Is artificial intelligence about to disrupt the book publishing industry?

Electronic publishing analyst Thad McIlroy recently published a commentary in "Publishers Weekly" that the latest generation of artificial intelligence is undergoing a revolutionary change. In the near future, every step of the book publishing industry can be automated with the help of generative artificial intelligence. Soon, the trade book publishing industry as we know it will be obsolete.

Screen from the documentary Horizon: The Hunt for AI (2012).

The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT reminds McIlroy of the changes that the print publishing field has experienced. In 1985, when Macintosh computers, laser printers, and desktop publishing software first came out, the results of using these applications for book publishing were not ideal. The edges of the fonts were not smooth enough and the spacing between characters was rough. At that time, many people in the publishing industry questioned these "new technologies", just as many people now question the impact of artificial intelligence on the publishing industry.

Screen from the late 19th century documentary short film "Intérieur d'une imprimerie" (1899).

By 1988, when the Macintosh computer (Macintosh) was connected to Linotype (desktop publishing software), the quality of publishing improved significantly. But most traditionalists still believe that the color of the font is not good enough, and that this flaw in quality will be perceived and rejected by readers. A group of designers even shifted the focus of their work to focus on specific fonts, kerning, line spacing, and printed page design. This is not to say that their work is without significance, but today the public is aware that one concept of measuring publication production is "good enough": making the vast majority of readers appreciate what they see and read in the books they buy. Completely satisfied with the content.

This "good enough" standard can also be applied to generative artificial intelligence. GPT-4 is not yet capable of professional copy editing as required by book publishers, but we will see this capability soon. While books edited with generative AI can still appear “better” to sophisticated editors, such subtle tactile differences that professionals can discern won’t help publishers sell more books, because as As mentioned above, they are "good enough".

"Is GPT capable of writing and publishing books?" This is the answer generated by ChatGPT to this question. Image from Publishers Weekly.

Next, McIlroy analyzed the changes that generative artificial intelligence will bring to the field of book publishing from multiple aspects such as topic selection, editing, printing, and marketing. First, generative AI will become the patron saint of the scrap pile. Its ability to evaluate grammatical and logical expressions enables an initial assessment of a book's level. It may not be able to spot the great masterpieces, but it will know how to distinguish the good from the bad. It’s true that some book manuscripts are rejected by 100 publishers but become unexpected bestsellers. This phenomenon happens from time to time. Generative AI may also make such mistakes, but don’t forget about the 100 publishers who claim to be well-trained. Industry professionals are missing out, too.

From the perspective of production and printing, most of the current printing and digital book production has been fully automated or semi-automated. Artificial intelligence will fill in some of the missing parts, but the inefficiency of the production process is mainly because the publishing industry is still subject to High degree of manual intervention. This is an unwavering belief among many in the publishing industry, who believe that the value of human intervention outweighs the productivity gains from automation.

From the perspective of distribution channels, the transformation of publishing caused by artificial intelligence will try to break the position of online retailers such as Amazon in the distribution ecosystem. For new authors, Amazon remains a gateway, but for established publishers, Amazon has become an exorbitant tenant that they can barely afford. Self-published authors have proven that artificial intelligence can help self-published authors better connect directly with readers. It has been proven that the closer a writer is to their readers, the more fans they will gain and the more books they will sell. In addition, marketing may be the most powerful aspect of artificial intelligence in book publishing: providing powerful real-time market conditions, understanding the books that are competing for sales and missed opportunities, helping writers find their ideal readership, and providing readers with the perfect next step. This reading shows that these are the specialties of artificial intelligence.

Thad McIlroy, an e-publishing analyst and author, runs the website The Future of Publishing and is one of the founding partners of Publishing Technology Partners. Image from Publishers Weekly.

The entertainment industry surrounding book publishing will also be affected on a similar scale as the publishing industry. According to McIlroy, research has found that more and more adults are spending their free time gaming and watching videos online. The enhanced e-book never took off, but the audiobook adaptation sold more than anyone's most optimistic expectations. At a time when movies and video games are closely integrated and book publishing is on the fringes, the arrival of artificial intelligence could change that, transforming books into a revenue-generating medium like never before.

When we discuss the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, it is inevitable to weigh the attendant risks. McIlroy optimistically argued in the article that we must build a deep trench between opportunity and danger, because only after you fully appreciate the opportunities provided by a new technology can you understand the dangers surrounding it. Is this correct? Perhaps one can only wait for an answer.

Not long ago, a large number of well-known artificial intelligence experts and industry giants issued a joint statement advocating the suspension of the research and development of artificial intelligence such as "GPT-4" (the language model of the chatbot ChatGPT), and called on the public to be wary of the huge risks of improper use of artificial intelligence. , many countries and regions have also begun to restrict the use of generative artificial intelligence, which undoubtedly casts a shadow over the development of artificial intelligence. It is conceivable how much impact artificial intelligence will have on the publishing industry. With the rapid iteration of the development of artificial intelligence, such discussions have only just begun.

Note: The cover title picture material comes from a still from "The Bookshop" (2017).

References:

(1) AI Is About to Turn Book Publishing Upside-Down

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20230605/92471-ai-is-about-to-turn-book-publishing-upside-down.html

Compiled/Li Yongbo

Editor/Luo Dong

Proofreading/Liu Baoqing

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