In A+ prank news, roughly 10,000 authors signed their names to a new anthology to protest AI theft of human creativity. The twist? The book, called Don’t Steal This Book, is…empty. But for a list of its contributing “authors.”
As The Guardian reported this morning, copies of this infinite jest are being distributed at today’s London Book Fair in anticipation of a big decision from the UK government. An economic impact assessment is currently pending on “proposed changes in copyright law.”
By next week, ministers must weigh in on the legal status of ongoing AI vs. Author debates in Britain. Writers have called for a way to opt out of allowing their materials to train generative AI. But so far, the government has proposed a series of unsatisfying, Anthropic-friendly counters—incurring the ire of artists like Sir Elton John.
Don’t Steal This Book is the brainchild of the human Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and artists’ copyright vigilante. Newton-Rex told The Guardian that the project is a plea from authors. He loathes AI for being “built on stolen work.”
The authors in agreement include thousands of heavies—like Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory, Jeanette Winterson, and Alan Moore. You can find the full list of contributors here.
We love a timely stunt with a noble mission. To quote the book’s promo site, if the UK government fails to protect writers at this crucial moment “this is what we’ll be left with: empty pages, writers without pay, and readers deprived of the next book they’ll love.”
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