Below is the text of the speech about Generative AI given by Travis Croken, National Co-chair of the Canadian Authors Association, at a reception of parliamentarians and guests.
Good evening and thank you for joining us. As an author and reader, one of my favourite things to do is visit a bookstore. While seemingly quiet with people silently browsing the aisles for their next great read, they are loud if you stop and listen. Each book in the store is shouting ‘Ah-ha!’ as they sit proudly on the shelf, knowing the journey they took to arrive at their destination. Each book is an idea lovingly nurtured and moulded into life by an author fighting through imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and many drafts.
Having a book on that shelf came at the cost of trial and error, submissions, queries, and many rejection letters. All on top of late nights, caffeine, and barely contained excitement and existential dread. However, it does not mean that the hard work and threats are over. Authors are constantly bombarded with attempted scams, plagiarism, and copyright and fair use issues. Protecting an author’s work is difficult at best and not having appropriate measures in place to defend against improper use by Generative AI companies can be catastrophic to our creative community.
A book is more than just rearranged words from the dictionary. They are dreams, messages, and perspectives all brought together by the author’s unique voice. When a book is used to train AI models, it is more than words. Much like a painter has a unique style of brush stroke, so to do authors have a unique voice. The dangers lie far beyond lack of compensation for use of the works. It steals the author’s voice and rights. While the output from the AI system is not necessarily a replica of the book used for training, it can be a replica of the author’s unique style, voice, and prose.
What makes an author unique can now be artificially reproduced by having the system create a book in the style/voice of… The author loses control of how their message and voice is being used, leading to potential moral complications. The author’s reputation and livelihood may be damaged if the market is flooded with cheap variations of their works and style. Consider Roundabout by Phong Nguyen, an entire novel written without the use of the letter E. A painstakingly developed novel overcoming a daunting task. How quickly could an AI mimic his concept and style?
I am not saying that Generative AI does not have a valid use. I am saying that authors must maintain the freedom of choice, the freedom to weigh the risks and benefits of having their works used, and the freedom to be compensated for their hard work. Books can take years from conception to publishing, years that are often not compensated. For most, being an author does not lead to immense wealth. It is a labour of passion and dedication while always striving to keep the bills paid and the next story developing. All compounded ever further by many hands trying to dip into the pot.
Legislation must take creators into account fairly and equitably, as they fight to continue, often in the face of large technological companies already making money hand over AI generated fist. If we lose our creators, we not only lose our culture, but the technology giants lose materials with which to grow their systems.
Thank you.