Amazon has implemented new guidelines to curb AI-generated self-published works, capping the number of books authors can self-publish daily on its platform to three.
The announcement was made via a post on the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) forum earlier this week.
The statement clarified, “While we have not seen a spike in our publishing numbers, in order to help protect against abuse, we are lowering the volume limits we have in place on new title creations.”
KDP is Amazon’s platform that enables authors to self-publish and sell their books with minimal friction.
Amazon recently stated publishers must declare if their work is AI-generated after pressure from the Authors Guild, which has been thoroughly involved in writers’ fight against a deluge of AI-generated work.
Several AI-generated books have been removed by Amazon, including mushroom foraging books that contain dangerous advice.
Amazon’s post emphasized their active surveillance of the “rapid evolution of generative AI and its influence on reading, writing, and publishing.”
They assured that the new rule would impact “very few” publishers. Additionally, authors and publishers can request an exception to this limitation.
Dr. Miriam Johnson, a senior lecturer in publishing at Oxford Brookes University, commented that this change might not drastically alter the AI-written content scenario on Amazon. She told the Guardian, “It will dent the numbers a bit, but those profiting from flooding the market with AI-generated books, publishing more than three daily, will find a workaround.”
This announcement follows Amazon’s recent mandate requiring authors to notify them about AI-generated content. They also updated their guidelines, defining “AI-generated” and “AI-assisted” content. Johnson, however, expressed skepticism about Amazon’s ability to verify such disclosures.
Amazon’s new regulations were introduced after removing books falsely attributed to author Jane Friedman, suspected to be AI-generated.
Jane Friedman responded to the three-book rule: “I’m glad to see Amazon taking these sensible, incremental steps, and I hope they are prepared to do more as needed.”
Whether or not Amazon’s limits will achieve their desired effect remains to be seen.
