bodhipaksa I wonder about Amazon too. I guess it's a similar model. In my sector -- tech/academic -- it's increasingly common. I think O'Reilly pioneered it (or at least adopted it early). One of the issues in the actors' strike seems to concern the transparency of the streaming services WRT the popularity of their shows. Without knowing how many views a show gets it's hard to negotiate a fair remuneration. I wonder if authors will face a similar issue in the medium term.