Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: ai, Alan Moore, artificial intelligence, Douiglas Adams, facebook, meta, neil gaiman

Authors Discover Pirated Versions of Their Books Used to Train Meta AI

Writing for The Atlantic, Alex Reisner has published a new online tool for authors to discover if their work is being used to train AI.

Writing for The Atlantic, Alex Reisner has published a new online tool for authors to discover if their work is being used to train AI – artificial intelligence from Meta/Facebook. Based on a database called Book3, listing 191,000 books "based on a collection of pirated ebooks, most of them published in the past 20 years." The research is now "at the center of several lawsuits brought against Meta by writers such as Sarah Silverman, Michael Chabon, and Paul Tremblay, who claim that its use in training generative AI amounts to copyright infringement."

But might there be more joining them? Alex has now made the database searchable by name, saying "these authors spent years thinking, researching, imagining, and writing, and had no idea that their books were being used to train machines that could one day replace them. Meanwhile, the people building and training these machines stand to profit enormously."

Responses have been fast and furious. and other words beginning with the letter F. Here are just a handful of the hundreds expressing their outrage.

Ellen Goodlett: go F-CK yourselves tech bros I did not consent to this

Rainbow Rowell: Well, this is upsetting for me personally.

E. Catherine Tobler: Okay–search for an author is a go. F-ck machine learning, and f-ck them for stealing my work.

James Swallow: So like a lot of authors today, I woke up to learn that pirated examples of my work are being used without my consent in the 'Books3' dataset fed to generative algorithms by several major corporations.

MiMi Aye: Everything is up for grabs as far as AI is concerned – one of my *cookbooks* is in this database of books that have been stolen to train AI

Hazel Edwards: So now I've been hacked by AI.

Indrapramit Das: THE DEVOURERS and several of my short stories are among the books used to train LLMs. I hope the techbros' algorithmic Moloch chokes on my purple prose. If anyone wins one of the lawsuits against these sh-tdongles pls send me some monies

Keri Arthur: Welp, all my trad books and 3 indies have been used. F-ckers.

Chris Brookmyre: Twelve f-cking books. I gave permission for precisely zero to be used to train AI.

Conor Kostick: Tut tut. @Meta , and others using the Books3 dataset for AI training, included some of my books without my permision. 200,000 books were scraped without concern for the rights of the authors.

Bart King: I've learned from this database that 10 of my books were stolen to train generative "AI." The fools. Now they're doomed.

Lauren Groff: I would never have consented for Meta to train AI on any of my books, let alone five of them. Hyperventilating.

Stephanie Burgis: Wow. FOUR of my books were used to train generative AI (i.e., they were plagiarized). (It was A Most Improper Magick, Renegade Magic, Snowspelled, and The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart.) This genuinely makes me feel sick.

Jennifer Gunter: I am so f-cking furious, @Meta is using The Vagina Bible without permission for AI.

Genevieve Cogman: Looks as if my books were scraped to train AI. They're in the database. No, I did not consent.

C Morgan Babst: Did I write this novel so that it could train our robot overlords? No, I did not. Will I relish taking said robot to court? Oh yes. Very much.

Bianca Turetsky: Great reporting but really upsetting to find one of my books on this list. I guess if AI is really into vintage fashion we know why..

T. Greenwood: I did NOT expect to find my work in this database of books used by Meta et al. to train AI. I am flabbergasted and pissed.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: So 5 of my novels were used to train AI. Including a novella I self-pubbed (Prime Meridian) because I couldn't get a publisher to buy that, and a book that came out with a smaller press. The percentage of Latino writers is minuscule (5 percent at Penguin Random House) but good to know this is what people with money to burn want to spend their cash on, literally going through the works of writers and vacuuming their work into some database. I mention the size of the publishers because someone told me don't worry, this will only affect the really big publishers and writers! I don't think Stephen King is the only one who has to be worried (it's actually the other way around: the big names like King are likely safer). Whether you were published with an indie or a big press, anyway, this stuff is not okay. But now let's think about the next frontier! Just like Levis was generating 'diverse' models with AI, you bet someone out there is thinking of making 'diverse' books  with AI. From cover to content. I mean, why wait for a new voice to emerge when you could make yourself the ideal 'diverse' writer? Incidentally, that novella I self pubbed was selected for Dozois' The Year's Best Science Fiction. So it wasn't a lack of quality on my part my friends,I just spent years having the door closed on my face and now I get to have my books syohoned for 'content.'

Jay Kristoff: 12 of my books in this. No permission sought. No compensation given. Doubt they even paid for the copy they used. F-cking thieves.

The database can be searched here. Here's a few results for folk notable to Bleeding Cool readers:

Alan Moore

25,000 Years of Erotic Freedom
From Hell
Jerusalem
Voice Of The Fire

Neil Gaiman

A Little Gold Book of Ghastly Stuff
Adventures in the Dream Trade
American Gods
American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition: A Novel
Anansi Boys (American Gods Book 2)
Coraline
Coraline
Day of the Dead: A Babylon5 Scriptbook
Doctor Who: Nothing O'Clock: Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who 50th Anniversary E-Shorts Book 11)
Duran Duran
Eternity's Wheel (Interworld)
Fortunately, the Milk
Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders
Gods & Tulips
Instructions
M Is for Magic
Make Good Art
Monarch Of The Glen
Neil Gaiman And Charles Vess' Stardust
Neverwhere: A Novel
Odd and the Frost Giants
Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions
Stardust
The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances

Grant Morrison

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human

Warren Ellis

Crooked Little Vein: A Novel
Dead Pig Collector (Kindle Single)
Elektrograd
Gun Machine
Normal: A Novel

