AI-Generated Books: Revolution or Crisis of Authorship?

Since 2023, hundreds of AI-generated books have flooded Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, with an estimated 4 million titles in the US alone linked to AI use. Amazon's disclosure policy and limit of three self-published ebooks per day per author have proven insufficient against operators publishing dozens of titles daily via multiple accounts. Platforms like Draft2Digital reported 50% higher than normal submission volumes in 2024, identifying suspicious accounts through statistical anomalies. A 2025 survey by BookBub of 1,200 authors found 45% currently use generative AI, with 60% of those using it frequently; 84% of non-users cite ethical concerns. The Authors Guild launched the 'Human Authored' certification in early 2025, while at the London Book Fair in March 2026, Tracy Chevalier presented a UK version of the logo, and 10,000 authors including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory, and Richard Osman distributed an empty book titled 'Don't Steal This Book' to protest AI training on copyrighted works. The case of Mia Ballard's novel 'Shy Girl'—initially self-published, then acquired by Hachette UK in November 2025, later withdrawn after allegations of AI use and poor quality—highlights the risks. Expert Ezio Cardarelli notes that AI-generated texts often have stylistic 'watermarks' detectable by attentive readers, but the phenomenon may shrink as hype fades, potentially increasing the value of human writing.