Peter David

A Rock and a Hard Place (Star Trek: The Next Generation Book 10)
After Earth: A Novel
Battleship (movie Tie-in Edition)
Birthright-after Earth: Ghost Stories (short Story)
Dark Allies (Star Trek: The Next Generation Book 8)
Fable: The Balverine Order
Fall Of Knight
Fire On High (Star Trek: The Next Generation Book 6)
Gateways #6: Cold Wars (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Hulk
Hunted – After Earth: Ghost Stories (Short Story)
Imzadi Forever (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Knight Life
Martyr (Star Trek New Frontier, No 5)
New Frontier (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Once Burned: The Captain's Table #5 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
One Knight Only (Knight Life)
Q-in-Law: Star Trek, the Next Generation, No 18 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Q-Squared (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Renaissance: Excalibur #2 (Star Trek: The Next Generation Book 10)
Star Trek: New Frontier: Being Human (Star Trek: The Next Generation Book 12)
Star Trek: New Frontier: Gods Above (Star Trek: The Next Generation Book 13)
Star Trek: New Frontier: Stone and Anvil
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Before Dishonor
Strike Zone (Star Trek: The Next Generation Book 5)
The Captain's Daughter (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 76)
The Returned, Part I (Star Trek: New Frontier Book 1)
The Returned, Part III (Star Trek: New Frontier Book 3)
The Rift (Star Trek: The Original Series Book 57)
The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Siege
Tigerheart: A Novel
Transformers Dark of the Moon
Vendetta (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

J. Michael Straczynski

Becoming Superman: My Journey From Poverty to Hollywood

Michael Uslan

The Boy Who Loved Batman: A Memoir

Scott Snyder

Voodoo Heart: Stories

Benjamin Percy

Mystery Writers of America Presents The Mystery Box
Red Moon
The Dark Net
The Dead Lands: A Novel
Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction

Simon Spurrier

Prophet Margin
The Culled

Al Ewing

El Sombra
Gods Of Manhattan
I, Zombie (tomes Of The Dead Series #1)
The Fictional Man

Charles Soule

Anyone: A Novel
The Oracle Year: A Novel

Rainbow Rowell

Attachments: A Novel
Carry On: A Novel (Simon Snow Series, 1)
Eleanor & Park
Enlazados (Spanish Edition)
Fangirl
Fangirl: A Novel
Landline: A Novel
Wayward Son

Mike Carey

"Bad News": The Turbulent Life of Marvin Barnes, Pro Basketball's Original Renegade
Dead Men's Boots (Felix Castor Novel Book 3)
The Devil You Know (Felix Castor Novel Book 1)
The Naming of the Beasts (Felix Castor, 5)
Thicker Than Water (Felix Castor (4))
Vicious Circle (Felix Castor Novel Book 2)

Douglas Adams

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 3)
Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 5)
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 4)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Scripts Volume 2: The Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases
The Long Dark Tea Time Of The Soul
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
The Original Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Radio Scripts
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 2)
The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time (Dirk Gently Book 3)
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

JK Rowling

Animales fantásticos: Los crímenes de Grindelwald Guión original de la película: Animales fantásticos 2 (Spanish Edition)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – The Original Screenplay
Harry Potter e il Calice di Fuoco
Harry Potter e il Prigioniero di Azkaban
Harry Potter e l'Ordine della Fenice
Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets
Harry Potter et la Coupe de Feu
Harry Potter et les Reliques de la Mort
Harry Potter och De Vises Sten (Swedish Edition)
Harry Potter och Den Flammande Bägaren (Swedish Edition)
Harry Potter och Dödsrelikerna (Swedish Edition)
Harry Potter och Fången från Azkaban (Swedish Edition)
Harry Potter och Fenixorden (Swedish Edition)
Harry Potter och Halvblodsprinsen (Swedish Edition)
Harry Potter och Hemligheternas kammare (Swedish Edition)
Harry Potter og De vises stein (Norwegian Edition)
Harry Potter og Dødstalismanene (Norwegian Edition)
Harry Potter og fangen fra Azkaban (Norwegian Edition)
Harry Potter og Føniksordenen (Norwegian Edition)
Harry Potter og Halvblodsprinsen (Norwegian Edition)
Harry Potter og Ildbegeret (Norwegian Edition)
Harry Potter og Mysteriekammeret (Norwegian Edition)
Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch
Harry Potter und die Heiligtümer des Todes
Les Animaux fantastiques : le texte du film (French Edition)
Phantastische Tierwesen und wo sie zu finden sind: Das Originaldrehbuch (German Edition)
The Casual Vacancy
ハリー・ポッターとアズカバンの囚人: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ハリー・ポッタ (Harry Potter) (Japanese Edition)
ハリー・ポッターと不死鳥の騎士団 ハリー・ポッタ (Harry Potter) (Japanese Edition)
ハリー・ポッターと死の秘宝 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ハリー・ポッタ (Harry Potter) (Japanese Edition)
ハリー・ポッターと炎のゴブレット: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ハリー・ポッタ (Harry Potter) (Japanese Edition)
ハリー・ポッターと秘密の部屋: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ハリー・ポッタ (Harry Potter) (Japanese Edition)
ハリー・ポッターと謎のプリンス – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ハリー・ポッタ (Harry Potter) (Japanese Edition)
ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ハリー・ポッタ (Harry Potter) (Japanese Edition)

George Lucas

A New Hope: Star Wars: Episode IV
Revenge of the Sith: Illustrated Screenplay: Star Wars: Episode III (Star Wars – Legends)
Revenge of the Sith: Illustrated Screenplay: Star Wars: Episode III (Star Wars – Legends)

Quentin Tarantino

Inglourious Basterds: A Screenplay

Marv Wolfman

Suicide Squad: The Official Movie Novelization

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